Legal Insight
Increased Productivity
Safer Work Environment
Legal Insight
Increased Productivity
Safer Work Environment
Good reads
As a market leader in our field, we know what it takes to get you compliant
We are known for our unique market related strengths, our ability to effectively train not only your staff, but your company as a whole to be compliant, and stay compliant in line with South African OHS act and regulations.
Key Services
These are some of the key areas we focus on:
We service a large number of clients within vastly different sectors, where we have given knowledgeable advice and provided all required training in accordance with national health and safety regulations.
Safety Signage & Wall Charts
Protect yourself by keeping your staff and clients safe and informed with our range of highly visible signage boards, labour law posters and wall charts.
Safety Representative, First Aid and Firefighting training
Our experienced trainers and accredited courses guarantee that you will not only be compliant with labour law, but also have the necessary skills to stay compliant.
FAQ
Some questions we get on a regular basis
Yes, Beehive OH&S is registered with the South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Saiosh).
The short answer is no, “only first aiders” will not do. All businesses, no matter how large or how small, need to know what to do in an emergency. They also need someone as the ‘Go-To-Person’ for health and safety issues.
Just having firefighting equipment like sandbags, fire hoses and fire extinguishers is not enough – they mean very little if nobody is trained to use them. The safety and health representative (SHE Rep) must be a full-time employee. Every business should have someone who is responsible for all health and safety matters.
A Safety Gap Analysis (also referred to as a Safety Compliance Audit) is done when a Health & Safety consultant/officer does an on-site inspection to see how your current health and safety standards, compare to where they should legally be according to the OHS Act.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act) is legislation that provides guidelines about the requirements that a company must comply with to ensure that OHS regulations are enforced, namely:
- to provide for the health and safety of persons at work and for the health and safety of persons in connection with the use of plant and machinery;
- the protection of persons other than persons at work against hazards to health and safety arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work;
- to establish an advisory council for occupational health and safety; and
- to provide for matters connected therewith.
The Department of Labour is charged with policing the implementation of occupational health and safety regulations as defined in the OH&S Act.
To comply with legislation, implementation of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) is required. The OHSMS is put in place to provide a systematic way of identifying hazards and controlling risks while maintaining the assurance that these risk controls are effective. The OHSMS manages procedures and collects information for comparison monthly to assist in evaluating occupational health and safety performance. The best is one that is understood by all employees and can easily be implemented by all employees.
A Health and Safety File (sometimes also known as a ‘Contractor Safety File’) is the product of a well-functioning Occupational Health and Safety Management System and is a blueprint of your business’ safety performance. As a business inventory, it is important, among others, for enterprises that require health and safety information to be made available to other entities when submitting tenders. It is also important for official and general work requirements, such as insurance claims. Having an up-to-date safety file is also entrenched in the law (OH&S Act).
Owning hard copy documents in a business’ physical, Health and Safety File is important, but an online system has major advantages and is more than an electronic back-up. Such a system allows businesses to have an up-to-date inventory of all OH&S documentation in a systematic and easily accessed way. Business owners and managers, as well supervisors and others involved with the OH&S system can retrieve all required health and safety information easily and remotely from online storage of all documentation. Off-site electronic storage of information has security advantages. An effective online system also contains other features such as notification of expiring documentation and scheduling times to attain replacement documentation or renewal of documentation.
First Aid Level 1 is a life skills course that empowers people to assist during a medical emergency. Most commonly, first aid knowledge is needed to attend to minor injuries at home or work.
First Aid Level 1 is a life skills course. As such, it will not afford you a job on its own, but it would be a useful recommendation in combination with the rest of your background information (such as academic qualifications and experience). Certain workplaces may require that new recruits have a valid First Aid Level 1 certificate, but they will also have to have other skills/qualifications or work experience to meet the criteria to fit the job.
As an example, some of the jobs that may require a valid First Aid Level 1 certificate are:
- Au pairs
- Boot camp instructors
- Building contractors
- Child carers
- Divers
- Lifeguards
- Mining contractors
- Personal trainers
- Safety representatives
- Sports coaches
- Teachers
- Tour guides
The regulations of the OH&S (see question about Occupational Health and Safety Act of South Africa) states’ the general responsibilities of employers towards employees: “Providing such information, instructions, training and supervision as may be necessary to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety at work of his employees.” This means that every employer must ensure that there are trained personnel who can always assist during a medical emergency on the premises.
