Appendix A - The Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992

Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and the Health and Safety in Employment Amendment Act 2002, employers are responsible for the safety of their employees at work, which includes vehicles.

This includes staff who are driving as part of their work — whether they are a driver, or a passenger, whether they drive regularly or occasionally, and whether the vehicle is owned, leased or rented by your company. The place of work takes into account the road or area through which they travel.

An employee travelling to and from work is not considered to be at work, unless using an employer's vehicle while on official business. However, where an employee is required to be on call and that is recognised in an employment agreement, then they are are considered to be at work during the time they are travelling to and from home.

The employer has six key duties under the Act.

• Duty 1. Ensure safety of employee
• Duty 2. Ensure systematic methods are established to manage hazards
• Duty 3. Ensure Health and Safety information is provided to employees
• Duty 4. Ensure employees are trained and/or supervised
• Duty 5. Ensure systems are in place to provide employees with reasonable opportunities to be involved in Health and Safety management
• Duty 6. Report incidents

Under the Act, employers and employees alike are responsible for taking all practicable steps to ensure Health and Safety in the workplace. The employer must take all practicable steps to ensure that the vehicle the employee is using is safe. This may include ensuring that:

• the vehicle being used is suitable for the purpose
• there is a system in place to monitor the fact that the vehicle is roadworthy, warranted and registered
• if loads are to be transported in the vehicle, there is suitable load restraint
• the employee has a current driver licence
• the employee has been trained in defensive driving techniques
• total work and driving time minimises the possibility of fatigue
• when working in remote locations, there is a system for an employee to remain in contact with the employer/colleagues.

Determining all practicable steps:

• The likelihood and severity of potential injury/illness must be balanced against the cost and feasibility of the control measures.
• The cost of providing controls has to be measured against the consequences of failing to do so.
• Note: it is not simply a measure of whether the person can afford to provide the necessary controls. Where there is a risk of serious or frequent injury or harm, a greater cost in the provision of controls may be reasonable.
• The concept of 'reasonableness' is based on the legal principle of the hypothetical 'reasonable person' and the way that he or she might behave in a particular situation. It is based on the values of society of the day and, in the end, will involve a value judgement.
• The overall test is 'what would be a reasonable and prudent person do in all the circumstances?'

There are no firm guidelines. The question of what is reasonably practicable is always a matter of fact and degree in each situation.

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Last updated: 30 August 2007