SITXWHS001 Participate in Safe Work Practices Student
SITXWHS001 Participate in Safe Work Practices Student
Application This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required to
incorporate safe work practices into own workplace activities. It requires the ability
to follow predetermined health, safety and security procedures and to participate in
organisational work health and safety (WHS) management practices.
Assessment requirements for SITXWHS001 Participate in safe work practices are detailed in
the Training Package.
Term Definition
Duty of care The legal and general obligation and responsibility expected of a
person to protect themselves and others from harm in the
workplace
Emergency services Public services that deal with emergencies, such as the police, fire
fighters, ambulance and medical response units
Food handling The skills and tasks needed to handle food safely
procedures
education.nsw.gov.au
Term Definition
beverages
Hazard identification Recognising the risk of an item or situation that may lead to a
potential accident or harm to a person
Workplace hazards An item, condition, event or situation that could lead to a potential
accident or harm
Hygiene Clean and sanitary conditions that promote health and safety
Manual handling Using human force to move or support a load (including moving,
lifting, putting down, pushing pulling, or carrying)
Work Health and Safety Legislation, policies, procedures and activities that aim to protect
(WH&S) the health, safety and welfare of all people at the workplace
Work Health and Safety PCBU/ PCBU and worker representatives participate in a group to
Committee review, advise and recommend on health, safety and security
issues in a workplace
Work Health and Safety The regulations currently in place that apply to Occupational
Act 2011 (the Act) Health and Safety in all NSW workplaces
Work Health and Safety
Regulation 2017 (WHS
Regulation)
Personal hygiene Factors that maintain positive, clean personal care and health of a
person
Pest control Actions designed to control and eradicate pests and vermin from
workplaces
Personal Protective Equipment and clothing items designed to protect the user from
Equipment (PPE) potential hazards or injuries whilst doing a task at work
SafeWork NSW A state authority that manages workplace safety, injuries and
incidents and compensation
Important notes
PCBUs and workers all have a shared responsibility to promote a safe, secure and healthy work
environment that minimises risk of harm to any person.
The Australian government is proactive in its approach to workplace safety. Work Health and
Safety (WH&S) and workers' compensation in Australia are a state-based responsibility.
WH&S legislation and regulations are the responsibility of the WH&S authorities in each state and
territory.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (as amended) is the overriding legislation that covers
all NSW workplaces and describes the general requirements that will ensure a healthy and safe
workplace. It is a framework of responsibilities and outlines the duty of care that PCBUs, workers
and others have, to promote a safe and healthy work environment.
The Work Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (NSW) (as amended) apply under the NSW Work
Health and Safety (WHS) Act and contain guidelines for specific aspects of health, safety and
welfare. They provide more detail than the NSW WHS Act itself and combine all previous
legislation and regulations into one central piece of legislation, dealing with all aspects of health
and safety.
Codes of practice do not replace the WHS laws but can help make understanding what you must
do a little easier.
Safe Work Australia is an Australian government statutory body established in 2008 to develop
national policy relating to WHS and workers’ compensation.
SafeWork NSW is the statutory authority responsible for workplace health, safety and welfare in
NSW. WorkCover NSW enforces the WHS Act and Regulations in NSW.
SafeWork NSW assists PCBUs and workers to understand their rights and responsibilities as well
as enforcing the law. SafeWork NSW also educates, promotes prevention of workplace injury,
manages the workers compensation system and enforces compliance with NSW law.
Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) employed by councils can visit worksites, respond to
complaints or concerns, issue improvement notices for hazardous situations, investigate incidents
or accidents, issue on the spot fines, collect evidence and recommend prosecution.
Union representatives work with PCBUs and workers to improve workplace safety. Union legal
staff commonly represent workers in workers compensation claims.
Every year in Australia, workers are killed or injured at work. Claims for workers compensation
payments to compensate workers for loss of wages, medical expenses or retraining continue to
increase.
When you are working in a hospitality environment you must pay attention to safety - both your
own and that of your colleagues. Hospitality workplaces have a variety of hazards that need to be
identified and managed to prevent injury.
