As a PCBU, you have a responsibility to keep people safe in the workplace.
This includes workers while they are at work (including employees, contractors and volunteers) and others (e.g. visitors or customers) at your workplace.
You must do this ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’.
Managing risks to health and safety
You must always aim to eliminate the health and safety risks if you reasonably can. If you are not able to eliminate a risk, you must minimise the risk as much as you reasonably can.
This includes the risk of COVID-19.
Given the nature of COVID-19 and how easily it can spread between people, in most cases it will not be reasonable to eliminate the risk of exposure altogether.
If it is not reasonable for you to eliminate the risk, you must implement control measures to minimise the risk as much as you reasonably can.
In many cases, the risk of COVID-19 can be managed with simple control measures, such as good hygiene, regular cleaning, adequate physical distancing, adequate ventilation and encouraging workers to stay home when unwell. However, what you need to do will depend on your circumstances - including the type of workplace, work activities, and whether people are at higher risk of harm from COVID-19.
Working through the risk management process can help you to assess the risks at your workplace and work out what control measures to implement.
For more information, see Managing risks and Control measures for COVID-19.
Duty to maintain the workplace and facilities
You must ensure the work environment does not put the health and safety of workers and others at risk.
Maintain a safe work environment by, for example:
- cleaning the workplace regularly and thoroughly
- ensuring the layout of the workplace allows people to maintain physical distancing (e.g. space between workstations, and between customers in a queue), and
- monitoring the number of people in the workplace (e.g. prevent overcrowding).
You must also provide adequate and accessible facilities for workers, including toilets, drinking water, and facilities for washing and eating. These must be clean and in good working order.
For example, clean washroom facilities stocked with supplies of soap and hand drying facilities so workers can practice good hygiene. Make sure you provide hand sanitiser where it is not possible for workers to wash their hands.
Duty to provide information, training, instruction and supervision
Make sure you provide workers with the information or training they need to protect them from the risk of exposure to COVID-19 arising from their work.
For example, this might cover:
- good hygiene, including how to properly wash hands
- how to fit and use personal protective equipment (PPE)
- how to clean work areas and equipment, and
- information on the importance of staying home if they are unwell.
For more information, see Training and supporting your workers to stay safe at work.
Duty to consult
You must consult with workers, and any Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs - workers who are elected to represent the health and safety interests of workers), on health and safety matters that may affect them.
Share information with them and give them the opportunity to express their views and raise any concerns with you.
Workers can help you to identify tasks or parts of their job that might expose them to COVID-19 and have suggestions for how to manage the risks.
Make sure you also consult, coordinate and cooperate with other duty holders (if you share a duty for the same workers or workplace). For example, if you share common areas or facilities with another business, consult with them to make sure it is regularly cleaned and maintained.
For more information, see our Consultation page.
Worker duties
Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and not do anything which could cause harm to others at work. Workers must comply with any reasonable health and safety instructions, and cooperate with reasonable policies or procedures (so far as they are able). For example, practising good hygiene and staying home when unwell.
If you provide PPE to workers, they must use/wear it properly (following the information, instruction and training you provide).
Duties of other persons
Other people (like visitors and customers) must also take reasonable care for their own health and safety and not do anything to cause harm to other people at the workplace. They must follow any reasonable instructions you give, so that you can comply with your WHS duties.