The code of practice for managing psychosocial risks was released during November 2022, with implementation required by 1 April 2023.
Codes of practice are admissible in court proceedings and so it is important for all persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU’s) to know their obligations under this code.
The psychosocial code integrates a bunch of other old codes under the one ‘psychosocial’ heading, and covers risk from:
As you can see, it is quite a comprehensive list, however management of psychosocial risks follows the same process as all other risk management:
Identify hazards — Assess risks — Control risks — Review Control Measures
At every step of the process, it is written into the code that employers need to consult with employees. This makes sense in a psychosocial sense, since many of the issues are ones that you can’t see just by walking around your workplace.
The code provides descriptions of all the above risk factors, and risk assessment materials for many scenarios. It also provides information on responding to complaints, incidents, or reports of psychosocial hazards, and encourages employers to discuss exactly what psychosocial hazards are, so that employees are more likely to report them.
In the appendices, it has a list of examples of psychosocial hazards that fall under each heading above, as well as examples of control measures that might be used.
It is one of the longer codes of practice, at 67 pages, however it is in everyone’s best interest for PCBUs to work their way through it, and implement best practice when it comes to education, risk assessment, reporting and response to these matters.
If you need assistance with implementation of the code of practice in your workplace, Staffr’s experienced and professional team can work with you to identify the risks in your workplace, and put into place measures to mitigate the risk, along with a reporting and resolution structure.
Don’t wait until someone from your workplace claims Workers Comp for psychosocial distress. Give us a call today.