Consult your workersConsult your workers

Consult your workers

You must consult with your workers (see Section 1.3 of this Code) when identifying hazards to health and safety arising from the work they carry out or are going to carry out.

If your workers are represented by HSRs you must include them in this consultation. HSRs may have specific training in work health and safety which can assist you to manage risks. HSRs can also provide workers some anonymity which may encourage better engagement on psychosocial hazards.

Your workers may use different terms to describe exposure to psychosocial hazards. For example, they might say they feel:

\- stressed, burnt-out or emotionally exhausted about their workload
\- anxious or scared about talking to or dealing with an aggressive person
\- humiliated, degraded or undermined by sexual harassment or discrimination
\- angry about policies being applied unfairly
\- confused about what their role involves, torn between competing priorities or ‘feeling like a failure’ for not being able to meet unrealistic expectations, or
\- distressed, unable to sleep, or traumatised by exposure to traumatic situations or content.

Good consultation should allow for differences in how workers may describe hazards and seek to identify the underlying cause. You should provide your workers with information to help them understand and recognise psychosocial hazards.