CHAPTER 9: EMPLOYEE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Course Name: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Course Code: DIB 2253 / DHR 1323 / DBM 1233

DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS (DIB)

DIPLOMA IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (DHRM)
DIPLOMA IN MASS COMMUNICATION (DMC)

Lecturer: MISS NITA YUSNEE MOHAMAD IDRIS

 IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK
Aware about the surroundings
* It is important to observe your working circumstances.
* Once you get to know about the particular hazards that occur at your workplace,
it will help you in reducing the risk and allow you to take the precautionary steps.

Reduce workplace stress

* Most employees are not fit and healthy because of their busy schedule - long
working hours, work pressure and conflicts occur with co-workers or with the
boss - can lead to some illness or depression to the employees.
* Start take care of your health by taking regular breaks, sit in an appropriate
posture; schedule your work and manage things to reduce workplace stress.

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Use tools appropriately
* Take appropriate precautions while using machinery or any other tool.
* Always use the correct tools and reduce the opportunity of workplace injury.

Update your supervisor about the unsafe conditions

* It is important that you keep updating your supervisor about the hazards or
risks occur at workplace.
* They should be legally obligated to ensure that their employees are working a
safe environment or not.
* If the employees are not working in safe conditions, it is the responsibility of the
supervisor to understand their condition and create safe working environment.

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Use mechanical assistance
* Whenever you want to carry or lift up some heavy equipment you should use a
conveyor belt, crank or forklift.
* There are lot of risks involved, if you try to lift something which is heavier, it can
affect your weighing capability and can lead to some muscle displacement.

Stay alert
* There are many employees who usually compromise or ignore the alerts of
advance warning and due to this, a number of workplace injuries or fatalities
occur.

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 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994 (OSHA)

* The Occupational Safety and Health Act is an Act which provides the legislative
framework to secure the safety, health and welfare among all Malaysian
workforce and to protect others against risks to safety or health in connection
with the activities of persons at work.
* This Act was gazetted on 24 February 1994 and may be cited as the Occupational
Safety and Health Act 1994 - a practical tool superimposed on existing safety and
health legislation.
* Objective:
* to promote safety and health awareness and establish effective safety
organization and performance through self-regulation schemes designed to
suit the particular industry or organization.

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYERS AND SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS

Section 15, OSHA 1994 - general duties of employers and self-employed persons.
* It shall be the duty of every employer and every self-employed person to ensure
the safety, health and welfare at work of all his employees.

* The provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work that are, so far
as is practicable, safe and without risks to health
* The making of arrangements for ensuring safety and absence of risks to
health in connection with the use or operation, handling, storage and transport
of plant and substances.
* The provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is
necessary to ensure the safety and health at work of his employees.

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* So far as is practicable, as regards any place of work under the control of the
employer or self-employed person, the maintenance of it in a condition that is
safe and without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of the
means of access to and egress from it that are safe and without such risks.
* The provision and maintenance of a working environment for his employees
that is, so far as is practicable, safe, without risks to health, and adequate as
regards facilities for their welfare at work.

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ARE MALAYSIAN EMPLOYERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EMPLOYEE
SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE?

* Yes, companies have to ensure their workers’ safety and health.

* Section 16 OSHA 1994: it is a duty of the employer (or a self-employed person)
to prepare a safety and health policy - also update it as often as necessary.
* A failure to have a safety and health policy would result in a fine on your
employer.
* Section 19 OSHA 1994: a person who contravenes the provisions of section 15,
16, 17 or 18 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not
exceeding RM50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or
both.

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* Aside from having a safety and health policy, the employer must also establish a
safety and health committee at your working place if he has 40 or more
employees at the same working place or if the Director General of Occupational
Safety and Health directs your employer to set up such a committee.
* Section 17 OSHA 1994: duty to formulate safety and health policy - general
duties of employers and self-employed persons to persons other than their
employees; duties of an occupier of a place of work to persons other than his
employees.
* Ensuring other persons are not exposed to risk from activities at the work place.
* Disseminating information on aspects of work activities that could affect safety
and health of others.

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 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF EMPLOYEES

* Take reasonable care at work for the safety of yourself and other persons.
* Cooperate with your employer or any other person in the discharge of any duty,
under the Act or Regulations.
* Wear or use at all times any protective equipment and clothing provided by your
employer for the purpose of preventing risks to your safety and health.
* To be aware of the penalty if the employee contravene this provision of the Act,
he shall be guilty of an offence and shall.
* To ensure the employee would not intentionally, recklessly or negligently
interferes with or misuses anything provided or done in the interests of safety,
health and welfare in pursuance of the Act.

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* If the employee contravenes this provision of the Act, he shall be guilty of an
offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
* If the employee intentionally, recklessly or negligently interferes with or
misuses anything provided or done in the interests of safety, health and welfare
in pursuance of the Act, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction,
be liable to a fine not exceeding RM20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 2 years or to both.

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 ACCIDENT AT WORK

* Accident is defined as an unplanned and uncontrolled event in which the action or

reaction of an object, substance, person or radiation results in personal injury or
the probability thereof.
* It is as an unintended or unplanned happening that may or may not result in
property damage, personal injury, work process stoppage or interference, or any
combination of these conditions under such circumstances that personal injury
might have resulted.
* An accident is regarded as a particular type of incident in which an injury or
illness occurs.
* Accidents at work are regarded from the perspective of compensating the victim.

