Legal Requirements

Under Section 3 of the Accident and Occupational Diseases (Notification) Act (Cap.338), employers are required to report to the Chief Labour Officer:

• every fatal accident and;
• every accident which results in more than 3 days absence from doing work at which he was employed at the time of such an accident.

Further, every employer is required to keep a book where the occurrence of every accident at the workplace is recorded.

Section 25 requires that every medical practitioner and every employer who suspects the occurrence of any occupational disease sends a written notice to the Chief Labour Officer setting out the prescribed information. Reporting provisions under this Act (Cap.338) are independent of reporting requirements for any other agency.

Reports received are reviewed and recorded to satisfy both local and international reporting requirements. The Department further investigates accidents based on criteria which take into account departmental manpower availability and the furtherance of the overall occupational safety and health objectives. It is also desirable that accidents are investigated through the internal mechanisms of the work place and corrective measures taken as appropriate.

The report of the inspectorate is intended to be an independent, impartial assessment of an accident. All parties provided for under the Act (Section 101, Cap 347) are encouraged to request of a copy of an accident report where it is available.

Section 101 of the Factories Act states that no person shall disturb, alter or remove any machinery, equipment or substance that is likely to be of assistance in the investigation of an accident in a factory unless authorised to do so by the Chief Labour Officer. This Section also provides for the disclosure of information in the case of a person injured in employment at a factory, to the following persons:

• The injured person or any relative or friend authorised by the injured person;
• An Attorney-at-Law representing the injured person;
• Any Trade Union representing workers in the factory;
• The personal representative of the deceased in any case where an injury results in death; and
• An Attorney-at-Law representing the occupier of the factory;

The information is compiled as a report and is released to relevant parties on payment of a fee of $50.00.

These provisions support the inspectorate’s general mandate to promote occupational safety and health through the investigation of accidents.

Accident investigations are somber but vital in a total programme of occupational safety and health management. Out of these investigations arise significant measures for the promotion of desirable standards of occupational safety and health.