Occupational, Health and Safety Act, 1993

Section 1: Definitions

This section clarifies the specific legal meanings of terms used throughout the Act, ensuring there is no ambiguity around words like "employer," "employee," "hazard," "workplace," and "reasonably practicable."


Section 7: Health and Safety Policy

Requires that certain employers (usually directed by the Chief Inspector) prepare a written policy concerning the protection of the health and safety of their employees, and dictates that this policy must be prominently displayed in the workplace.


Section 8: General Duties of Employers to their Employees

The cornerstone of the Act. It dictates that employers must provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of their employees. This includes providing proper training, safe equipment, and hazard mitigation.


Section 9: General Duties of Employers to Persons Other Than Their Employees

Ensures that an employer's operations do not expose the general public, visitors, contractors, or non-employees to health and safety hazards.


Section 13: Duty to Inform

Mandates that employers must ensure every employee is fully informed of the specific hazards attached to their work, the risks associated with the machinery or substances they use, and the specific precautionary measures that must be taken.


Section 14: General Duties of Employees at Work

Outlines that safety is a two-way street. It outlines the employee's legal responsibility to take reasonable care for their own health and safety (and that of others), to cooperate fully with the employer's safety rules, and to promptly report any unsafe conditions or incidents.


Section 15: Duty Not to Interfere With, Damage or Misuse Things

A strict prohibition stating that no person shall intentionally or recklessly interfere with, damage, or misuse anything that is provided in the interest of health and safety (such as fire extinguishers, safety guards, or PPE).


Section 16: Chief Executive Officer Charged with Certain Duties

Holds the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) legally and personally responsible for ensuring that the employer's duties regarding occupational health and safety are properly discharged and implemented across the organization.


Section 17: Health and Safety Representatives

Requires the appointment of designated Health and Safety Representatives in every workplace where more than 20 employees are employed. It outlines how they are designated and how many are required based on the workforce size.


Section 18: Functions of Health and Safety Representatives

Outlines the specific powers and duties of the appointed representatives, which include inspecting the workplace, identifying potential hazards, investigating employee complaints regarding safety, and making representations to the employer.


Section 19: Health and Safety Committees

Requires the establishment of a formal Health and Safety Committee in any workplace where two or more H&S Representatives have been appointed. The committee must meet regularly to initiate, develop, and promote health and safety measures.


Section 24: Report to Inspector Regarding Certain Incidents

Dictates the strict legal procedure for reporting serious workplace incidents. It mandates that any incident resulting in major injury, unconsciousness, loss of a limb, or death must be reported immediately to a provincial inspector.

Sections 2: The Advisory Council

These sections establish the Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety. They outline how the council is constituted and its primary function, which is to advise the Minister on matters relating to occupational health and safety policy.



Section 10: General Duties of Manufacturers and Others

Places a legal obligation on anyone who designs, manufactures, imports, sells, or supplies any article or substance for use at work. They must ensure that the product is safe and without risks to health when it is used properly, and they must provide sufficient safety information.



Sections 11 and 12: Listed Work

Gives the Minister the power to declare certain high-risk activities as "listed work." Section 12 mandates that employers must take specific, stringent precautions and implement occupational hygiene programs if their employees perform any of this listed work.


Section 20: Functions of Health and Safety Committees

Expands on Section 19 by detailing exactly what the H&S Committee must do. This includes making recommendations to the employer, keeping records of safety recommendations, and formally discussing any workplace incidents that resulted in injury or illness.


Section 22: Sale of Certain Articles Prohibited

A strict rule stating that no person may sell or market any plant, machinery, or health and safety equipment that does not comply with the strict safety requirements prescribed by the Act.


Section 23: Certain Deductions Prohibited

Protects the employee financially. It explicitly forbids employers from deducting money from an employee’s pay, or requiring an employee to pay, for anything the employer is legally required to provide in the interest of health and safety (such as Personal Protective Equipment or safety training).


Section 25: Report Regarding Occupational Disease

Requires that if a medical practitioner diagnoses an employee with a disease recognized as an occupational disease (or one resulting from workplace exposure), they must report it to the employer and the Chief Inspector. The employer must then also report it.


Section 26: Victimization Forbidden

Provides strict whistleblower protection. An employer is legally prohibited from firing, demoting, or reducing the pay of an employee simply because the employee complied with the Act, reported a hazard, or gave evidence to an inspector.


