In July and August 2017 two WHS cases prosecuted by SafeWork NSW were decided on in the District Court.

The first WHS fine for a company considered to be negligent in their care of an employee occurred in October 2014. An employee was permanently incapacitated after falling 2.7 metres whilst working on a construction site. The company was found to be in breach of section 32 of the of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and for failing to comply with its obligations under section 32/19(1) of the Act, and fined $27,000 .

The second incident happened in November 2015. An employee fell from a height of 3 metres as he was working in a warehouse.  The company he worked for was also found to be in breach of WHS guidelines, and they were fined $85,000.00.

• Workers, their families’, and friend’s lives can be devastated in the split second it can take an accident to occur.
• It’s never easy for anyone to ‘move on’ when one of your employees suffers an accident or incident.
• Your company’s moral, reputation and bottom line can be irretrievably destroyed.

WHS fines have a devastating impact on the annual financial performance of any

company, now companies have extra WHS fines to consider.   SafeWork NSW has introduced targeted on-the-spot fines for breaches of WHS requirements in response to a big increase in 2017, of the number of accidents and fatalities experienced by workers who’ve fallen from heights.

Now, if your company is found:

1. not to have taken enough steps to protect your employees from falling from heights
2. if your employees aren’t carrying the correct license
3. if your employees don’t have the correct licenses

 your company could be given an on-the-spot fine of $720 for an individual, and $3,600 for an incorporated company.

Furthermore, you could be fined for simply not checking or sighting an employee’s license. 

Although SafeWork officers will be targeting all worksites, it is safe to assume, they will be putting in extra effort to visit construction worksites. Over 50% of fall incidents in 2017 have been reported have occurred on Construction worksites.

More information on SafeWork’s WHS expectations and a handy list of what steps your company is required to take can be found here.

But, regardless of the threat of fines and costly and emotionally catastrophic court appearances, just imagine how you would feel if a person you employ suffers permanent damage or worse still, simply because you haven’t made sure you’ve taken every step possible to protect them from a fall. 

Do everything you can to protect your employee’s safety as well as your company; make sure your workforce is fully accredited and carrying their qualifications.

We have a range of WHS specific courses – White Card, WHS Industry Based Courses and Group Training.

Contact our professional consultants at Training Aid for more information about all the courses we offer. We have onsite training premises in both Sydney and Melbourne, but we are happy to provide group training at your choice of location. 

*This blog is general in nature and is ONLY meant to give readers an overview of the subject matter. Do NOT rely on this information for your specific needs. If you are planning to hold one of Training Aid’s group training courses, we highly recommend that you contact Training Aid for more information or discuss your SPECIFIC requirements

Your Staff need to have an accredited Food Handlers Certificate, (SITXFSA101 Workplace Hygiene Procedures Course) and a FSS or Food Safety Supervisor (SITXFSA101 and SITXFSA201 Food Safety Supervisor Course) to protect both your company income and your consumer’s health.

It only takes a few unsatisfied customers to make a complaint about any of the points listed below, for the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ Food Authority to send out representatives to audit your business.

• Food which has used ingredients which are unsafe – such as food which may have been open to vermin
• Suspected food poisoning
• A lack of proper and hygienic handling of food, how a food is stored and how it has been prepared – food which is handled by staff with unclean hands or fingernails, or cooked and uncooked chicken which has been placed touching each other
• If a foreign object has been found in the food
• Food which has begun to ruin – such as food which is mouldy or meat which begun to decay

One of the Food Authority’s heaviest penalties and fines is against;

1. not having an appointed Food Safety Supervisor in all commercial food preparation establishments
2. not having a copy of an up-to-date certificate to prove your Food Safety Supervisor is accredited.

According to the Food Authority Guidelines, ‘issue of a penalty notice for any of the below offences can be up to $330 for an individual (eg sole trader) and $660 for a registered company.’

Sydney (Food businesses who don’t have staff correctly accredited with their Food Handlers Certificate are not only risking heavy penalties, their business will be listed on the NSW Department of Primary Industries – Food Authority’s Name and Shame Register. The Name and Shame Register is an extremely easy to use list of food based businesses that have been served with penalty notices for not complying with the Food Authority’s regulations. Prospective customers can quickly check the Name and Shame register, by name or suburb, to see if an establishment has received any penalty notices for not having safe food practises.

Ultimately Food Hygiene is the responsibility of the owner/manager of a commercial food supplier. It is up to you to make sure you only have staff who are fully qualified with the Food Handlers Certificate – SITXFSA101 Workplace Hygiene Procedures Course accreditation. And who are strictly supervised by an overseer who also has their Food Handlers Certificate as well as their SITXFSA201 Food Safety Supervisor Course.

If any of your food preparation staff don’t have an up-to-date Food Handlers Certificate, and their isn’t an accredited Food Safety Supervisor making sure all safety and hygiene procedures are being followed you could be placing them, your business and the wider community at risk. Contact our professional consultants at Training Aid for more information about our Workplace Hygiene Food Safety Course, Food Safety Supervisor and for Discounts for Group Training we offer.

*This blog is general in nature and is ONLY meant to give readers an overview of the subject matter. Do NOT rely on this information for your specific needs. If you are planning to hold one of Training Aid’s Food Handler and Food Safety Supervisor courses, we highly recommend that you concerning your SPECIFIC requirements