Workplace Law Assignment 2022

Running head: WORKPLACE LAW
WORKPLACE LAW
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1
WORKPLACE LAW
i. The Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1984 determines the duties of an
employer and employee.
Employer’s duty:
 The employer has to provide requisite health and safety information and adequate
training to the employee,
 Distribute the roles and responsibilities to the employers depending upon their skill,
 Provide requisite protective gear and equipment for the work,
 Take the opinion of the staff regarding workplace safety,
 Maintain a register to make an entry of all workplace injuries,
 Offer adequate damages to every worker who might face physical or mental injury
while working.
 Furthermore, an employer has to use adequate signs and labels in order to convey the
message regarding the required health and safety standard of equipment (Hardy,
2017).
Employee’s duty:
 The employee also has a duty of care to ensure the health and safety standard of a
workplace, such are;
 Work with attention to ensure own safety;
 Does not get involved with any act which might cause injury to the others;
 follow the instruction of the employer regarding health and safety guidelines and ask
for guidance; in case such instructions are not clear, ( Howe & Hardy, 2017).
 Employer is vicariously liable for act of the employee. (Sweeney -v- Boylan
Nominees Pty Limited)

2
WORKPLACE LAW
 Employers are in some cases liable for the act of independent contractor applying the
broad control test (Zujis v Wirth Bros)
 Follow guiding rules for wearing any safety equipment and take reasonable care of
the same, (Walpole, 2015).
 Report about incidents regarding an injury at the workplace to the employer and assist
them regarding the same.
Manufacturer duty:
The manufacturer has to provide defect-free products and also to ensure the quality of the
product they are producing. The strict liability of the manufacturer is not to make any good
which can cause loss or injury to the consumer's life and health (Armstrong, 2017)
Manager of a workplace:
The manager of a workplace is responsible for designing adequate unit planning and health
safety planning monitoring over the same as a supervisor to ensure that each person in the
company is following the WHS guidelines (Nwabueze, 2019).
The factors that are responsible to determine employer-employee relationships are
supervision of the employer or degree of control considering the ‘multi factor test’ over the
work of an employee. In the case of Stevens v. Brodribb Sawmilling, the court held that the
factors other than degree of control which determines employer employee relationship are,
the form of remuneration, the condition and maintenance of equipment, the compulsion to
work, the provision for holidays, the deduction of tax and the delegation of work, integration
of the service of the worker in the business of the employee, employer is providing the
employee with adequate materials requiring to ensure the safety of the worker, employer right
to take disciplinary action against the employee and terminate and so on. In the case of Hollis
v Vabu Pty Ltd, it has been held that application of MFT is not extensive.