Sections 29 and 30: Functions and Special Powers of Inspectors

Outlines the broad authority of provincial safety inspectors. Inspectors have the right to enter any workplace without notice, question individuals, demand documentation, and issue "Prohibition Notices" (stopping work immediately) or "Contravention Notices" (demanding a fix within a timeframe) if they find unsafe conditions.


Sections 31 and 32: Investigations and Formal Inquiries

Details how incidents are investigated. An inspector may conduct a standard investigation into an incident. For severe cases, the Chief Inspector may direct a "Formal Inquiry," which operates similarly to a court hearing where witnesses are subpoenaed and cross-examined.


Section 37: Acts or Omissions by Employees or Mandataries

A very critical legal section regarding "vicarious liability." It states that an employer can be held legally and criminally responsible for the unsafe acts of their employees or contractors (mandataries) unless the employer can prove they took all reasonable steps to prevent those acts. (This is why "Section 37(2) agreements" with contractors are standard in South Africa).


Section 38: Offences, Penalties and Special Orders of Court

Spells out the criminal consequences of breaking the law. It lists what constitutes an offence under the Act and outlines the potential penalties, which can include hefty fines or imprisonment for employers or individuals who fail to comply.


Section 43: Regulations

Empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to make and publish specific, detailed regulations under the Act (such as the Construction Regulations, General Machinery Regulations, or Ergonomics Regulations) which carry the same legal weight as the Act itself.

Section 21: General Prohibitions

Grants the Minister the authority to declare specific activities, processes, or the use of certain materials as strictly prohibited if they pose an unacceptable threat to the health and safety of workers or the public.


Sections 27 and 28: Designation of Inspectors

These sections deal with the official appointment of the Chief Inspector and provincial inspectors by the Minister, formally giving them the authority to enforce the Act.


Sections 33 and 34: Joint Inquiries and Obstruction

Section 33 allows for joint inquiries if an incident involves multiple departments or laws. Section 34 makes it a criminal offence to hinder, obstruct, deceive, or fail to assist a health and safety inspector who is carrying out their official duties.


Section 35: Appeal Against Decision of Inspector

Provides a legal recourse for employers or individuals. If an inspector issues a notice (like a prohibition to stop working) or makes a decision that an employer disagrees with, this section outlines the formal process to appeal that decision to the Chief Inspector, and eventually, the Labour Court.


Section 36: Disclosure of Information

Ensures confidentiality. It prohibits inspectors or any other persons involved in administering the Act from disclosing any sensitive business, financial, or manufacturing secrets they may have learned while doing their inspections, unless required to do so by a court of law.


Section 39: Proof of Certain Facts

A legal provision for court proceedings. It establishes certain legal presumptions (e.g., if a person was found on the premises, it is presumed they were an employee unless proven otherwise) to streamline the prosecution of health and safety offences.


Section 40: Exemptions

Allows the Minister, under very specific and controlled conditions, to grant an employer or a category of employers a formal exemption from certain provisions of the Act or its regulations, provided that the overall safety of employees is not compromised.


Section 41: This Act Not Affected by Agreements

A crucial legal safeguard. It states that an employer and an employee cannot sign a private contract or agreement that tries to bypass, wave, or lessen the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Any such contract is legally void.


Section 42: Delegation and Assignment of Functions

Allows the Minister, the Director-General, or the Chief Inspector to delegate certain administrative duties and powers to other qualified officials within the Department.


Section 44: Incorporation of Health and Safety Standards

Allows the Minister to officially incorporate existing, recognized health and safety standards (such as SANS codes or international ISO standards) directly into the regulations, giving those standards the full force of the law.


Sections 45 to 50: Closing Administrative Provisions

These final sections handle the technicalities of the law. They dictate how legal notices must be served (Section 45), confirm that Magistrate's Courts have jurisdiction over OHS offences (Section 46), establish that the State as an employer is also bound by this Act (Section 47), and outline the repeal of older laws and the official title of the Act (Sections 48-50).

INTRODUCTION MODULE

The OHS Act as Prevention Law

An electrician enters a pit on a client’s premises to repair a submersible pump. He is not the client’s employee. He works for a subcontractor. Something goes wrong. He is exposed to hazardous conditions and dies.

The client’s defence is predictable: “He was not our employee.”

But the legal question is sharper: Did the company’s workplace, activity or control expose another person to risk — and were reasonable steps taken to prevent that harm?