Where more than 10 employees are employed at a workplace, the employer has to appoint a First Aider. This is a compulsory legal appointment, and the First Aider should be available during normal working hours.
For shops and offices the requirement is one First Aider for every 100 employees. At most other workplaces the requirement is one First Aider for every 50 employees.
The saying goes “use it or lose it”. This is true for first aid skills, knowledge and techniques. If you don’t regularly use or refresh thos skills, you’ll forget how to perform the procedures correctly. By renewing or updating your qualification before it expires, you are more likely to stay up to date with first aid guidelines and procedures.
A First Aid Level 1 certificate will be valid for three (3) years.
The Regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of South Africa lists in Government Notice R.2245 of 7 August 1992
the following as the minimum content of a First Aid Kit for the workplace (note that in the case of shops and offices, the quantities stated may be reduced by half):
- Wound cleaner/antiseptic (100 ml)
- Swabs for cleaning wounds
- Cotton wool for padding (100 g)
- Sterile gauze (minimum quantity 10)
- 1 pair of forceps (for splinters)
- 1 pair of scissors (minimum size 100 mm)
- 1 set of safety pins
- 4 triangular bandages
- 4 roller bandages (75 mm x 5 m)
- 4 roller bandages (100 mm x 5 m)
- 1 roll of elastic adhesive (25 mm x 3 m)
- 1 non-allergenic adhesive strip (25 mm x 3 m)
- 1 Packet of adhesive dressing strips (minimum quantity 10 assorted sizes)
- 4 First aid dressings (75 mm x 100 mm)
- 4 First aid dressings (150 mm x 200 mm)
- 2 Straight splints
- 2 Pairs large and 2 pairs medium disposable latex gloves
- 2 CPR mouth pieces or similar devices
Spillage kit:
- An adequate supply of absorbent material for the absorption of blood and other body fluids spilled
- Disinfectant to disinfect the area after cleaning up blood and other body fluids.
- 2 Pairs large and 2 pairs medium disposable rubber household gloves.
- A suitably sized impervious bag for the safe disposal of blood and other body fluids and/orcontaminated biohazard materials
The Regulations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act states in Regulation 7 that the employer must ensure that only articles and equipment as mentioned above, or other similar equipment or medicine is kept in the first aid box or boxes. According to the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act 101 of 1965, no person is allowed to dispense a medicine (i.e. headache tablets, cough mixture, any other oral medicine) unless authorized to do so under the Pharmacy Act.
Your home first aid kit is your own private property and you can place anything in it that you think you might need. The prescribed content for a workplace first aid kit could be a useful guide, and you could judge the quantities according to the needs of a household. There are no specific regulations for homeowners and medication, and medicines as per those provided by a person authorized to do so under the Pharmacy Act are sometimes kept in private first aid kits. Some people keep items such as headache tablets and medicine for diarrhoea as well as some anti-allergic lotion or cough medicine in their kits. Note that all medicine should be checked regularly for expiry dates (ask the advice of a qualified person) and also be packed securely to avoid spillage and/or contamination.
The regulations require that boxes are provided “where more than five employees are employed at a workplace.” However, it is a good and responsible idea to have a First Aid Kit available even if there is only one person in the office.
The regulations stipulate that an “employers must provide a first aid box or boxes at or near the workplace, available and accessible for the treatment of injured persons at that workplace.’ This means the kits or boxes
The number of first aid kits/boxes will differ according to the nature of the business and the specific working environment. Some factors to be taken into account could include the type of injuries that are likely to occur at a workplace due to the nature of the activities performed, the number of employees employed at the workplace and the size of the premises.
Service Excellence
We pride ourselves in offering nothing less than the best
With our team of highly trained professionals, we have had the best overall feedback in terms of safety and client satisfaction we can ever ask for.
Accredited Training
All of our first aid courses are accredited by the Department of Labour and valid for 3 years.
Governing Body
Ensuring that we provide accurate and quality services in line with the National Occupational Health & Safety Act.
SUPERSPAR Rynfield
"We partnered with Beehive to help us comply with legislation and furfull any training needs we had in terms of health and safety on a monthly basis. Absolutely excelent, to date we are highly happy with them and will continue using them for years to come!"
Rouvy Swanepoel
"Working with Beehive OH&S is such a pleasure, they keep our company up to date in regards to health & safety training as well as keeping the company compliant!"
Franco van Wyk
"The best service I have experienced from a company in a very, very long time. The manner in which they conduct business and put our needs and wellbeing first was a breath opf fresh air! I would highly recommend Beehive."
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