Guide

Who is the responsible manager, and what are they responsible for?

The regulation's definition is explicit: a certified person, employed full time, responsible to the Ministry for the unit's business and transactions.

The definition

Article 4 of the Occupational Health and Safety Services Regulation defines the responsible manager as a person holding a workplace physician's or occupational safety specialist's certificate, employed full time in the unit, and responsible to the Ministry for that unit's business and transactions.

Three conditions together

Certificate, full-time employment and taking on responsibility are required together. If one is missing, the assignment is not complete. The assignment letter carries the manager's acceptance — the person signs that they know and accept the role.

The scope of responsibility

Responsibility concerns the unit's business and transactions and runs to the Ministry. This does not remove the responsibilities of the physicians and specialists at the workplaces served; the two layers stand together.

The warning-point side

Warning points also apply to responsible managers. Failure to carry out duties and responsibilities is met, in the relevant table, as a minor breach at ten points per instance.

In Optifora

The organisation record keeps the responsible manager with their certificate and assignment letter; certificate expiry and any change to the full-time condition raise a warning.

  1. Identify the candidateChoose a certified person to be employed full time.
  2. Verify the conditionsCheck certificate, full-time status and no role in another unit.
  3. Prepare the assignment letterDraw up the letter bearing their acceptance.
  4. Define the responsibilitySet out in writing which business and transactions they answer for.
  5. Record itWrite the assignment into the organisation record and the application file.
  6. Notify changesWhen the person changes, renew the assignment and update the record.

Manage this in Optifora

Optifora is not a single program but a compliance platform assembled from modules. The catalogue states which module is ready today and which is on the roadmap.

See what Optifora is