China has industrialised faster than any other country in the world, but the drive towards improving occupational health standards in the country is increasing. Thus, I strongly recommend multinational companies and small business owners pay attention to this as follows,
Occupational health & safety
Safety in the workplace is critical to the success of your business, no matter what size it is. As a small business owner you have responsibilities regarding health and safety in your workplace. Even if you don’t have any employees, you must ensure that your business doesn’t create health and safety problems for your customers and the general public.
Knowing and understanding the occupational health and safety (OH&S) laws will help you avoid the unnecessary costs and damage to your business caused by workplace injury and illness.
Your OH&S obligations
Under OH&S legislation you are obliged to provide:
-safe premises
-safe machinery and materials
-safe systems of work
-information, instruction, training and supervision
-a suitable working environment and facilities.
-If you don't comply with these legal requirements you can be prosecuted and fined.
Workplace health and safety authorities in each state and territory and Safe Work Australia have responsibilities for enforcing the OH&S legislation. They provide information and advice on safety and health at work and education and training. You can get information about your OH&S obligations and other valuable OH&S resources both in hard copy and online from their websites.
Please note that legal obligations of employers vary according to circumstances. You may wish to seek independent legal advice on what is applicable to your situation.
Accidents and injuries
Workplace injuries can have a big impact on your business. An injured worker is entitled to make a workers compensation claim where the injury occurs during the course of their employment.
Under state and territory laws, an employer must notify certain events - such as death, serious injury or a dangerous incident that could have caused death or injury. Under these laws you must also take reasonable steps to provide an injured worker with rehabilitation or suitable duties while being paid compensation.
Workers compensation requirements
Occupational health and safety laws require that injured workers have access to first aid, fair workers compensation and return to work rehabilitation.
It's your responsibility as an employer to:
-maintain a safe workplace
-maintain current workers compensation insurance
-protect yourself and your workers from financial hardship in the event of a workplace injury.