This review checklist can help you assess how close you are to moving towards full employee involvement and joint problem solving.
The statements will help you consider whether you are achieving your objectives, and where you are not, what you need to do to improve involvement.
The list is a general guideline – some of the statements may not apply to your business, and there may be other factors not covered that are more relevant for you.
- Gain commitment and action from senior management to involve employees and their representatives in good time about matters affecting their health and safety
- Fully involve employees and health and safety representatives in discussions about health and safety matters affecting them, and encourage the workforce to generate ideas for health and safety initiatives
- Train managers, employees and health and safety representatives together in health and safety matters to enable shared understanding and greater co-operation
- Use a range of methods to consult and involve employees to appropriately and effectively take into account the needs of different groups of the workforce who are affected by health and safety measures
- Give health and safety representatives access to the facilities and training they reasonably need to perform their role
- Ensure the health and safety committee members are equal partners, working together to address strategic matters, and day-to-day matters are resolved elsewhere
- Involve health and safety representatives in joint accident investigations, workplace inspections and risk assessments
- Explain the reasons behind management decisions so the workforce can understand how their views have been considered in making decisions about managing their health and safety
- Build on the success of workforce involvement in some issues by engaging employees in discussions of health and safety issues that can be more challenging
- Review progress with involving the workforce in health and safety and update consultation processes so they are current and effective