[HCA Department] Document Owner Version 1.1 Version 15/03/2023 Date Published Quarterly Review Period
Health, Safety & Wellbeing (HSW) Team Talk - March 2023
HSW TEAM TALK Welcome to the third edition of HSW Team Talk. In this edition: • Our New Health & Safety Representatives (HSRs) • HS&W training and events • Workload • Flu vaccination voucher program • New Covid-19 booster available • Employee Assistance Program specialist support lines
Quarterly safety mindset quote "Safety has to be everyone’s responsibility… Everyone needs to know that they are empowered to speak up if there’s an issue.” — Captain Scott Kelly (Captain of International Space Station) New Health & Safety Representatives: Welcome to our New Health and Safety Representatives from Tasmania and Western Australia. They are: Nancy Roldan – Hobart Office Jon Sutcliffe – Devonport Office Chloe Harrison – Mandurah office Find your Health and Safety Representatives (HSR) or nominate for a vacant HSR role by checking out our HSR’s Intranet page
HSW activities and new training:
Mandatory Training
Date
Audience
Required: Completed
Work Health & Safety (WHS) Awareness Online Training https://hcau.elmotalent.com.au/learning/view-course- enrolment/3192 Emergency Training https://hcau.elmotalent.com.au/learning/courses?coursevi ew=74
To be completed within 3 months by all new staff and when allocated to you via People Centre.
within 3 months.
6-monthly training. To be completed by 30 March 2023
Emergency Wardens
Upcoming training
Date
Audience/Information Email Bonnie-Lea Plumridge to register. Registration details will be provided shortly. Occupational Violence and Aggression Working Group & others. Audience/Information
Beating Burnout presented by Dr Amy Imms
29 March 1:30-3:30pm via Zoom March to April
Handle with Care – Managing the risk of aggression and violence when working with clients (webinar)
Pilot Vicarious Trauma Training
Mar/April
Activities
Date
Health, Safety & Wellbeing Committee meeting (quarterly – meeting no.1/4)
16 th March
HS&W Committee members
Agenda & Minutes
WHS Forum Catherine House meeting (quarterly – meeting no.1/4)
29 th March
Catherine House WHS Forum members. People leaders and HSRs. Audience/Information All staff. Details will be communicated All staff. Details will be communicated
Required: Due by 15 th March 2023
HSW Quarterly Workplace Inspections
Events
Date
Annual flu vaccination voluntary program.
April to May
World Day for Health and Safety at Work
28 th April
Feature Story: Workload Our new Health and Safety Intranet has some interesting topics for managers and staff to better manage workplace safety. In this Team Talk we will focus on Workload as a workplace hazard. For further information go to the HS&W intranet page on Workload and Job Demands Workload – How does your team manage workload?
Workload is a psychosocial hazard that can contribute to stress, burnout and other mental and physical conditions over time if there are inadequate controls in place (supports and resources). Housing
Choices has a duty of care to ensure workload is safely managed by eliminating the hazard or reducing the risk of injury from this hazard so far as is reasonably practicable. What is Workload? Workload refers to the volume, pace and time pressures of the work. What are some signs that there may be a workload issue? • Staff working additional hours to get work done including late nights, early mornings and weekends. • An increase in absenteeism. • An increase in unexpected turnover. • Low morale and poor workplace culture. • Staff expressing that they are fatigued. • Increases in errors or safety incidents. What does good workload management look like? People leaders are responsible for managing workload and job demands in consultation with their team members such that: • The amount of work that employees are expected to do is reasonable for their positions. • Work volumes are considered alongside the complexity, level of difficulty, and the emotional and cognitive demands of the work. • Employees can exercise an appropriate level of job control over prioritising responsibilities and tasks, with adequate support. • Employees have the equipment, resources and support needed to do their job well. • Employees can talk to their people leaders about the amount of work they have to do, the nature of the work, and how this may be affecting their wellbeing. If there is a workplace change or external change that is likely to increase workload, people leaders need to consult with employees to identify the anticipated workload, and how it can be managed before workload becomes a health and safety issue. Reactively: Where workload has unexpectedly recently increased, people leaders are expected to consult with staff as follows: • Discuss shared workload issues at team meetings. Where are the pressure points? Has work increased? By how much? How long will this extra workload continue? • Decide what work needs to be prioritised, and what can be postponed? Understand why certain things need to be done and agree timeframes about the less pressing work. • Are there some items that can be done differently to minimise the work effort required to complete them temporarily or longer term. • Are there other resources in the team or more broadly in the organisation or are additional external resources required? • Discuss workload with individual staff members where they have had a personal increase in work to identifying better ways of working or upskilling staff in certain areas to make the job easier or to assess the need for better resourcing. Whilst there can be normal peaks in workload at different times, it is important that these are for a reasonable time frame. If the increase in workload will continue beyond what is reasonable, a longer-term plan needs to be put in place to manage this change. What needs to be done about managing workload? Workload needs to be managed pro-actively and re-actively. Proactively:
