47Power to issue improvement notices

#### 47 Power to issue improvement notices (1) Where, having conducted an investigation, an investigator forms the opinion that a person: (a) is breaching a provision of this Act or the regulations; or (b) has breached a provision of this Act or the regulations and is likely to breach that provision again; the investigator may issue an improvement notice, in writing, to the person (in this section called the responsible person). (2) Where the responsible person is an employer but it is not reasonably practicable to issue the notice to the employer by giving it to the employer, the improvement notice may be issued to the employer by giving it to the person who is, or who may reasonably be presumed to be, for the time being in charge of the activity, undertaken by the employer, in connection with which, in the investigator’s opinion, the employer is breaching, or is likely to breach, this Act or the regulations and, where the notice is so issued, a copy of the notice must be given to the employer as soon as practicable thereafter. (2A) The notice has effect as soon as it is given to a person under subsection (1) or (2). (3) The notice must: (a) specify the breach of the provision of this Act or the regulations that, in the investigator’s opinion, is occurring or is likely to occur, and set out the reasons for that opinion; and (b) specify a period, being a period that is, in the investigator’s opinion, reasonable, within which the responsible person is to take the action necessary to prevent any further breach of the provision or to prevent the likely breach of the provision, as the case may be. (4) The notice may specify action that the responsible person is to take during the period specified in the notice under paragraph (3)(b). (5) Where, in the investigator’s opinion, it is appropriate to do so, the investigator may, in writing and before the end of the period, extend the period specified in the notice. (6) The responsible person must ensure that, to the extent that the notice relates to any matter over which the person has control, the notice is complied with. > Note: A responsible person who breaches subsection (6) may be subject to civil action or a criminal prosecution (see Schedule 2). (8) Where the notice is issued to an employer, the employer must: (a) give a copy of the notice to each health and safety representative for a designated work group of the employer’s employees performing work that is affected by the notice; and (b) cause a copy of the notice to be displayed, until the notice has expired, been revoked or been varied, in a prominent place at or near each workplace at which that work is being performed. (9) Upon issuing the notice, the investigator must give a copy of the notice to: (a) where the notice is issued to an employee in connection with work performed by the employee for an employer—that employer; and (b) where the notice relates to any workplace, plant, substance or thing that is owned by a person, not being the responsible person or a person who is an employer referred to in paragraph (a)—that owner; and (c) where the notice is issued to a person (not being an employer) who owns any workplace, plant, substance or thing by reason of which a breach of this Act or the regulations has occurred or is likely to occur—the employer of the employees who work in that workplace or who use that plant, substance or thing. (10) An investigator may revoke or vary a notice (the original notice) given under this section by giving a written notice (the new notice) to that effect to the person who is, or who may reasonably be presumed to be, for the time being in charge of the activity in respect of which the original notice was issued. (11) If the original notice is varied: (a) the new notice must set out the text of the original notice and the variations to it; and (b) the text of the new notice must specify a period that the investigator considers is reasonable, within which the employer must comply with the new notice; and (c) the employer must cause a copy of the new notice to be displayed, until the new notice has expired, been revoked or been varied, in a prominent place at or near each workplace at which work affected by the new notice is being performed; and (d) the investigator and employer must take all reasonable steps to give a copy of the new notice to each person to whom they gave copies of the original notice.