Employers with outdoor workers or involved in industries like mining must identify potential emergency situations caused by severe weather or natural disasters, and should conduct seasonal risk assessments based on weather forecasts and local events, according to a WHS regulator.
A business operator who failed to instruct workers on how to self-manage their work capacity in hot conditions has been fined over the heat stress death of a backpacker employee. Meanwhile, a company and one of its directors have been fined for failing to comply with or display a forklift-related prohibition notice.
In a timely study for Australian workplaces, with summer approaching, US researchers have found providing electrolyte beverages to those working in hot and humid conditions can prevent muscle damage and associated complications.
Employers have a WHS obligation to allow workers access to toilet and drinking facilities and cannot restrict such access to scheduled breaks, the Federal Court has confirmed in finding a major employer misled young workers on this issue in a Facebook post.
An employer unlawfully discriminated against an older worker in refusing to engage him for work in a hot environment, with its manager likening the proposed labour-hire arrangement to sending "your dad or granddad" into high-risk conditions, a court has found.
In a timely study, with bushfires continuing to burn across many parts of Australia, researchers have identified a method of stabilising core temperatures among firefighters to prevent heat-related illnesses, which can be applied to other hot jobs.
Australian guidance dealing with heat stroke in the workplace is missing the "gold standard" treatment, with potentially alarming implications for the health of workers, according to a workplace heat stress expert.
Safe Work Australia members have agreed to start transitioning to a new chemical safety system within six months, while SWA has released a practical guide to managing ultraviolet radiation risks and a 60-page workers' comp report, and a WHS regulator has outlined safety duties relating to poor air quality.