An accident at work affects people in more ways than just financial loss of income. There are
several different ways that injuries or illnesses at work can be a cost or burden.
Human: When a person is injured there will be pain, suffering and discomfort for them and
possibly others.
Social: An injury can affect the person, their family and other people because of factors
such as loss of income, emotional worry and the inconvenience of being unwell or unfit. A
change in lifestyle or family tasks may be required.
Economic: Medical costs, the need for financial compensation and loss of normal wages
all affect injured workers and their families. This may impact on an individual’s financial
responsibilities such as repayment of loans or commitments.
Organisational: The loss of an worker whilst they are injured affects the workplace and the
team’s ability to carry on working productively. Accidents, investigations, staff meetings,
replacement staff and retraining all affect the productivity of the remaining staff at the
workplace. The PCBU may also face significant additional costs because of these.
All hospitality establishments need to be safe and healthy environments, whether they are food
and beverage restaurants, commercial kitchens, clubs, hotels and accommodation, tourist
enterprises or cafes.
PCBUs and workers all have a shared responsibility to promote a safe secure and healthy work
environment that minimises risk of harm to any person. This responsibility is called duty of care.
Duty of care
The responsibilities or ‘duty of care’ for both PCBUs and workers are outlined in the Work Health
and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (as amended). Duty of care is a person’s obligation to prevent
workplace accidents, illnesses and injuries.
PCBU responsibilities
PCBUs/PCBUs have primary responsibility to ensure workers and others are not exposed to a risk
to their health and safety. A PCBU must meet their obligations, so far as is reasonably practicable,
to ensure the health and safety of workers and other people like visitors and volunteers.
A lack of commitment to providing a safe, healthy secure workplace can lead to infringement
notices and fines under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (as amended).
Worker responsibilities
Whenever you are working in a hospitality workplace you must be aware of your legal duty of care,
ensuring the health, safety and security of yourself and others.
You MUST:
When you are working in a hospitality environment you must pay attention to safety - both your
own and that of your colleagues. Make sure you are clear what your duty of care requires as a
worker.
WH&S requires incidents, accidents, hazards, training and safe work practices to be monitored and
documented. Workers must notify their PCBU of any hazards, safety concerns, incidents or injuries
and complete all appropriate reports or documents.
PCBUs must have meaningful and open consultation about work health and safety with workers,
health and safety representatives and health and safety committees. A Work Health and Safety
Committee is a group of PCBU and worker representatives who review, advise and recommend on
health, safety and security issues in workplaces which have over 20 workers.
Participation and consultation are key concepts relating to workplace safety, and worker rights and
responsibilities. PCBUs can become more aware of hazards and WH&S issues experienced by
workers. Workers can provide suggestions about how to solve health and safety problems.
When working in a kitchen or hospitality situation, ensuring safety of all workers is a priority.
You need to know the risks, any dangers (hazards) and how to work safely in what can be busy,
noisy situations.
PCBUs and workers need to work together, recognising hazards, and making sure everyone
follows safe work practices, every day, in every situation.
A hazard is any item, condition, event or situation that could lead to a potential accident or harm.
PCBUs and workers need to work together, recognising hazards or potentially dangerous
situations and making sure everyone in the workplace follows safe work practices.
Some of the hazards commonly found in hospitality workplaces such as kitchens, food and
beverage service areas and customer service areas can pose a significant threat to safety. They
require careful management, safety awareness, strict work procedures and safety equipment to
reduce the risk of harm.
Before starting work, make sure you know the potential hazards and are familiar with ways of
reducing any risk of harm to yourself or others.
PCBUs and workers need to work together, recognising hazards or potentially dangerous
situations and making sure injuries are avoided.
Hazards commonly found in hospitality workplaces can cause significant injuries and need careful
management, safety awareness, strict work procedures and safety equipment to reduce the risk of
harm.
All accidents, incidents, first aid and “near misses” should be reported.