This is the kind of question that arose in Joubert v Buscor Proprietary Limited, where the death of a contractor’s employee raised issues around workplace duties, third-party exposure, and the reach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act is not only about employees. It is about risk created by work.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 is South Africa’s main workplace health and safety law. Its purpose is not complicated. It requires employers to protect employees at work, and to protect other persons who may be affected by workplace activities.

• Contractors.


• Visitors.


• Members of the public.


• And anyone exposed to risk because of the organisation’s operations.

So the Act is not merely an internal safety document. It is a legal control system.

The Act asks one central question: Was the risk controlled before harm occurred?

Most serious incidents do not begin at the moment of injury. They begin earlier.

• A hazard was not identified.


• A risk assessment was too generic.


• A contractor was not properly controlled.


• A permit was signed without verification.


• A supervisor assumed the work was safe.


• A procedure existed — but the work was done differently.

That is why the OHS Act must be understood as prevention law. It is not designed only to investigate harm after the event. It is designed to force organisations to identify risk, control risk, and prove that reasonable steps were taken before harm occurs.

Many organisations confuse documentation with compliance. They have policies. They have registers. They have appointment letters. They have procedures. They have training records.

But documents only show intention. They do not prove that risk is controlled.

For an auditor, the real question is not: “Does the document exist?” The real question is: “Does the control work in practice?”

Compliance is not paper. Compliance is control.

This training is designed to develop OHS legal auditors. That means the focus is not only on knowing the Act. The focus is on applying the Act to real workplace conditions.

An auditor must be able to ask:

• Who had the legal duty?


• Who had control?


• What risk was created?


• Was the risk foreseeable?


• Were the controls suitable?


• Were the controls implemented?


• Was supervision effective?


• Was the contractor managed?


• Can the organisation prove reasonable steps?

These questions determine whether the organisation is legally exposed.

The OHS Act works through this chain

First, there is a duty. Then there is a risk. Then there must be a control. Then there must be evidence that the control was implemented and effective. And if that chain breaks, accountability follows.

This course follows that chain. We start with the structure of the Act. Then we deal with definitions and scope. Then we move to the employer’s general duty under Section 8.

Section 8 is the backbone of the Act. It requires the employer to provide and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to health.

But Section 8 does not operate alone. It connects to legal appointments.

• Health and safety representatives.


• Incident reporting.


• Contractor liability.


• Regulations.


• Machinery.


• Chemicals.


• Construction work.


• Emergency preparedness.


• Medical surveillance.


• And audit reporting.

This is why the course is not built as a checklist. It is built as a legal audit pathway. This is not training to remember the Act. This is training to audit the Act.

A legal auditor must move between three worlds.

• The legal world.


• The operational world.


• The evidence world.

The legal world tells us what must be achieved. The operational world shows us what is actually happening. The evidence world proves whether compliance exists.

If one of these is missing, the audit is weak.

Auditor Scenario

A contractor is working inside a confined space. The file contains:

• A risk assessment.


• A permit.


• A contractor agreement.


• A procedure.


• A training record.

On paper, the work looks controlled. But on site, the auditor finds:

• No atmospheric test record.


• No standby person.


• No rescue arrangement.


• No evidence that the supervisor checked the controls before entry.

The finding is not that a document is missing. The finding is that the organisation cannot prove control of a foreseeable high-risk activity.

That is the difference between administration and legal auditing. The auditor does not audit intention. The auditor audits control.

By the end of this programme, the learner must be able to:

• Interpret the OHS Act correctly.


• Identify duty holders.


• Apply the test of reasonably practicable.


• Evaluate whether risks are controlled in practice.


• Assess legal appointments and accountability.


• Test contractor control.


• Verify compliance with applicable regulations.


• Evaluate incident reporting and investigation.


• Write findings that are legally referenced, evidence-based and defensible.

The standard is simple:

If the risk is not controlled, compliance has not been achieved. If the control cannot be proven, the finding cannot be defended.

The OHS Act is not a passive document. It is a legal system for preventing harm. It requires organisations to know their risks, control their risks, and prove that they acted before people were injured.

That is the mindset of this course. Not paperwork. Not assumptions. Not box-ticking. Legal control. Practical evidence. Accountability.

Welcome to the OHS Legal Auditor Training Programme.

Module 1 begins with the legal framework and structure of the Act.