Each chapter of this book covers a Unit of Competency at one of the AQTF levels from Certificate 1 to Diploma at level 5. The focus of the content is on the Business Services and Finance sectors.

OHS IN THE BUSINESS SERVICES AND FINANCE SECTORS

The underpinning skills and knowledge are built around OHS topics that are important in the Business Services and Finance industries. These include:

• safe manual handling; ergonomically sound use of workstations; avoiding slips, trips and falls
• personal security from harassment, bullying and violence in the workplace
• achieving clarity about roles and responsibilities in relation to OHS
• the effective communication of information about OHS policies and procedures
• ways for employees and management to work together to make the workplace safer.

Safe manual handling has been selected as a major topic because the injury categories of Slips, trips and falls and body stressing are national priority areas. Body stressing includes injuries associated with sprains and strains of joints and adjacent muscles.

Australian federal, state and territory governments, employer associations and trade unions have agreed to make these injury categories one of the top three priority areas over the 10 years 2002-2012 (NOHSC 2002c). The National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC) data set shows that in 2000-2001, slips, trips and falls, being hit by a moving object in the workplace and body stressing together accounted for 89% of workplace injuries.

The prevalence of body stressing cases is such that there are more than 2 chances in 5 that an Australian worker will experience a serious work-related injury/disease, as a result of body stressing, during the course of his or her working life. (Foley 1996)

NOHSC compensation figures show that the most common mechanism of injury in 2000-2001 was related to body stressing. It was the reported cause of 41% of all Australian compensation claims excluding defence forces and self-insurers. (NOHSC 2002a, p. 6)

South Australia's WorkCover Corporation reported almost 1000 claims for workplace violence in 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, which includes harassment, as well as exposure to workplace violence and assault (WorkCover South Australia 2002, p. 125). In the same state, occupational stress (mental disorder) claims are generally higher in the finance, property and business services sectors and more costly than they are in industries with high other OHS injuries such as transport and storage, construction, agriculture, forestry, mining and public administration. (WorkCover Corporation 2002, p. 94)

WorkCover Victoria reported over 1000 claims for harassment, assault or exposure to workplace/occupational violence in 2000-2001. The number increased in 2001/2002 (WorkCover Victoria 2002). WorkCover Minister, Rob Hulls, said that some Australia-wide figures estimated the cost at $3 billion a year in terms of lost productivity and absenteeism. In Victoria alone, employees' compensation claims cost $57 million in 2001-2002. (The Age 2003, p. 4)

Legislation requires that workplaces be safe not only physically but also free from mental stressors that cause disease over time, depression, lower productivity and can themselves be a cause of physical accidents.

A critical question about health and safety at work is who is responsible for it? Whose job or task is it, in a workplace, to make it safe. Without this clarity, the work needed to create a safe workplace and safe system of work may be left undone, until there is an accident or injury. Employees often presume that a person with an OHS title is responsible for all health and safety at work. In fact, it is the line manager who has overall responsibility.

Specific skills in understanding people and systems are needed to effectively communicate about OHS in the workplace and get something done.