The table below lists some of the more common injuries found in hospitality workplaces and
outlines the causes of these injuries as well as the steps that you can take to prevent them.
Slips, trips, falls slippery floors wear sensible, covered, shoes with
loose, uneven a good grip
surfaces clean up quickly, safely and properly
poor lighting replace equipment when necessary
obstacles on floor don’t rush
spillages use non-slip matting in wet areas
poor housekeeping report any injury or hazard
poor maintenance lift small loads
Burns and scalds hot surfaces and organise your work area properly
cooking pots do not allow pot handles to protrude
flames use protective equipment such as
steam-coffee thermal gloves
machines, open doors and lids away from you
microwaves, ovens alert colleagues to heat
hot liquids or oil report any injury or hazard
Ensuring injuries and illness are prevented is an ongoing process. Identifying potential hazards,
training and inducting staff, sharing responsibility for health and safety, and ongoing improvement
and maintenance are all central to a safe work environment.
Below are some specific work practices designed to keep you safe, when working in a hospitality
environment.
Personal protective equipment must be worn as protection from potential injury. Common
examples of PPE in hospitality workplaces include:
Chemicals management
Chemicals should be stored in a separate, well ventilated, secure area, away from other
supplies.
All chemicals should be stored in their original containers, with accurate labelling and
warnings.
Safety data sheets (SDS) should be available for all chemicals and be referred to before
using any chemical. The SDS will also provide information to be used in an emergency.
Chemicals should never be mixed or stored in food/ beverage containers.
Protective equipment should be used when handling chemicals, such as gloves, masks and
automatic dosing pumps or taps.
Manual handling
Do not use faulty equipment. All electrical equipment should be repaired, tagged and tested
for safety by a qualified service person.
Ensure lighting, ventilation and security of access is adequate.
Identify and clean up spills quickly and thoroughly.
Use clearly visible signs to warn of any potential dangers.
Keep work and storage areas well organised and free from obstructions.
Use appropriate personal protective equipment and safety devices and guards on
equipment.
Emergency situations
When working in a kitchen or hospitality situation you must make the safety of yourself and others,
including staff and customers, a priority.
You need to be prepared to respond to a range of emergency situations. These may include:
fire
hazardous substances
medical emergencies
power failure, electrical faults
violent, aggressive behaviour
bomb threats
unlawful entry, theft.
Each work site will have site specific emergency procedures to follow, however you will find
general guidelines for emergency responses by clicking on the link below.
Emergency responses for common situations are outlined below, but you will also need to know
the site-specific responses for your workplace as each hospitality workplace will have its own plans
and procedures.
Critical responses include recognising the danger, assessing the risk, determining any harm or
damage and raising the alarm, whilst not placing yourself or others at risk of further harm. All
emergency situations and responses will need to be documented and reviewed.
Fire
Hazardous substances
All staff should know to access the nearest telephone to contact emergency services by
calling 000.
Safety data sheets (SDS) should be referred to for emergency information.
All staff should remain in a well-ventilated area, downwind from any fumes or vapours.
Evacuation routes and plans should be clearly documented and practised.
Medical emergencies
The extent of failure should be identified, for example floor, building, street, suburb or
region.
Evacuation routes and plans should be clearly documented and practised.
Security and shut down procedures should be implemented.
The utilities service provider should be notified.
Staff may have to deal with aggressive or intoxicated customers or the threat of violence from a
theft or robbery. The following steps should be followed:
Cash handling, security access and storage of valuables should be proactive. It is important to
minimise risks and maximise the personal safety of staff through use of security systems,
surveillance cameras and access to experienced management staff.
Bomb threat
Activities
Each workplace and work area will be different, so you are encouraged to discuss your roles and
responsibilities in each work area with your supervisor or PCBU.
Select the correct word from the following list to fill in the blank spaces in the passage
below.
The Work Health and Safety Act _______ (NSW) is ________________ that covers safety
in_____________________________________.
prevent workplace accidents, illnesses and injuries applies to both PCBUs and
____________________.
to workers on safe work practices. PCBUs must also provide well maintained,
safe__________________.
