Many factors affect how you can engage your workers. This page covers some of these and will help you take relevant issues into account when deciding on how to plan your consultation.
The business
Think about:
- the structure of the business
- management style
- organisational and safety cultures
- trade union recognition and employment relations
The workplace
Take into account:
- the size of workplace
- location of sites
- types of work done
- the degree and nature of inherent dangers
The workforce
Consider:
- the size of workforce
- the diversity of the workforce
- employment structures (for example direct employees, agency and contract workers)
- work patterns (for example shift systems, part-time working)
- offsite, remote or mobile workers
Some questions you will need to ask
Ask yourself:
- Do we consult individuals or representatives?
- How do we consult them?
- How can we organise inspections and investigations?
- How can we co-ordinate between committees?
Examples of varying workplaces
A high-risk workplace with a large unionised workforce spread over multiple sites may have trade union representatives from different sites as members of a site-based health and safety committee that meets regularly, and feeds into a corporate health and safety committee.
A non-unionised smaller workplace located on one small, low-risk site, is more likely to consult directly with workers on a day-to-day basis.