An introduction to the Occupational Health and Safety Act

The Occupational Health and Safety Act sets the minimum working standards on how employees should be treated at work places. It is concerned at the safety, health, treatment and welfare of workers and other stakeholders like the society in order to promote a safe and friendly working environment. Issues involved are health, safety engineering, occupational hygiene, public health, occupational medicine as well as health physics.

Health and safety legislation

The occupational safety and health act was initiated and adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in order to promote safety and social well-being in all occupations worldwide. It aims at protecting workers from factors adverse to their health as a result of their occupations and the assignment of workers in an environment adapted to their psychological and physical capabilities.
The workplace occupational health and safety legislation
The workplace occupational health and safety legislation recognises workplace hazards, measure health and safety risks, outline safety controls which should be in place and recommends the practical measures that can be taken to minimise or avoid accidents to all employees in an organisation. This Act enforces organizations to provide health and safety awareness and training to employees aiming at reducing injuries and deaths at workplace, illness, workers compensation claims, legal liability to third parties and environmental impairment. It calls for a constant evaluation of the health and safety measures at workplaces, giving information on the welfare and health of employees and giving information on the occupational health, hygiene and safety risks. t is the duty of the employer to train his employees and make them aware of all health and safety hazards associated with the occupation. The workplace health and safety act sets basic and minimum workplace health and safety regulations and some countries have actually increased these standards so as to guarantee maximum protection to employees like the implementation of compulsory Healthy and Safety insurance.

Health and safety regulations

The health and safety legislation imposes the duty to the employer through the department of labour like the U.S. department of labour, to disseminate information on occupational risks and health hazards to his employees. Employers are tasked to train their workers on health and safety issues, on how hazards may be prevented and avoided, how to work safely and to provide other protective measures like provision of safety clothes. They are required to create a free interactive environment among employees on health, safety and compensation issues at workplaces. It also enforces an employer to compensate his workers in cases of work-related injuries, death and illness as well as liability to third parties due to his business activities and contact.