Expanded Industrial Manslaughter legislation are starting in July 2020

Tougher laws. Safer workplaces.

This is the message being shared by WorkSafe with new laws on industrial manslaughter starting in July in Victoria.

We take this opportunity to remind you of how important safety is and that it’s the combined responsibility of Horner and you (our clients) as the host employer.

The new laws increase exposure for the employer entity and for officers of the employer (e.g. Senior managers) with the possibility of imprisonment if found guilty of neglecting their/our duty of care. Potential jail terms under the new laws are as high as 20 years.

How does Horner demonstrate our duty of care?

By partnering with Horner, you can rest assured that we take the health and safety of our Horner community very seriously and we demonstrate an enhanced duty of care to all our casual on-hired workers.

Some examples include:

• Robust and compliant OHS practices (OHS Management System of policies & procedures)
• Comprehensive OHS site evaluations for hazard identification and risk assessment on all new client sites prior to Horner workers starting as well as regular ongoing audits.
• Utilisation of a Digital OHS tool (iAuditor to automate our OHS Evaluations on host client sites instead of paper-based checklists.
• OHS training and evaluation induction for all casual staff and contract labour (blue and white collar).
• Regular communication with our casual workers such as monthly OHS Bulletins, SMS OHS alerts, Tool Box Talks and social media engagement.
• Policies and procedures for accidents & incidents and bullying & harassment.
• Dedicated OHS Committee that meets monthly.

Find out more

For further information regarding OHS or the new laws, contact Phil Webster, Operations Manager or Jay McGrath, OHS Manager on (03) 9604 2800 or email horner@horner.com.au.

We must work together to ensure we all demonstrate an enhanced duty of care to our workers so everyone can get home safely.

For more details visit:

https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/tougher-laws-safer-workplaces