1.1 How Occupational Health and Safety Works in South Africa (Start Here)
Occupational health and safety (OSH) is the discipline of preventing work from injuring people or making them ill. In South Africa it rests mainly on the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (the OHS Act) and its regulations, enforced by the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL). Compensation for people who are hurt at work comes from a separate law, the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA), run by the Compensation Fund.
Why OSH matters
- People: every serious injury changes a worker’s life and their family’s income.
- Cost: lost time, damaged plant, higher Compensation Fund assessments and legal costs.
- Reputation and licence to operate: clients and tender panels ask for safety records, and an inspector can stop a machine or a whole site.
The basic logic
Every part of this course follows one cycle:
- Hazard – find what could cause harm (a moving blade, a solvent, a fall from a roof).
- Risk – judge how likely harm is and how serious it would be.
- Control – remove or reduce the risk, starting with the most effective measures.
- Review – check that controls work, and look again after any change or incident.
The Act defines a hazard as a source of or exposure to danger, and risk as the probability that injury or damage will occur.
“Reasonably practicable” in plain terms
The employer’s main duty is to provide a workplace that is safe and without risk to health as far as reasonably practicable. This does not mean “only if it is cheap”. The Act lists four factors to weigh:
| Factor | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Severity and scope of the hazard | How bad could it be, and how many people are exposed? |
| State of knowledge | What does the industry know about this hazard and its controls? |
| Availability and suitability of means | Is there a practical way to remove or reduce it? |
| Cost in relation to benefit | Is the cost grossly out of proportion to the risk reduction? |
The more serious the hazard, the more an employer is expected to spend on controlling it.
The cast
| Role | In one line |
|---|---|
| Employer | Provides and pays for the work; carries the main duties |
| Chief executive officer (CEO) | Personally responsible for seeing the employer’s duties are met |
| Assignee | A manager to whom the CEO assigns duties in writing |
| Employee | Must take care, co-operate and report hazards |
| Health and safety representative | An employee who inspects, raises concerns and joins the committee |
| Health and safety committee | Reps and employer nominees who make recommendations |
| Mandatary (contractor) | An agent, contractor or subcontractor working for the employer |
| Inspector | A DEL inspector who can enter, question and issue notices |
| Compensation Fund | Pays no-fault compensation for work injuries and diseases |
How figures are used in this course
Ratios, reporting periods, exposure limits, fines and assessment rates appear as 2026 examples of the law at the time, not as permanent rules. They change by regulation, Gazette notice or amendment, and several regulations were replaced in 2025 and 2026. Worked examples are labelled “(2026 figures, for illustration only)”. All changeable figures are collected in a dated reference table at the end of lesson 5.4. Before you act, check the current position through official channels.
Example: Lerato Dlamini has just been appointed SHE officer at a plastics injection-moulding factory in Gqeberha with 180 employees. In her first week she lists the main hazards (hot moulds, granulators, forklifts, noise), finds out who holds the CEO’s assigned safety duties, and asks when the committee last met. That map of hazards, people and duties is the starting point for this course.
Check before you act: Figures and time limits here are 2026 examples, not fixed rules, and are expected to change. Confirm the current position with the Department of Employment and Labour (labour.gov.za), the Government Gazette or a registered health and safety practitioner.
Key takeaway
OSH in South Africa is a cycle of finding hazards, judging risk, controlling it and reviewing, carried out by named people with legal duties, so far as reasonably practicable.
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