When Workcover isn't interested in employee's safety

When you think of Workcover; an Australian government authority, you could be forgiven that you'd believe this government agency is all about the safety of Australian employees within the workplace. This is not entirely correct as I found out recently.

Luckily no one was hurt to find this out, it came to light within a tense conversation I had with a rather obnoxious tyrant of an inspector.  He came storming up the stairs unannounced, throwing a flimsy business card at me, pulled out an generic officeworks notepad and started to fire away questions. I was taken back by the bizarreness of his actions, I thought, who the hell is this bloke anyway.
He demanded our complete attention, all work stopped, that meant no orders could be finalised and dispatched, which violated our very strict operating policy.
He drilled, he pursued, he hammered, he terrorised before I could stop and really look at his business card.

He had my production staff cowering in terror while the office staff made an escape down the stairs when his back was turned. Two staffer's quickly swapping their cool Havianna thongs for court shoes in the process. I did say no thongs to be worn, but it was very hot and one staff member is going through menopause at the moment which did get me into trouble. The extra fan I brought from home a couple of days prior, to help bring her some relief during hot flashes didn't have a tag on the lead, hence the fine. She murmured 'arsehole' under her breath whilst he was handing me the infringement notice. I gulped when I saw how much the fine was. It's a fan I use at home normally which doesn't require a tag by law. The next menopausal employee will have to suffice with the airconditioning we have.

While he was going through the process of inspection, at the back of my mind I felt a growing sense that something was amiss with this person, something didn't feel right about this whole scene. Something not right at all.
He started to ask me about  prestart & and end day protocols. Having gone through a terrifying armed holdup a little over 2 years ago, which left a deep emotional wound not only in myself but in both my daughters who were present that fateful evening, I held back the tears of pain to explain what happened and how we now have a very strict policy on staff safety before and after hours.

His response was contritely apathetic "I am not interested if you escort your staff to their car after hours, or you have a secret code for emergency if they have been threatened by intruders, I want to know if you have a prestart meeting every morning outlining known safety hazards for the day!"
With that I said " You do know that women having finished work late at night are in more potential danger of being attacked or possible killed than by the absence of tag on a temporarily used domestic table top fan? You do know that some staff carrying the days takings have been ambushed causing detrimental emotional carnage for years onwards?"
he replied as he lazed back on my chair he commandeered while zipping up his fly in a condescending manner that made me feel more than uncomfortable "Workcover isn't interested in that at all" was his retort.
"Really? How very, very sad that Workcover isn't interested in the true safety of employees" I shook my head.
I thought of the fines produced that day from small businesses everywhere that were breaking protocols innocently. I left the offending fan at work while I waited for the electrician to come and tag it, at least my employee can still have some extra comfort during the hot flushes. I had already been fined. I also thought about the $3 million fine that filled Workcover's coffers after my son's accident and how little was the tiny speck of compensation he received, though his life would never be the same again. I also thought how the company he worked for folded and the livelihoods of 30 other men was extinguished as Workcover became all the more richer for my son's tragedy.
I would have thought that it was far more logical to have rehabilitated, educated and assisted the company to be safe in all aspects of operation rather than executing it.

A similar execution is now raining down on a dear friend.

Workcover must have released their 'dogs' in the vicinity of our area for a snoop operation as a friend,  business owner and employer was also overrun by the workcover militia at the same time as us. The last month has turned her from a bubbly, happy, a much loved employer and person in general, into a dithering mess, now on suicide watch. What has she done wrong?
No faulty equipment, all leads tagged, all bars of soap in the toilets and washbay have techspec sheets pinned to the wall, anti allergy sheets in the lunch room, a full time employee that has been trained as a first aid officer, a full metal first aid kit with padlock, fire extinguishers, exit signs visible, an emergency evacuation plan, O, H & S folder, coffee, tea, chai and hot chocolate provided. My friend has a lot of love and respect for all her staff, and they in turn for her.
My friend's husband was called by a concerned staff member after hearing his wife on the phone to the Workcover inspector in a hail of tears wondering if she died in the next 21 days would her family then still be liable for the $15,000 fine and 6 months imprisonment. If she died would all the trouble go away. It was the final straw after being forced to submit a piece of paper more than 5 years old. A historical piece of paper of no value that she no longer had in her possession. She had 21 days to submit the no longer existing, expired piece of paper.
He collected his inconsolable wife from her office and hasn't left her side since. He is wondering how it got this far?
"For f@%k's sake he says to me it's a frigging piece of paper from 6 years ago and I am losing my wife because of it!!".

It might be the retrospective piece of paper that has my dear friend unraveling at the seems, but it started with a hand rail that was 3mm too close to a wall. A minimum clearance for those who might be unfortunate enough to have fat, chubby fingers, but a woman walking alone at night to get to their transport home is of no concern for Workcover.
My dear friend was given the option of demolishing an entire wall and rebuilding it 3mm further away. Her husband used a winch strap and buckled the rail inwards, away from the wall. The rail is now significantly bent, unsightly, but it passes. Then came the lighting issue, then came a folder which was named "The Methods Manual" by my friend, but it should have been named an Induction folder.
Couple of times a week he came in with notices for this, that or whatever, each time she went home biting her nails. Each time she managed to fix, find or resolve.

He finally found something that he could fine her with. He wanted to see a workers compensation  insurance schedule for every year that she employed staff. My friend did what every one else does, throw out the expired insurance cover and file the new one. Her insurance company helpful as they were, could only supply the last five years of cover, finding the whole request odd themselves. With frantic phone calls back and forth, the inspector seemed to lighten up, seemingly satisfied.
A few days grace, with a return to normal work routine along with major catch ups, a letter arrived in the mail with the formal notice of the fine of $15,000 and 6 months imprisonment if the old insurance covers were not produced within 21 days. My friend buckled.

The iron clad lady of justice had come calling, shod with shoes of malice.


I had been suspicious about our inspector's actions so I did some research. There is a handout available directly from Workcover called "When Inspectors call". Much like the audit charter  booklet I was handed by the tax audit officer at the beginning of our tax audit last year, it gave very clear guidelines and expectations about the whole process. This booklet is an invaluable source of information, easy to read and understand and it must be handed to all employers that are being inspected.
Sadly for both inspectors we are dealing with here, neither seemed to be aware that there a few rules inspectors must stick too.
I had already confronted my inspector about a few things, I haven't seen him since.

Workcover Inspectors can come unannounced, but they must show photo id. If they cannot produce a photo id, then an employer can exercise their right not to allow them onsite until confirmation with Workcover can be obtained.
They should be accompanied by an industry professional (always a min of 2 people) an inspector should never be alone.

The first time visit mostly involves assessment. The role of the inspector is to also provide information, education and advice on the requirements of OHS or workers compensation law.
Provide advice on the development and improvement of systems to eliminate or reduce the risk of injury and illness. For small businesses, stumbling with the anally retentive protocols of OHS will be offered a Small Business Starter Kit (catalogue No. 50)

Inspectors according to this compliance manual should only initiate prosecution action against negligent or reckless offenders.

Employers also have the right to appeal any infringement notices if they feel it is unreasonable.

This manual might just be the saviour for my friend to win the appeal. She's definitely not the murderer that could be freed on a mere technicality, but an innocent woman whose normally sunny demeanour has been crushed by a series of unfortunate Workcover events.