VIC Employment Law - Exemption of Fire Evacuation?

[Matt_v9]

Hi, I am wanting to know when an employer can exempt their employees from undergoing a fire drill under Employment Law. And how could you confirm that the reason is legitimate?

I found AS 3745-2010 which I think means that it has to be once a year for everyone, but it mentions about an emergency planning committee that can decide not to have to have the drill.

Is there any way to confirm why this is happening or that it should be? It's a situation where it's hard to ask because it might be deliberately kept from people (along with other things that should be happening but aren't).

Thank you.

 

[Lance]

S21 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (VIC) discusses duties of employers to employees. To paraphrase it, S21 (2) (e) It says where reasonably practicable an employer shall provide Information, Instruction, training or supervision as is necessary to ensure employees are able to perform their work free from workplace risk. The link for the legislation is here: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2004

So that is what employers are legally obliged to comply with, however the compliance to Australian standards is a requirement of many certification bodies. Is some cases you may require compliance to standards such as AS3745-2010 to achieve ASNZS 4801OHSMS.

I used to be a National OHS Manager with a large construction company, so I would like to think excluding someone from a safety drill wasn't an intentional act. It sounds like your work place needs some representation. Do you have an elected Health and Safety Representative (HSR)? Perhaps the first step is to identify if your workplace has a HSR and then you could address your concerns with them.