Worker Engagement, Participation, and Representation
Policy
This policy uses the term "workers" to align with the practice's requirements under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. In a general practice context, workers include clinical and non-clinical staff and contractors.
Test Medical Centre Cornerstone meets its responsibilities to ensure appropriate worker engagement, participation, and representation, in accordance with:
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Employment Relations Act 2000.
Our engagement with workers supports employment relationships that are honest, constructive, communicative, and based on the principle of 
good faith.
We recognise the rights of workers to:
- work in an environment where risks to health and safety are properly controlled
- contribute to health and safety decisions that affect their work.
We acknowledge the importance of involving workers in planning and decision making, and we aim to continually improve our health and safety practices.
Also see Health and Safety Training and Induction
Worker engagement
We engage with workers by:
- sharing relevant information about health and safety
- giving workers reasonable opportunities to express their views, raise health and safety issues, and contribute to decision making
- taking workers' views into account
- keeping workers informed about any outcomes that result from worker engagement.
Worker participation
We facilitate worker participation by:
- giving workers opportunities to raise issues or suggestions
- ensuring workers know how to participate and make use of these opportunities
- having decision-makers who listen to and act on workers' issues or suggestions.
Worker representation
We ensure that workers have the opportunity to be appropriately represented in health and safety matters and decision making. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, elected health and safety representatives and health and safety committees are a more formal way of providing for worker representation.
If a worker requests it, we hold an election for a health and safety representative. If a health and safety representative or five or more workers requests it, we set up a health and safety committee.
Related policies