Health and safety is often treated as an operational matter, left to a site manager or an outsourced consultant. Legally, it is not. The Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS Act) places the primary duty on the employer, and a specific duty on the chief executive officer. When a serious incident happens, the questions about who knew what, and what was done about it, quickly reach the boardroom.
The rules have also moved recently. New Physical Agents Regulations and Noise Exposure Regulations were promulgated in March 2025 and became fully applicable on 6 September 2026, replacing regulations that had been in place since 1987 and 2003. The Department of Employment and Labour has also continued its programme of blitz inspections across sectors.
This article explains what the OHS Act requires of employers and directors, and how to show that you are meeting those duties.
Who the OHS Act applies to
The OHS Act applies to almost every employer in South Africa, from offices and shops to factories and construction sites. Mines are the main exception, as they fall under the Mine Health and Safety Act 29 of 1996. The Act also protects people who are not employees, such as visitors, customers and contractors’ staff, who may be affected by your activities.
The employer’s general duty
Section 8 requires every employer to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a working environment that is safe and without risk to the health of employees. In practice, this includes:
- providing and maintaining safe systems of work, plant and machinery;
- identifying hazards and assessing risks, and taking steps to eliminate or reduce them before resorting to personal protective equipment;
- making arrangements for the safe production, processing, use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances;
- providing information, instruction, training and supervision;
- making sure that work is performed under the general supervision of a trained person; and
- enforcing the measures that are necessary in the interests of health and safety.
Section 9 adds a duty towards non-employees, such as members of the public and contractors, who may be directly affected by the employer’s activities. Section 13 requires employers to inform employees about the hazards of their work and the precautions to take.
“Reasonably practicable” is not a loophole. It requires you to weigh the severity and likelihood of harm against the availability and cost of measures to prevent it. A documented risk assessment is the best evidence that you have done that exercise properly.
The duty of the chief executive officer
Section 16(1) makes every chief executive officer responsible for ensuring that the employer’s duties under the Act are properly discharged. The CEO may assign duties to other people, usually senior managers, under section 16(2). Those appointments should be in writing and accepted by the appointee.
However, assigning duties does not relieve the CEO of personal responsibility. The CEO remains accountable for making sure that the appointees are competent, have the authority and resources to do the job, and are actually doing it. Directors more generally should also bear in mind their duties of care, skill and diligence under section 76 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, which include taking reasonable steps to be informed about material risks.
Structures the Act requires
- Health and safety representatives. An employer with more than 20 employees at a workplace must designate health and safety representatives in consultation with employees (section 17).
- Health and safety committees. Where two or more representatives are designated, at least one committee must be established (section 19).
- Incident reporting. Certain incidents, including those that cause death, serious injury or major damage, must be reported to an inspector (section 24).
- Contractors. Where you use contractors, written agreements on health and safety arrangements are important. Under section 37, an employer can be liable for acts or omissions of employees and contractors (mandataries) unless it can show that it took reasonable steps to prevent them.
The 2025 regulations now in force
The Physical Agents Regulations and Noise Exposure Regulations, both promulgated on 6 March 2025, replaced the Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, 1987 and the Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Regulations, 2003 with effect from 6 September 2026. They deal with heat and cold stress, vibration, lighting, ventilation, radiation and noise. Key themes include:
- documented risk assessments by a competent person, reviewed at least every two years;
- exposure monitoring where risk assessments show exposure at or above set limits;
- medical surveillance for affected employees under the supervision of an occupational medicine practitioner;
- special attention to vulnerable employees, who are at a higher risk of harm from exposure;
- noise zones, hearing protection and audiometry where noise exposure is a risk; and
- long record-keeping periods.
An amendment to the General Safety Regulations was published at the same time. If your business has not yet reviewed its risk assessments against these regulations, it should do so now.
What happens when things go wrong
Inspectors may issue contravention notices, improvement notices and prohibition notices, which can stop work or the use of equipment until the problem is fixed. Failing to comply with the Act or the regulations is a criminal offence, and the penalties include fines and imprisonment. Where an incident causes serious injury or death, the employer and individual managers may also face investigation for common law offences such as culpable homicide, and civil claims may follow. Injured employees are generally compensated under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993, but this does not affect criminal liability.
In each case, the employer’s records will be central. A business that can produce current risk assessments, written section 16(2) appointments, training records and minutes of committee meetings is in a much stronger position than one that cannot.
A practical compliance checklist
- Confirm who the CEO is for OHS purposes, and make written section 16(2) appointments for each site or division.
- Commission or update hazard identification and risk assessments, including under the new Physical Agents and Noise Exposure Regulations.
- Designate health and safety representatives and establish committees where required, and keep minutes.
- Put written health and safety agreements in place with contractors.
- Train employees and supervisors, and keep signed training records.
- Set up an incident reporting and investigation procedure that meets section 24.
- Report on health and safety to the board regularly, so that directors are informed and can act.
- Audit compliance at least annually and track corrective actions to completion.
How O’Reilly Law can help
We advise employers, CEOs and boards on their duties under the OHS Act and its regulations. We draft section 16(2) appointments, contractor health and safety agreements and policies, review compliance frameworks, and assist after an incident, including responding to inspectors’ notices, managing internal investigations and protecting the position of the company and its directors.
Contact us to review your health and safety compliance.
Related reading: Directors’ duties and personal liability · Arrest and criminal investigations: rights of business owners
This article is general information and not legal advice. Correct as at October 2026.