LinkSafe Professional Development Series – Webinar 1

Yesterday we kicked off LinkSafe’s monthly webinar sessions looking at and better understanding the recent guidance issued by Safe Work Australia – WHS Duties in a Contractual Chain.

The session was extremely well attended, and the feedback was extremely positive. During the session, we looked closely at the guidance and I explained some of the detail in it to ensure people really understand how it applies to their situation. As always the devil is in the detail and wording is everything!

The key takeouts from our session were;

• The duties owed in the contractual relationship are different from those owed in a regular employment relationship.
• Contractors are PCBU and have a primary duty of care to control risks from their work
• Principal Contractors are PCBU and have a primary duty of care to control risks from their work
• Contractors are also workers but the duty is different from the duty owed to direct employees and limited by what you have control over i.e. not the methods of work used by contractors to undertake their specialist work.
• Principal Contractors are entitled to rely on contractors to undertake their work and manage their hazards without supervision of those methods.
• Contractors and Principal Contractors must consult and coordinate with each other (this is the most critical part of contractor safety management) to ensure each understands the hazards that can impact on each other.
• Be clear in contractual arrangements about who has control over what activities and ensure contractual clauses state this clearly
• Obtain assurance of achievement of critical safety performance from contractors
• Establish a culture of communication and cooperation to monitor safety management by everyone, and raise and resolve issues.

If you would like a recording of the day, shoot us an email info@linksafe.com.au