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Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002)

Notices

Consolidated COVID-19 Direction on Occupational Health and Safety measures in certain workplaces

1 - 11. Preamble

 

1. On 17 March 2020, the Department of Employment and Labour issued guidelines for employers to deal with COVID-19 at workplaces.1 The Department of Employment and Labour appealed to employers to use the prescriptions of the OHSA in particular the Hazardous Biological Agents Regulations governing workplaces in relation to Coronavirus Disease 2019 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

 

2. In the period since the issuing of the guidelines, a clearer picture has emerged about COVID-19 and the nature of the hazard and risk in the workplace and the precautions that should be taken to minimise the risk.  The purpose the these directions is to stipulate measures that must be taken by employers in order to protect the health and safety of workers and members of the public who enter their workplaces or are exposed to their working activities.

 

3. On 29 April 2020 the Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs published Regulations in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No. 57 of 2002) as amended by the Regulations published on 28 May 2020 in terms of which every employer permitted to commence operations must adopt the measures contained in the Regulations.

 

4. These directions give effect to those Regulations and seek to ensure that the measures taken by employers under OHSA are consistent with the overall national strategies and policies to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

 

5. The OHSA, read with its regulations and incorporated standards, requires the employer to provide and maintain as far as reasonably practicable a working environment that is safe and without risks to the health of workers and to take such steps as may be reasonably practicable to eliminate or mitigate the hazard or potential hazard.

 

6. The OHSA further requires employers, to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that all persons who may be directly affected by their activities (such as customers, clients or contractors and their workers who enter their workplace or come into contact with their employees) are not exposed to hazards to their health or safety.  This obligation also applies to self-employed persons (for example, plumbers or electricians) whose working activities bring them into contact with members of the public.

 

7. For the purposes of OHSA in the workplaces to which this Directions applies, the identifiable hazard relating to COVID-19 is that workers face is the virus transmission by an infected person to workers in the workplace.  In workplaces to which the public has access, the hazard includes transmission of the virus by members of the public.  Each situation requires special measures to be implemented by employers in order to prevent the transmission of the virus.

 

8. Although OHSA requires employers to review and update risk assessments on a regular basis, the new hazard posed by COVID-19 is clearly identifiable and the basic measures to eliminate or minimise the risk are now well known 2.  The object of conducting or updating a risk assessment in respect of COVID-19 is to provide specific focus on COVID-19 and adapt the measures required by this Direction to specific working environments taking into account the Risk Assessment Guides published online by the National Department of Health.

 

9. This Direction is based on infection transmission prevention and specific occupational hygiene practices that focus on the need for employers to implement measures to mitigate or eliminate the transmission of the virus in the workplace.

 

10. This Direction recognises that there are sector specific measures that need to be taken into account and accordingly provides for sector guidelines to supplement this Direction.

 

11. This Direction does not reduce the existing obligations of the employer in terms of OHSA nor prevent an employer from implementing measures that are more stringent in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

 

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1 http://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Publications/Occupational%20and%20Safety/COVID-19%20Guideline%20Mar2020.pdf
2 These basic measures may be further refined in the sector guidelines or in amendments to the direction as the science on the transmission of the disease progresses.