The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act 85 of 1993 provides clear guidance on how many Health and Safety Team members need to be appointed, based on the number of people employed by the company. However, the advice is less obvious when it comes to businesses that employ shift work, such as restaurants, hotels, healthcare settings, warehouses, factories, etc. If the entire team isn’t on site at one time, how does one ensure that the Health and Safety Team is always available to respond to an emergency?
In this article, we’ll explain how best to structure your Health and Safety Team in a shift-work scenario to ensure that your workplace is both compliant and safe at all times.
Your Occupational Health and Safety Team is made up of four critical disciplines:
First Aiders, Fire Wardens, and Evacuation Marshals form the emergency response team, while Health and Safety Representatives and Health and Safety Supervisors play vital roles in implementing the wider health and safety management system and sit on the Health and Safety Committee.
In higher-risk settings, additional specialised health and safety disciplines and training may be required. For example, HAZMAT training is required where dangerous or flammable substances are stored or handled.
The OHS Act stipulates the following ratios for Health and Safety Team members:
We apply a ratio of 1:50 as a general rule across all industries, regardless of the risk profile. (Note that these ratios dictate the minimum required number. In practice, it is advisable to train two of each discipline, so that should a First Aider/Fire Warden/Evacuation Marshal be on leave, there is an additional team member present to fulfil the role.)
So, if you have 40 employees in total (including full-time and part-time employees), you should appoint at least:
Organisations employing shift work need to apply Health and Safety Team compliance ratios to each shift, not only to their organisation as a whole. This means that if your organisation employs 40 people, but these are equally split between a day shift and a night shift, you need to ensure that there is a full emergency response Health and Safety Team available on both shifts.
If you have 40 employees in total, but they are split between two shifts, you need to appoint at least:
Day shift (20 people):
Night shift (20 people):
Total:
Note that you still need to appoint only one Health and Safety Representative, as they are not part of the emergency response team and do not need to be present on every shift.
As we saw in the example above, the introduction of shift work may require you to appoint more Health and Safety Team members than the minimum requirement set out by the OHS Act for your total number of employees. It is important to note that the introduction of shift work may not entitle you to appoint fewer Health and Safety Team members.
For example, if you have 40 employees who are split between eight shifts, you will only ever have five employees on site at any one time. This number falls below the minimum number of employees needed to trigger the mandated appointment of a First Aider (which is set at 10 employees) or a Health and Safety Representative (which is set at 20 employees). It does not follow that you do not need to appoint any First Aiders, Fire Wardens, Evacuation Marshals, or a Health and Safety Representative. Because your total number of employees is 40, you are still required to appoint at least one First Aider, one Fire Warden, one Evacuation Marshal, and one Health and Safety Representative in total.
One person cannot be both a First Aider and a Fire Warden or Evacuation Marshal. This is because in a true emergency, each team member needs to perform their specific role simultaneously. Should a large fire break out in a restaurant kitchen, for example, the First Aider needs to attend to burn wounds, while the Fire Warden extinguishes the fire, and the Evacuation Marshal facilitates the calm evacuation of patrons and staff out of the building to the Assembly Point. One person simply cannot perform all of these roles at once.
Equally important as appointing the correct number of Health and Safety Team members is appointing the right people. If possible, allow staff to volunteer for Health and Safety Team positions, as volunteers are more likely to be motivated and committed to doing their part well. Forcing unwilling or unsuitable people to act as First Aiders, Fire Wardens, or Evacuation Marshals threatens the success of the entire health and safety management system. In addition, it’s important to select people who will be in the office or on location during working hours. Employees who spend a lot of time out of the office at clients or travelling may not be present when an emergency takes place.
Once you’ve selected your new Health and Safety Team members, the next step is to provide them with high-quality, accredited training. Absolute Health Services is accredited by the Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority (HWSETA), the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO), and the Department of Employment and Labour (DoEL).
We offer the following courses for the core members of your Health and Safety Team:
Book your team’s training online, or contact us for more info.
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