The Perfect PIN

Transcript

Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN)

This notifies of an issue, or a potential issue, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 or Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017.

1. Health and Safety Representative
Before you start filling out a PIN consider whether you have been validly elected and in-term. Only HSRs that meet the requirement of the OHS Act can issue legally binding PINs. If you are unsure of your DWG, it's possible you only have one for everybody. In that case, just write the name of your workplace.

2. Duty Holder: Person or Business
Here is where you write down the duty holder. Whilst this can be an individual person for most Victorian workers it will be the company that employs them; check your payslip if you are not sure of their legal name! The duty holder can also be another person or business in the workplace, for example, a contractor erecting scaffolding in a manner that is unsafe. Once again, if it is a business, we recommend writing down the business name instead of the name of the contractor.
The address should be the address of the site where the contravention is. Typically, this is the address where you work.

3. I have consulted with the duty holder or their representative about fixing this contravention, or likely contravention, before serving this PIN
For a PIN to be valid an HSR must first try to consult with the duty holder. If the outcome of that consultation is not successful you can issue a PIN immediately after.

4. PIN given to
This must be the person to whom you physically serve the PIN. They are the person who receives the form on behalf of the duty holder.
There are a few ways you can issue the PIN. You can email, mail, fax, or physically hand it to them or leave it with someone over 16 years of age at their home or business address.

5. The provision of the OHS Act, or Regulations I believe has been (or may in future be) contravened is:
You need to nominate a specific section of the Act. Common sections you can have a look at and see what suits your situation are:
- s21 - Duties of employers to employees
- s22 - Duties of employers to monitor health and conditions etc.
- s26 - Duties of persons who manage or control workplaces
- S35(1) - Duty of employers to consult with employees
If there are multiple sections being breached, you should write separate PINS for each one. This will mean that each issue needs to be addressed separately, and a failure of one PIN won't mean failure of all of them.

6. The issue is
Here is where you write why and how you believe your employer is contravening the section of the OHS Act or OHS Regulation listed above.
Get to the heart of the problem as quickly as you can - don't tell a story. Make sure to include the actual area of the workplace where you believe the contravention is occurring.

7. The suggested remedy is
You don't have to fill in this section. It's not your job to tell the duty holder how to fulfill their duties, but we know that workers often know a lot about how their work can be done better. If you want a particular control implemented, list it here. Otherwise, let the duty holder figure it out.

Also, consider controls that can be implemented immediately, as well as longer term controls to be implemented.

8. Signature of HSR
This is where you sign the PIN and give the employer a date by which they have to comply with the PIN. Under the legislation you must give at least 8 days after the date of issue. You should also provide a timeframe that is reasonable so that the employer can comply. Once you have signed this, give the PIN to the person listed in section 4 and keep a copy for yourself.

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