Psychosocial Risks: Know your legal obligations
Businesses Legal Obligations Around Psychosocial Risks
Businesses operating in New Zealand have a legal obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) to identify, manage, and mitigate psychosocial risks in the workplace. Psychosocial risks include factors such as work-related stress, bullying, harassment, fatigue, and workload pressures that can negatively affect employees’ mental health and wellbeing.
Employers must:
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Provide a safe and healthy work environment that addresses both physical and psychological hazards.
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Identify psychosocial hazards through regular risk assessments and employee consultations.
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Implement effective control measures to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks, such as policies on bullying, access to support services, and workload management.
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Support workers’ mental wellbeing by promoting open communication, providing training and resources, and facilitating access to mental health support.
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Ensure timely response and reporting when psychosocial incidents or harm occur.
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Engage workers in developing and reviewing health and safety practices related to psychosocial health.
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Failure to meet these obligations can result in enforcement action, penalties, and harm to both employees and business reputation. Prioritising psychosocial risk management supports a productive, resilient workforce and aligns with best practices for workplace health and safety.
How WellbeingSolutions supports your business with compliance and non app based solutions
Step 1
Psychosocial risk guidelines is made easy with our electronic risk assessment or ISO 45003:2021 that identifies the psychosocial risks in your workplace and helps develop a business strategy as well as prioritise next steps and financial spend.
Step 2
Take a proactive approach to your employee wellbeing with our innovative customisable SMS Check-In for your employees or, in an emergency, be in control whilst supporting your employees with instant support, by communicating through SMS.
Users can reply to the sent message at NO cost to them, removing the financial barrier. From their response, our unique triage system identifies if an employee needs support and connects them to professional support instantly!