Health and Safety Consultation
Health and Safety / 22 October 2024
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister, Brooke van Velden, is on a mission to correct New Zealand’s poorly performing health and safety system.
Ms van Velden has travelled throughout New Zealand to 11 towns and cities to hear from employers, businesses and workers to understand the challenges and frustrations. While MBIE has received over 200 submissions, they are still open to hearing feedback and any input from businesses, employees or workers to help shape the future of our health and safety system.
Only 20% of the 200 submissions received came from small businesses. This is problematic as 97% of businesses in New Zealand are small businesses so a lot of them are missing out on this opportunity to partake in the conversation that could benefit them in the future.
25% of the online submissions are from the construction industry. The other industries with the highest number of submissions are agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing and ‘other’ category.
Message for employers
We encourage all businesses, big, medium or small, to contribute to the discussion and provide meaningful input to help the government understand:
- The challenges that your business is facing when it comes to upholding your health and safety obligations;
- How your business would like to be supported so you can ensure your employees’ safety;
- Any opinions you have on the current system;
- Any specific challenges your industry faces; and
- What you think could be done differently to support a better health and safety system overall.
We encourage you to speak to your employees and workers to gather ideas and form a submission which can be emailed to MBIE at HSWHaveYourSay@mbie.govt.nz before 5pm 31 October.
Disclaimer: We remind you that while this article provides commentary on employment law, health and safety and immigration topics, it should not be used as a substitute for legal or professional advice for specific situations. Please seek legal advice from your lawyer for any questions specific to your workplace.
