Purpose

CAP is committed to prioritising the health and safety of all support office employees, coaches, volunteers, contractors, and other people present in CAP’s workspaces, such as client homes, churches, and public meeting spaces.

CAP is committed to understanding and meeting NZ’s workplace health and safety law, particularly the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA).

Every person has a role to play in making sure you are safe in the workplace or places you are visiting on behalf of CAP. We are committed to promoting a culture which considers and takes appropriate steps to reduce the risk of harm to our people. We recognise health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. This means that each individual must take all reasonable steps to make sure they are responsible for both their own health and safety and that of others.

Application

This Health & Safety Policy applies to all support office employees, coaches, volunteers, or contractors, effective from 22 July 2024.

It is key that anyone working for or representing CAP in any context follows this Healthy and Safety Policy and any behaviour that deviates from the expectations outlined in this policy may lead to further investigation and where appropriate disciplinary action.

The above excludes volunteers who do not have a volunteer agreement directly with CAP.

CAP’s Commitments

CAP will endeavour to maintain a safe working environment and will apply all reasonable efforts to:

• Identify, monitor, and comply with all applicable health and safety laws, codes, standards, and other regulatory obligations.
• Foster a culture which recognises and empowers everyone to be responsible and accountable for health and safety.
• Take all practical steps to eliminate or minimise hazards, mitigating personal risk to self and others.
• Assist in identifying hazards, risks and implementing risk control measures.
• Oversee workplace health and safety investigations.
• Will take practical steps to maintain the office environment and all equipment within it is safe and allows people to move around without risks to their health and safety.
• Develop, implement, and embed emergency evacuation procedures.
• Will take steps to ensure employees, contractors, volunteers, and visitors are appropriately trained and supervised, aware of hazards and their controls and aware of emergency evacuation procedures.
• Keep and maintain records for all incidents and accidents in the workplace, client homes or CAP organised events, taking all practical steps to prevent them from recurring.
• Regularly review and implement continuous improvement initiatives around CAP’s health and safety practices.
• Support employees & coaches to return to work/volunteering safely after any injury.
• Define and communicate health and safety roles and responsibilities, ensuring all people are held accountable for fulfilling their health and safety responsibilities.
• Provide appropriate health and safety training, information, guidance, and technology.
• Provide appropriate facilities for restroom, drinking water, handwashing, eating and breaks.

Individual Commitments

Employees, coaches, contractors, volunteers, and any other person present in the CAP workplace or visiting a client home on behalf of CAP will ensure their own safety and that of others by:

• Recognising that they are responsible for their own personal health and safety and consider the safety of those around them.
• Follow CAP’s Health and Safety procedures and observe safe work practices at all times.
• Ensure they are aware of emergency procedures within the workplace or client home.
• Regularly identify and report any workplace hazards.
• Immediately report any identified unsafe work conditions or equipment.
• Immediately report any pain, discomfort, injury to another person or damage to property.
• Immediately report any near misses.
• Immediately report any workplace accidents.
• Keep the work environment in a tidy condition, minimising risks of trips and falls, including cleaning up immediately any slip hazards.
• Participate in ongoing Health and Safety training, information and technology guidance as required.
• Refrain from smoking or vaping inside or outside CAP’s premises or client’s home.
• Refrain from coming to work or a client’s home when sick.

CAP’s hazard register and all forms relating to health and safety, including hazard identification & incident reporting forms, are available in BambooHR via Support office employees and accessible via Microsoft SharePoint for all coaches.

Completed forms can be emailed to HandS@capnz.org or handed to the Head of Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), who will review and delegate the appropriate actions to the relevant stakeholders, including conducting investigations.

Face to Face Client Interactions

Client interactions is the face-to-face engagement between a CAP employee, coach, or volunteer with a CAP client. This engagement may take place in the client’s home or other public meeting place to deliver CAP services. Where a role requires face-to-face client interactions, the CAP employee, coach, or volunteer will need to ensure they have read, understood, and signed CAP’s Client Interactions Policy and adhere to CAP’s Client Interaction Processes.

In the case where a CAP employee, coach, or volunteer’s wellbeing is affected by a client interaction please follow the Navigating Safety Concerns process or talk to your line manager.

Health & Safety Committee

The health and safety committee are made up of representatives from various departments to enhance the organisation’s health and safety practices.

The committee will meet once per quarter to discuss safety concerns, review incidents, and make recommendations for continuous improvement. The committee will actively contribute to the development and periodic review of health and safety practices, to ensure they align with current regulations and industry best practices.

The Health and Safety minutes will be recorded and sent to CAP’s Executive Leadership Team following each meeting.

First Aiders

CAP is dedicated to ensuring we have staff trained to provide immediate assistance in case of injuries or medical emergencies within the organisation.  All first aiders receive comprehensive training and certification to ensure they are equipped to handle various medical situations effectively.

First aiders will coordinate with emergency services and assist in the implementation of emergency response plans.  You can find an updated list of first aiders on the notice board in the CAP kitchenette.  First Aid supplies are stored in the labelled atrium cupboard and CAP cupboard within the kitchenette.

Fire Wardens

Fire wardens are appointed to oversee fire safety measures and evacuation procedures within the organisation. Fire wardens will receive training on fire safety protocols, conduct regular evacuation drills and ensure all employees are familiar with emergency exit routes.

Regular inspections and maintenance of fire safety equipment, such as extinguishers and alarms, are carried out regularly to ensure their operational readiness.

A complete list of the CAP fire wardens can be found on the notice board in the CAP kitchenette.

EAP (Employee Assistance Program) & Counselling Services

CAP will cover up to 3x, 1-hour visits per calendar year to go towards counselling services through EAP or CAP approved alternative counsellors for all support office employees and coaches. Please see the Head of HSE or P&C team for further details.

Contacting the Head of Health, Safety and Environment

It is the role of the Head of HSE to build a culture of wellness and safety across the organisation. The Head of HSE is committed to ensuring CAP has the appropriate HSE policies, processes, and practices in place across the organisation. In addition, the Head of HSE is responsible for reporting all hazards, near misses and incidents to the CAP Board.

If you have any safety concerns, you can speak to your manager or the Head of HSE directly or email HandS@capnz.org

Incident Investigations

CAP takes all hazards, near misses and incidents seriously. Any required investigations will be delegated by the Head of HSE to the appropriate person, in most cases the manager or department director will be accountable for any investigation process. Where there might be a conflict of interest an alternative person may be determined by the Head of HSE.

This health and safety policy will be subject to an annual review to ensure its ongoing effectiveness in maintaining a safe work environment and practices.

Where there are additional Health and Safety Accountabilities for a person, CAP’s Health & Safety Practice Document will need to be reviewed and complied with.