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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY
crossways FARM VILLAGE
Homeowners Associations should take
cognisance of the Occupational Health
& Safety Act no. 85 of 1993
Background and scope of the
Occupational Health & Safety
Act 85 of 1993
Laws come into effect mainly because of an
identified need. During the early 1800’s, laws
governing the health and safety of workers was
introduced in the UK and The Occupational
Health & Safety Act 85 of 1993 as we know it in
South Africa has its origin mainly in the U.K. and
Europe. Developments in the field of safety also
extended to South Africa, indicating a concern for
the quality of life at work.
Before we discuss the Act and its relevance to
the Homeowners Association, it is important to
first look at the application, aim and scope of this
Act. In short its aim, clearly stated, is to provide
for the health and safety of persons at work (i.e.
the employee) as well as the protection of other
persons (i.e. visitors, contractors etc.) against any
hazards to their health.
The act applies to any person who employs or
provides work to an individual as long as the
employer remunerates that person or expressly
or tacitly undertakes to remunerate that person.
The mining and marine industries are the only
sectors excluded from this Act.
The Act further defines an ‘employee’ to also
including a person who works under the direction
or supervision of an employer. The definition
includes contractors working for and on behalf of
an employer i.e. security guards, electricians and
plumbers who are contracted to do maintenance
work as required from time to time.
The HOA, management and the
Occupational Health & Safety Act
Taking the above into consideration, we can now
answer the following questions;
Is the HOA or body corporate an employer? Are
people employed to perform work for and on
behalf of their employer? (gardeners’ cleaners,
managers etc) Are security guards contracted
to perform security duties for and on behalf
of the estate or body corporate? Are plumbers,
electricians or garden services contracted to
perform work for the estate on an on-going,
regular, or ad-hoc basis?
Just to clarify a point of argument which
occasionally gets raised on the relevance of the
Act where an employer is non-profit driven or
not a commercial entity as such. Nowhere in the
Act does it differentiate between the profit driven
employer and the non-profit driven employer.
The Homeowners Association, as an employer,
sometimes finds itself in the unique situation
whereby bodies corporate or estates are sometimes
managed by volunteers elected on behalf of the
entity. This is in contrast with other employers
who are managed by full time employees. Many
members of the board of an HOA are employers
and with businesses of their own. But, it must