Assesment1

Task 1

Occupational health and safety plays an important role in the workplace for many reasons, The fact that so many Australian's are injured while at work is evidence of it's importance.

According to the Australian Bureau of statistics 6.8% of employees in Australia were injured in the 2005-2006 financial year, this relates to approximately 700 thousand Australian's a year injured while at work, the economic as well social implications of such a vast number of injured persons is what has prompted all states and Territories within the Commonwealth of Australia to enact Legislation that deals with OH&S issues in the work place.

Task 2

1. All employers are required to 'provide and maintain a means of access to and egress from the workplace which allows safe and rapid egress from the workplace in an emergency' as found in the Work Health Act section 47(1)(b).This mean that things like fire exits need to be kept clear at all times and that an evacuation plan must be in place in case of a fire or similar emergency.
   
2. All floors of a workplace must 'as far as is practicable, be slip resistant and free from an obstruction that may cause a worker to trip or fall.' this a requirement of section 51 of the Work health Act.So for example in a fast food outlet if there is a floor that is likely to have grease spilt all over it then, there needs to be a slip resistant surface, and a policy on footwear in place.
   
3. An employer has a duty of care to ' provide and maintain at a workplace first aid equipment and first aid amenities for use by a worker at the workplace.'The duty of care that an employer owes his employees at the workplace can be found in section 51(1) of the Work Health Act.So for example a first aid kit needs to be on hand so that cuts and other accidents can be dealt with.
   
4. An employer needs to ensure that a supply of drinkable water is available for his employees.This really is self explanatory, If an employee is expected to work then he needs to, and is entitled to have access to drinkable water.

Task 3
If the employee has created the work environment by positioning the desk where it is then, he will be responsible for fixing the problem, because he owes a duty of care to his employee to ensure that lighting conditions are adequate for the work at hand.This is a requirement of section 57(1) of the Work Health Act.