The primary role of a health and safety representative (HSR) is to represent the health and safety interests of a work group and to raise any issues with their employer (principal/manager). HSRs are elected by fellow staff to represent the views of the staff group. The HSR role is important for consultation. Departmental workplaces are encouraged to elect a HSR.
The HSR fulfils a different role to the Health and Safety Advisor (HSA) and to the Workplace Health and Safety Cordinator roles, which are both appointed positions. However, these positions can work well together to gather information and expertise and improve health and safety at your school or workplace. A HSR is of particular benefit at workplaces with fewer than 30 employees as a point of contact both for staff and the manager.
Asbestos containing materials are present in many departmental facilities. The department recognises that HSRs can build their understanding of how to interpret asbestos registers by completing the ‘BEMIR learning journey’ module within the department’s Asbestos management training course. Departmental employees can search 'asbestos management course' on OnePortal and follow the steps in the ‘Guide to accessing asbestos management training—BEMIR’ to access course content.
Department staff can access the following information via OnePortal search:
Video resources