As the temperature continues to rise, SafeWork NSW is reminding all businesses of the responsibilities they have to keep their employees and customers safe from the dangers presented by extreme weather this summer.
With the tragic bushfires of 2019-2020 still fresh in the minds of all, the NSW Government is rolling out a new easy-to-use online, interactive SeasonalSAFE planning tool. The SeasonalSAFE Plan helps businesses prepare and manage the risks summer weather can pose to their workers and patrons.
After completing the simple SeasonalSAFE Plan form, a business is provided with a tailored list containing a number of actions that must be carried out to ensure the business is keeping to their plan.
All businesses are urged to complete a SeasonalSAFE Plan. This includes businesses in Sydney's CBD where bushfire related dangers can often be neglected. While the flames themselves may not be a threat to these businesses, smoke from these fires can often travel thousands of kilometers, polluting the lungs of those in the city.
During the four-and-a-half months of continuous bushfires in 2019-2020, authorities indicated there were more deaths resulting from smoke than bushfires.
The SeasonalSAFE Plan form can be accessed via the SafeWork website.
Quotes to be attributed to Head of SafeWork NSW Natasha Mann:
“The bushfires of 2019-2020 were a catastrophe the likes of which we had never seen before. In February 2020, the fire ground in NSW covered around seven per cent of the state, which included 37 per cent of the NSW park system.”
“You cannot control the weather, heat, bushfires, or smoke but you can plan where, how, and when your workers perform their duties and how you will respond if these elements present a threat.”
“Employers have a responsibility to their workers and customers to keep them safe this summer, and the SeasonalSAFE Plan is the perfect way to get the ball rolling on how you can best ensure they are both protected from the heat and everything that comes with it.”
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