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Safety Reps duties:

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations , 1977 (SRSCR) gives trade unions the legal right to appoint workplace safety representatives. Reg. 4(1) of SRSCR states that the duties of safety reps are:

(a) to investigate potential hazards and dangerous occurences at the workplace (whether or not they are drawn to his/her attention by the employees s/he represents) and to examine the causes of accidents in the workplace;

(b) to investigate complaints by an employee s/he represents relating to the employee's health, safety or welfare at work;

(c) to make representations to the employer on matters arising out of sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above;

(d) to make representations to the employer on general matters affecting health, safety or welfare at work of the employees in the workplace;

(e) to carry out inspections in accordance with Regulations 5, 6 and 7;

(f) to represent the employees s/he was appointed to represent in consultations at the workplace with inspectors of the HSE or any other enforcing authority;

(g) to receive information from inspectors in accordance with section 28(8) of HASAWA ( The Health and Safety at Work Act , 1974); and

(h) to attend meetings of safety committees where s/he attends in her/his capacity as a Safety Rep in connection with any of the above functions; but without prejudice to sections 7 and 8 of HASAWA, no function given to a Safety Rep by this paragraph shall be construed as imposing any duty on her/him.

Regulation 4 also states that safety reps cannot be legally penalised if these duties are not carried out. They cannot be liable in either criminal or civil law for anything they may do, or fail to do, as a safety rep.

Under Section 28 (8) of HASAWA, HSE inspectors and local authority environmental health officers have a duty to disclose specific kinds of information to employees or their representatives concerning their health or safety or welfare at work. This information includes any measurement testing, the results of sampling or monitoring and any action that the inspector takes or proposes to take; for example, prosecutions, the issue of Improvement or Prohibition Notices or warning letters to employers.

Safety reps should ensure that they are informed by the employer when an HSE inspector or an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) is expected to visit the premises. When the HSE inspector or the EHO are actually in the workplace, safety reps should ensure that they are given the opportunity to speak privately with the inspectors.

The Employment Rights Act , 1996 protects safety reps from detriment or dismissal for carrying out their designated functions, and if they leave or propose to leave the workplace in circumstances of serious and imminent danger, or if they take or propose to take action against serious and imminent danger. Safety reps are protected regardless of length of service, hours of work, or age [ Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act , 1978].

Under SRSCR all safety reps have the right to paid time off work to carry out their safety functions and to undergo union training courses for safety reps. Complaints to an industrial tribunal are allowed if the employer does not do these things.