How workers get a real say in health and safety — and what you must do when they ask
Every business must engage with workers and give them ways to participate in health and safety. Workers can ask for a Health and Safety Representative (HSR), and the business must run an election. An HSR or five or more workers can ask for a Health and Safety Committee, and the business must set one up. Since 2023, size is no longer a reason to refuse.
Every PCBU must engage with its workers on health and safety, and have practices that give workers ongoing, reasonable opportunities to take part — whatever the size, risk level or type of business.
The logic is simple: workers are closest to the work, so they often see risks first. HSRs and Health and Safety Committees are the two well-established, formal ways to make that participation real. Neither is automatically mandatory — but once workers ask for them, you must act.
An HSR is a worker, elected by their work group, who represents those workers on health and safety.
Any worker can request that the business initiate the election of an HSR, and the business must then run that election for the relevant work group. An HSR's role includes representing their work group, raising concerns with management, being consulted on health and safety matters, inspecting the workplace, and looking into issues workers raise. Once an HSR has completed training, they gain additional powers — including issuing a provisional improvement notice (PIN) and directing a worker to cease unsafe work in cases of serious and imminent risk. An HSR is not personally liable for things done in good faith in the role.
Trained HSRs are more effective, and the business carries the cost of that training.
Initial training means achieving New Zealand Qualifications Authority unit standard 29315, which covers the role and functions of an HSR. The business must pay the training fees and reasonable associated costs, and allow paid leave to attend — the maximum number of paid days is set by the regulations and scales with the number of workers. HSRs also have an annual training entitlement they can use for relevant additional training. Only HSRs who have completed the required training can exercise the additional powers such as issuing PINs.
A Health and Safety Committee brings workers and management together to develop and review health and safety policies and procedures.
If an HSR, or five or more workers, request a committee, the business must establish one as soon as practicable. The committee's job is to help the business and workers cooperate on health and safety, develop standards and procedures, and make recommendations. Importantly, if the committee makes a recommendation about health and safety, the business must either adopt it or give the committee a written explanation of why not. Committees are especially valuable on shared sites — like a construction project — where several businesses need to coordinate.
A 2023 law change removed the old exemption that let smaller businesses turn down these requests.
Previously, a business with fewer than 20 workers in a sector that was not prescribed as high-risk could decline a request for an HSR or a committee if it considered its existing practices adequate. From 13 June 2023 that exemption is gone: regardless of size or sector, if workers request an HSR you must initiate an election, and if an HSR or five or more workers request a committee you must establish one. HSRs and committees are still not mandatory by default — they are required when workers ask, or when the business sets them up on its own initiative.
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Not automatically. HSRs are not mandatory by default, but if any worker requests one, you must initiate an election. You must also always engage with workers and provide ways for them to participate in health and safety, regardless of size.
An HSR is a worker elected by their work group to represent them on health and safety. They do not need to be a health and safety expert — training builds that knowledge — but they represent and speak for their work group.
Yes. Initial HSR training is achieving NZQA unit standard 29315, and the business must pay the training fees and reasonable costs, and allow paid leave to attend. The maximum number of paid days is set by the regulations and scales with the number of workers.
If a Health and Safety Representative, or five or more workers, request a committee, you must establish one as soon as practicable. If the committee later makes a recommendation, you must adopt it or provide written reasons for not doing so.
No. Since 13 June 2023, the old exemption for businesses with fewer than 20 workers in non-high-risk sectors has been removed. Regardless of size or sector, you must act on a worker's request for an HSR or a committee.
