Employees consulting and involvement

Employees consulting and involvement is an important and essential factor for successful health and safety management system

where the organization focus on the critical role that employees can play by their involvement toward health and safety.

The organization influence through effective ways in different channels to maximize this role to keep employees are involved and engaged to health and safety management to make the workplace healthier and safer, improve performance and raise the standards.

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) define Consulting and involving as following: "It is simply a two-way process between employer and your employees".

The importance of consultation can be shown in the legal duty of the employer to consult his employees on health and safety issues at workplace, where these employees are members in Committees, trade union, etc. or not.?(Worker involvement regulations 1996 and Worker involvement regulations 1977)-UK

This is regarding the law and in terms of international standards:

The International Labor Organization (ILO) focused on employee’s consultation term?showing that workers or their representatives and their representative are enabled to enquire into, and are consulted by the employer on, all aspects of occupational safety and health associated with their work

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)

also mentioned that “Workers' safety delegates, workers' safety and health committees, and joint safety and health committees or, as appropriate, other workers' representatives should be:

? Consulted when major new safety and health measures are envisaged and before they are carried out, and seek to obtain the support of the workers for such measures.

? Consulted in planning alterations of work processes, work content or organization of work, which may have safety or health implications for the workers.”

Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164)??

The mechanism of employee’s consultation and involvement as per Health and Safety Executive HSE can be done through two ways:

Consulting directly with employees such as: One-to-one discussions, special workforce meetings, toolbox talks, work groups tackle specific issues etc.?

Consulting indirectly with employees such as staff surveys, employee suggestion schemes notice boards and newsletters etc.

The role of employee’s consultation and involvement is clear also in ISO 45001:2018 Clause 5.4 Consultation and participation of workers as following:

“The organization shall establish, implement and maintain a process(es) for consultation and participation of workers at all applicable levels and functions, and, where they exist, workers’ representatives, in the development, planning, implementation, performance evaluation and actions for improvement of the OH&S management system.

The organization shall:

a) provide mechanisms, time, training and resources necessary for consultation and participation;

b) provide timely access to clear, understandable and relevant information about the OH&S management system;

c) determine and remove obstacles or barriers to participation and minimize those that cannot be removed; or penalize worker participation.

d) emphasize the consultation of non-managerial workers”?

The ISO standard explained how to emphasize the consultation of non-managerial workers in detailed points such as determining the needs and expectations of interested parties (stakeholders), establishing OH&S policy, assigning organizational roles and responsibilities, compliance with legal requirement, setting objectives and planning to achieve them, determining applicable controls for outsourcing, procurement and contractors determining monitoring, measured and evaluated planning, establishing, implementing and maintaining an audit program, ensuring continual improvement etc.

Some companies focus on employees consulting and involvement and achieve many benefits through different programs such as committee meetings, behavior-based safety (BBS) etc. some programs can fit all companies such as toolbox talk, and some may be more suitable to large business organization such as regular walkabouts but at the end regardless the selected programs the employer has a legal requirement to have employees consulting and involvement in place, moreover it’s an international standard, business need, where employees consulting and involvement can provide the following benefits:?

Prevention of accidents by contribution of workers in capturing potential hazards and bring it to management attention to take the necessary actions against imminent dangers and any other danger threating the health and safety at workplace.

Involving employees in health and safety consultation programs educates and motivates them to cooperate in the promotion of health and safety at workplace.

Receiving Ideas and experiences from employees as useful contribution to safety improvement.

Involving employees increases the ownership?

Cooperation between employee and employer to improve working condition in an (equal partnership) International Diploma for Occupational health and safety management professional book

Based on the above legal requirement, international standards: ILO conventions and recommendations C155 and R164 respectively, ISO 45001:2018 standard in addition to Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the employees consulting and involvement is one of the most important success factor for any organization to implement and maintain effective health and safety management system.

References:

Involving your workforce in health and safety (HSG263)

hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/hsg263.pdf

Worker involvement regulations 1996 and Worker involvement regulations 1977

hse.gov.uk/involvement/prepare/law/1996.htm

International Labor Organization (ILO) Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 1981 (No. 164)??

International Labor Organization (ILO) Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)

ISO 45001:2018 Clause 5.4

International Diploma for Occupational health and safety management professional book