Heads up - Flu vaccination vouchers Housing Choices will again partner with Vitality Works to roll out our pre-winter Flu Vaccination program. This year, our program will provide pharmacy vouchers to staff that can be downloaded via an online portal giving you the flexibility to organise where and when you want to receive your vaccination. The Therapeutic Good Administration is expected to approve the vaccine in the last week of March. Pharmacies should have stock in the first week of April. Vouchers should be available late March, once we receive access to the portal. Stay tuned for further communications in the coming weeks! New COVID-19 boosters available – extra protection heading into the winter months. From February 20, anyone who has not had a COVID vaccination or confirmed infection in the past six months is eligible for a booster. This is irrespective of how many prior doses a person has received. The national eligibility change follows advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). For those not infected or vaccinated in the past six months, a 2023 booster is recommended for: • All adults aged 65 years and over • Adults 18-64 years who have medical comorbidities or disability with significant or complex health needs For those not infected or vaccinated in the past six months, a 2023 booster should be considered for: • Adults 18-64 with no risk factors for severe COVID • Children and adolescents aged 5-17 who have medical comorbidities or disability with significant or complex health needs ATAGI’s full advice and recommendations can be found online. A free booster appointment can be booked through a local GP or pharmacy. You can find your nearest vaccination provider through the Vaccine Clinic Finder. Employee Assistant Program Updates Our Employee Assistance Program provides specialist support lines and have recently added two new services: the First Nations Connect Line and The Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Connect Line are in addition to the existing LGBTIQA+ Connect Line. Further information about these vital specialist support services is below: First Nations Connect Line 1300 520 373 Our First Nations Connect Line provides employees and family members with culturally sensitive and informed support. We recognise the importance of First Nation individuals having the option to receive counselling and support from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander EAP Professional or a Professional with cultural awareness training and extensive experience with First Nation individuals, families, and concerns. Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Connect Line 1800 879 163 Acacia's DFV Connect Line provides individuals affected by DFV with professionals that have expertise in supporting those affected by DFV. This support is available to all individuals who have been impacted by violence and abuse, as well as users of violence and abuse, regardless of the individual's age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, or relationship status. LGBTIQA+ Connect Line 1300 214 958 Acacia's LGBTIQA+ Connect Line is designed to support people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, intersex, queer, asexual, and other sexually or gender diverse. Individuals can receive support from one of our Professionals who have self-identified as part of the LGBTIQA+ community or who are highly experienced in supporting members of this community.
What are your local HSW matters? Team discussion lead by Health and Safety Representative (HSR) or People Leader Discuss your local safety matters with your teams using the guidance below. Health, Safety & Wellbeing matters relevant to the work group should be regularly on the agenda and discussed at team meetings. The HSR for the Work Group or a team leader/manager should lead a discussion about local HSW matters using some of the prompts below. • Discuss the safety mindset quote (above) and how that might reflect on safety situations or outcomes in the team. • Have there been any HSW/WHS concerns prominent in the work group lately? • Have there been any incidents, injuries or hazards that have not been reported via Elumina (but need to be)? • Are there any incidents or hazard corrective actions that have not been resolved? • Is workload manageable at the moment? • Have there been any difficult client interactions that need additional support or a safety plan? • Have all new staff received a health and safety induction using the People Centre checklist? • Is there any HSW training that the work group needs? • Do we currently have enough first aid officers, emergency wardens, health and safety representatives? • Are there any learnings from previous incidents or safety investigations? • Updates from last HSW committee meeting. Here are the Agenda & Minutes. Feedback We welcome your feedback about HSW Team Talk, and any ideas you have for information or activities you would you or your team are interested in. Feedback can be sent to health-safety- wellbeing@hcau.org.au
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online