Jail-Time for Skin Cancer in the Workplace?

Sun safety under the law is treated exactly the same as serious falls, burns and hazardous exposures – meaning the penalties for persons with a health and safety duty could be as severe as 5 years imprisonment or a $731,400 fine if they recklessly expose an individual to the risk.

This duty of care falls to the person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), who must ensure the health and safety of all workers in their workplace.

Many outdoor industries have been treating sun safety as a proactive employee well-being measure, however few have realised that this commitment falls under the Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.

Skin cancers and other forms of occupational cancer are able to be claimed under workers compensation, with many big payouts being received in the past.

Businesses learned the hard way when it came to the impact of asbestos, so with the knowledge and acceptance of the dangers of UV exposure it is unfortunate to still see a disregard for the long-term health of their workers.

All it takes is a change in regulatory focus for heads to start rolling, as business would be accountable for preventing skin cancer. Using effective prevention strategies will one day become a requirement as opposed to a smart business decision.

Currently the incentives for providing a comprehensive sun safety approach is reduced workplace claims and associated WorkCover premiums, reduced absenteeism and increased employee morale and productivity.

The best way to become proactive in skin cancer prevention is through educating your workforce, providing effective sun safety measures and enforcing those.

You can read up on the Sun Safety section in Workplace Hazards, managing risks with information from SafeWork, as well as QLD’s Workplace Health and Safety Act 2011.

Be sure to book an education workshop for your workplace today and make steps to start minimising your workplace risk as soon as possible. Find more information here.