Health & Safety Consulting Before OHS Changes
Health & Safety Consulting can help employers strengthen workplace controls while proposed changes to occupational health and safety legislation continue to develop.
As of 15 July 2026, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 remains the primary legislation governing workplace health and safety. The Department of Employment and Labour has continued working on an amendment bill intended to clarify legal duties, strengthen enforcement, and improve worker protection.
Employers should not wait for new legislation before reviewing their current compliance responsibilities.
Why Employers Should Prepare Now
Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires employers to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to employees’ health.
This responsibility already requires employers to identify hazards, assess risks, implement controls, provide information and training, and monitor whether those controls remain effective.
Proposed amendments do not replace these existing duties. Instead, they may increase the consequences of weak compliance and place greater focus on whether employers can provide reliable evidence.
The Department has indicated that proposed changes may include clearer legal duties, stronger inspectorate powers, and immediate penalties, including possible on-the-spot fines. These proposals must not be treated as enacted law until the legislative process is complete.
Use Health & Safety Consulting to Review Risks
A workplace risk assessment should reflect actual activities, equipment, substances, employees, contractors, and working conditions.
Health & Safety Consulting can help an organisation determine whether its assessments cover:
- Routine and non-routine activities
- Machinery and equipment
- Hazardous chemical substances
- Electrical and fire risks
- Ergonomic hazards
- Contractor activities
- Emergency situations
- Remote and hybrid work
- Vulnerable employees
- Changes to processes or facilities
A risk assessment should be regularly updated, not completed once and stored in a file. It must be reviewed when work changes, incidents occur, new hazards are identified, or existing controls prove ineffective.
Confirm Legal Appointments and Responsibilities
Employers should confirm that required health and safety appointments have been made in writing and that appointed employees understand their responsibilities.
This may include:
- Chief executive officer responsibilities
- Health and safety representatives
- Health and safety committee members
- First aiders
- Firefighters
- Emergency coordinators
- Incident investigators
- Competent persons required by specific regulations
The current Act requires health and safety committees where two or more health and safety representatives have been designated. These committees must meet when necessary and at least once every three months.
Appointment letters alone do not prove compliance. Employers should also retain training records, meeting minutes, inspection reports, recommendations, and evidence that identified actions were completed.
Prepare for Workplace Inspections
The Department of Employment and Labour conducts inspections to assess compliance with occupational health and safety legislation. Its current strategic plan also provides for targeted inspection campaigns in higher-risk and problematic sectors, including construction, hospitality, trucking, home delivery, and informal retail.
Employers should be able to provide evidence such as:
- Health and safety policies
- Workplace risk assessments
- Legal appointment letters
- Training and competence records
- Equipment inspection registers
- Incident reports
- Health and safety committee minutes
- Emergency plans
- Contractor files
- Corrective action records
Missing, outdated, or inconsistent records may indicate that controls are not being implemented effectively.
Strengthen Worker Consultation
Employees often identify hazards before management becomes aware of them. Employers should provide clear channels through which workers can report unsafe conditions, near misses, equipment defects, and health concerns.
The proposed amendment process has included stronger health and safety committees and a clearer right for workers to refuse work perceived as unhealthy or dangerous. These remain proposed reforms, but organisations can already improve their consultation and escalation processes.
Employees should know:
- How to report a hazard
- Who will investigate it
- When work should stop
- How urgent risks will be escalated
- How feedback will be provided
- How corrective actions will be tracked
Test Emergency and Incident Processes
Emergency plans should be tested through drills and realistic scenarios. Employers should assess whether employees can respond to fires, chemical spills, medical emergencies, equipment failures, and evacuations.
Incident investigation should identify underlying causes rather than blaming the injured employee. Corrective actions must have assigned owners, deadlines, and follow-up evidence.
Build Inspection-Ready OHS Compliance
Health and safety compliance must be visible in daily operations, not only in policies and appointment letters.
WWISE provides Health & Safety Consulting, legal compliance audits, risk assessments, SHEQ training, incident investigation support, and inspection readiness reviews. A structured compliance review can help your organisation identify weaknesses before they result in an injury, enforcement action, or operational disruption.
Transparency note: This article provides general information and does not replace occupational health and safety legislation or professional legal advice.
