Articles

Navigating the complex landscape of Health and Safety (H&S) in New Zealand isn’t just a matter of “doing the right thing”—it’s about managing a rigorous legal framework that demands precision. For businesses in Auckland and across the country, the cost of a misstep often far outweighs the investment in professional guidance. It is easy and expensive to get it wrong. The documents are long and technical. Therefore, seeking specialist advice is crucial for ensuring health and safety performance and compliance for businesses in Auckland and throughout NZ.. Naturally we recommend the Winsland team.

There is a common misconception among small business owners (SMEs) that Health and Safety (H&S) is a “big company problem.” Many believe that with fewer employees and less complex operations, the risks are negligible. However, the reality in New Zealand tells a different story. Whether you are a retail shop, a small construction company, or a family-owned workshop, Health and Safety is not just a legal obligation—it is a critical factor in business survival.

Targeting health and safety spend so it is effective (optimises safety and ensures compliance) and strategic (enhances the business). Understanding health and safety cost is essential for organisations aiming to make informed decisions. At face value, implementing safety measures, training, equipment, and maintaining compliance do drive direct costs that impact the bottom line. So targeting health and safety spending is critical to the success of a business. Only spending on safety after an incident occurs (e.g., legal fees, compensation, fines) is often far more expensive than proactive prevention.

Understanding why people take risks gives a clue to how to reduce risk taking behaviours. Here’s a starter; Complacency: Repeatedly performing a dangerous task without a negative consequence leads the brain to recalibrate “danger” as “normal.” Competing Priorities: Individuals often prioritise efficiency, production pressure, or social pressure (looking “uncool”) over safety. Cognitive Shortcuts: If a risk hasn’t resulted in a recent accident, people assume the risk is low or non-existent, especially if the risky action provides a “positive feeling” like speed or job satisfaction. Ignorance: A simple lack of knowledge, skills, or mentoring prevents people from knowing how to perform…

What makes a good SSSP? SSSP need to reflect the specific site – that’s why there are 3 “S’s”. Too many contractors roll out the same material for every site. It’s ok to use a standard risk register as a baseline but remove what is irrelevant. Reviewers don’t appreciate reading through things that don’t apply. And ensure the site-specific risks are both included and appropriately worded in the risk register. Further, ensure the risks / hazards advised by the main contractor are included. Same with Safe Work Procedures – ensure they describe the work accurately. Ensuring workers are competent is…

We smile when we see a sign claiming, “Our HSE policy is common sense.” Then, we grimace. Are these organizations brave, or simply ignorant? While individuals bear the primary responsibility for their own safety, they do not carry that burden alone. Businesses that adopt a “common sense” policy make a fundamental mistake: they assume everyone possesses an equal measure of it. This policy functions perfectly until someone leaves their judgment at the gate and a serious accident occurs. An accident is a brutal, expensive lesson—a risk no responsible business should take. The Illusion of Low-Risk Environments Even office-based organizations—where the…

Psycho social harm typically refers to harm arising from things such as the organisation of work and the work environment, which may cause harm or distress and thus a threat to health and safety. It features issues such as bullying, harassment or conflict, employee performance and even remuneration – all issues typically handled by HR. In our view, that is where they belong. That’s ok if you are a large company – but that is not 90% + of NZ businesses. SME are reliant on expert advice from organisations such as Winsland. Psychosocial harm is the latest trend in H&S…

The reality for many businesses is they can’t afford health and safety support so they do it themselves on a best endevours basis. What we recommend is you look at the following – and record it somewhere as you may need to demonstrate you have done it. Identify and document your critical risks Maybe do this with your workers to get their views. The key question are ~ what is it that could be fatal or cause long term incapacity? ~ might this reasonably occur in the next 20 years? You don’t want to have more than 5 – if…

There are two aspects that small business should understand – critical risk and approved codes of practice (ACOPs). The change is essentially that small business does not need to worry about risks that are not critical. This means they need to be clear on what is “Critical”. Following an ACOP will be evidence of compliance. However, ACOP are non-binding and you can achieve compliance through other means. Bottom line business needs to know and apply all of the ACOP relevant to their operations.