The legislation also requires workers to work safely, so they do not ___________
themselves or others. Workers must ______________ and follow work safety instructions
and guidelines.
________________ is the NSW authority to assist and enforce work safety issues. There
are ______________________for both PCBUs and workers who do not comply with the
legislation.
The purpose of this activity is for you to identify possible hazards in common hospitality work
areas.
For each hazard that you identify, plan strategies or actions that will reduce the risk of injury
or harm.
Each workplace and work area will be different, so you are encouraged to discuss the safety
Example:
Expresso coffee
machine
Mise en place
vegetable
preparation.
(cutting, peeling,
slicing)
Bar, Beverage
service area
Food storage
areas
Wash up area
Dishwasher
The purpose of this activity is to categorise common hazards into the four main types of hazards
that exist in hospitality workplaces.
Hazards
hot oil working short staffed
bleach faulty equipment
sharp knives steam
intoxicated angry customer cleaning agents
fatigue rotting spoilt food
detergent overflowing garbage area
bullying by colleague broken glass
high shelving no disposable gloves or
sick work colleague hairnets
dim lighting slippery wet floor
changes in the workplace no lunch break
Sort the hazards listed above into one of the four categories in the table below:
The purpose of this case study is for you to identify actions that may form part of a safety induction
into a typical hospitality workplace.
Select the correct word from the following list to fill in the blank spaces in the passage
below.
It was Jin’s first day of work at The Green Teahouse. Lee, the owner greeted her at 8.00am.
Before starting work in the kitchen Lee had organised an _________________ session. The
law that dealt with workplace _________. Lee explained both PCBUs and
Next, Lee showed Jin some of the ____________ that could possibly cause her harm.
These included ______________, knives and sharp blades, hot surfaces and liquids. Safe
Lee explained what Jin should do in ________________ situations. The contact details for
on the walls. Jin was shown where the ____________kit was located.
Later Jin watched a kitchen safety DVD and received a __________________, outlining her
role and responsibilities, code of conduct, and safe work procedures. Jin noted that minimal
when handling food. Jin worked alongside David, her work _________, for the first few days.
Extension activity
Once you have completed the gap fill exercise you may want to consider the following questions,
as an extension exercise.
1. Did Jin’s induction session meet the PCBU’s legal responsibility under The Work Health
and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (as amended)?
Explain your answer.
2. How did the induction session prepare Jin to work safely in the kitchen?
Using the list of possible hazards below, match each hazard to the appropriate safe work practice
or equipment in the table below.
Fire alarm
SDS
Hairnet
Gloves
Exit sign
Fire extinguisher
Electric tag
Point of sale
Fire blanket
Answer the following questions by indicating if the statements are true or false.
1. The term “Manual Handling” refers to the security and handling of workplace procedure
manuals.
True/False
2. Chemicals should be stored separately, away from food and paper goods.
True/False
3. All injuries at work, even small cuts and minor sprains, should be reported and recorded.
True/False
4. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017 (WHS Regulation) is the overriding legal act
covering workplace safety in NSW.
True/False
5. WorkCover inspectors can visit worksites, issue improvement notices, and on the spot
fines.
True/False
7. Chefs must provide all their own protective clothing and equipment.
True/False
8. Safety concerns, faulty equipment and accidents should be verbally reported and discussed
later at the next staff meeting.
True/False
9. A Work Health and Safety committee should meet monthly at every workplace.
True/False
10. Workers need to report any safety breaches, accidents, concerns or incidents.
True/False
State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) regulates motor accidents CTP and workers
compensation insurance as well as the home building compensation fund in NSW.
Icare (Insurance & Care NSW) delivers insurance and care services to the people of New South
Wales, under the NSW Workers Compensation Scheme. Whether a person is severely injured
in the workplace or on our roads, icare supports their long-term care needs to improve quality of
life outcomes, including helping people return to work.
SafeWork SA (South Australia's OHS agency) has developed a virtual kitchen online
activity to promote hazard identification and management, within a virtual kitchen
environment.