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 FACTORS THAT CAN CAUSE ACCIDENT AT WORK

Taking shortcuts
* When workers take shortcuts at work especially when they are working around
dangerous machinery or lethal chemicals, they are exposing themselves to a
potential catastrophe. Often times when we think we are saving time, we have to
be careful that we aren’t jeopardizing our health or the health of employees.

Neglecting safety procedures

* Ignoring safety procedures, intentionally or unintentionally, can endanger you or
other employees. Deliberately neglecting set safety procedures in the workplace
doesn’t just endanger yourself but it endangers the workers around you as well
as the company as a whole.

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Mental distractions
* Bringing outside problems to work can keep you from focusing on your job, if
this happens, it can be a hazard.
* Workers cannot let mental distractions from their personal lives affect their
performance at work.
* Not only will they become less aware of their surroundings and less safe but
also become less productive, costing the company time and money.

Lack of preparation
* When workers begin a task without thinking through the process beforehand or
hastily start without any type of planning, they are setting themselves up for
failure. Make sure you plan your work, then work your plan.

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Fatigue and stress
* If someone is pushed or pushes himself beyond reasonable limits to stay on top
of workload, the results are physical and mental exhaustion.
* This translates to impaired judgment, slower reflexes in operating machinery or
motor vehicles, a delayed response to emergency situations and inattention to
details and instructions.
* Job security, finances, health issues and anxiety about personal relationships all
factor into the stress equation.
* When an employee's mind is too distracted by real or perceived threats, he is
more likely to make mistakes that could cause injury and invites an increased
risk of a heart attack, stroke or hypertension.

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Slips and trips
* Office kitchens and break rooms are common places for slips to occur because
of the number of liquids that get splashed there and are subsequently not cleaned
up.
* Linoleum, hardwood and tile flooring surfaces are hazardous after they have been
mopped or waxed.
* Items left sitting out in a high-traffic corridor, extension cords that are not
properly taped down and carpeting that has come loose all are contributors to
tripping employees and sometimes causing more than just stubbed toes.
* Poorly lit hallways and stairs are danger spots because they obscure the ability
to see what is underfoot.

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Starting a job with incomplete instructions
* To do a job safely and to do it right the first time, we need a complete set of
instructions.
* We’ve all seen situations where an employee made a mess of a task or
assignment because he didn’t have sufficient instructions or the instructions
weren’t clear.
* When you are working on a job, don’t ever be afraid to ask questions or get
explanations for what is unclear to you.

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EXAMPLES OF UNSAFE WORK SITUATION

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 HOW TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AT WORK?
Put formal safety policies and procedures in place
* Create a handbook that lists the steps that must take place to prevent accidents in
the work place. Include instructions such as how to store dangerous and toxic
items and where certain product should be stored to ensure safe storage and
retrieval.

Put someone in charge of safety in your company

* Discuss the current safety policies with this safety coordinator, and work on a plan
to make sure that they are adhered to. Confirm that the person is aware of all the
responsibilities associated with safety. Express your support to this person and
arrange to meet on a regular basis to discuss concerns about and solutions to
further accident prevention.

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Inspect your facility regularly with your safety coordinator
* Check areas that are of concern and ensure that precautions have been met. If
you see an area that is cause for concern, discuss it with the person responsible
and then arrange a meeting with all the staff to further communicate the concern
and ensure that it does not happen again

Have the right tools available so you or employees don't have to improvise
* Asking your employees to improvise pretty much says that you don't take safety
seriously. For example, if you have a storage area that includes high shelving,
ensure that you have a safe ladder or step-stool available so that you or your
staff members are not forced to climb on boxes of furniture to retrieve items.

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Be prepared for a fire in your workplace
* Ensure that your workplace is properly protected against the possibility of a fire to
cut down on accidents; make sure smoke detectors are installed and have batteries;
fire extinguishers are present and properly charged. Ask your fire department, if
necessary, to give you training on how to use a fire extinguisher; Plan your escape
routes. Know where your nearest exits are and how employees can access them
quickest.

Investing in first-aid training or, at the very least, a first aid kit
* First-aid training won't keep the accident from happening in the first place but it
could help keep any injuries incurred during an accident from getting out of control.
Invest in a first-aid kit for each floor of your workplace. Place it in a strategically
central location that is easily accessible.

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Create incident reports after each workplace accident
* If an accident occurs in your workplace, write up an incident report. Investigate
what happened, who was involved, how the accident might have been prevented,
and recommendation for further procedures. At the very least, an incident report
will foster awareness and possibly act as a deterrent for future accidents.

Make sure your workplace entrances and exits are fully operational and easily
accessible
* If your employees need to get out of the building quickly, make sure that their
exits aren't blocked by any large or unmovable objects. This is more than just a
workplace violation: this is a potential life or death matter.

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Examples of Safety Hazard Warning Signs Found in Most Industries and Organization

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 REFERENCES
• Gary Dessler (2019). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 5th Edition.
Pearson.
• Gary Dessler (2017). Human Resource Management, 15th Edition. Pearson.
• Maimunah Aminuddin (2014). Human Resource Management: Principles and Practices,
3rd Edition. Oxford Fajar.
• https://www.dosh.gov.my/index.php/legislation/guidelines/general/597-04-guidelines-on-
occupational-safety-and-health-management-systems-oshms/file
• https://people.utm.my/shamsul/files/2018/11/Chapter-1-OSH_legislations-in-Malaysia.pdf
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g
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