Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995)Codes of Good PracticeManaging Exposure to SARS-COV-2 in the Workplace, 2022Chapter 1 - Introductory Provisions1. Introduction |
| (1) | A national state of disaster to counter the magnitude and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak was declared on 15 March 2020 in terms of section 27(1) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No.57 of 2002). |
| (2) | On 29 April 2020 the Minister responsible for Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs published Regulations in terms of section 27(2) of that Act, which Regulations were amended to respond to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. Those Regulations included measures that applied to the workplace. |
| (3) | On 29 April 2020 the Minister responsible for Employment and Labour published a Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces in terms of regulation 4(10) of those Regulations, which amended and consolidated to respond to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. |
| (4) | On the expiry of the declaration of the national state of disaster, the Regulations and the Direction will cease to have legal effect. Because there remains an ongoing need to prevent and mitigate the risks associated with SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the workplace, it is necessary to incorporate those provisions in the Regulations and the Direction relevant to preventing and mitigating those risks. |
| (5) | The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993)(OHSA), read with its regulations and incorporated standards, requires the employer to provide and maintain as far as is reasonably practicable a working environment that is safe and without risks to the health of workers and to take such steps as may be reasonably practicable to limit or mitigate the hazard or potential hazard. |
| (6) | The OHSA further requires employers, to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that all persons who may be directly affected by their activities (such as customers, clients or contractors and their workers who enter their workplace or come into contact with their employees) are not exposed to hazards to their health or safety. This obligation also applies to self-employed persons (for example, plumbers or electricians) whose working activities bring them into contact with members of the public. |
| (7) | For the purposes of OHSA in the workplaces to which this Code applies, the identifiable hazard relating to COVID-19 faced by workers, is the virus infecting a worker, the virus transmission by an infected person to other workers in the workplace and the risk of serious illness or death if infected. In workplaces to which the public has access, the hazard includes transmission of the virus by members of the public. Each situation requires special measures to be implemented by employers in order to prevent infection and transmission of the virus or mitigate the risk of serious illness or death. |
| (8) | The Regulations for Hazardous Biological Agents, 2022 (HBA Regulations)1 list coronavirus as a listed hazardous biological agent, classed as Group 3. It therefore places legal responsibilities on employers in respect of employers to limit the exposure and mitigate the risks of infection by SARS-CoV-2. |
| (9) | The primary obligation is to conduct a risk assessment in terms of regulation 6 to determine the risk of exposure and the control measures to limit infection, transmission and mitigate the risk of serious illness or death on the part of employees and other persons who may be directly affected by the activities of the workplace. |
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