Worker Engagement Regulations 2016
The Health and Safety at Work (Worker Engagement, Participation and Representation) Regulations 2016 (often called the WER Regulations or WEPR Regulations) specify how PCBUs must engage with their workers on health and safety matters.
Worker engagement is not a box-ticking exercise. Research consistently shows that workplaces where workers are genuinely involved in identifying and managing risks have fewer injuries and better safety cultures.
This page is not legal advice. For specific compliance questions, consult a qualified health and safety advisor or lawyer.
The core obligation
Section titled “The core obligation”Under the HSWA, every PCBU must have worker participation practices — ways of ensuring workers can contribute to health and safety decisions that affect them. The regulations define what these practices must include, and what rights workers have around health and safety representation.
Health and safety representatives (HSRs)
Section titled “Health and safety representatives (HSRs)”Workers have the right to elect a health and safety representative (HSR). If workers request an HSR election, the PCBU must facilitate it. HSRs have specific powers under the HSWA, including:
- Representing workers on health and safety matters
- Investigating incidents and complaints
- Inspecting the workplace
- Issuing Provisional Improvement Notices (PINs) — a formal direction to a PCBU to remedy a health and safety issue
- Directing workers to cease work in situations of serious and immediate risk
HSR training: Elected HSRs have the right to attend a WorkSafe-approved HSR training course (at the PCBU’s cost). This is a certification you should track in SteadyOn.
SteadyOn support: Record HSR training in the Training module (Health & Safety Awareness category). The BRAG system will flag when the certification is due for renewal.
Health and safety committees
Section titled “Health and safety committees”Workers can also request the establishment of a health and safety committee. A committee must be established within two months of a valid request. Committees provide a structured forum for workers and management to discuss and cooperate on health and safety matters.
SteadyOn support: While SteadyOn does not manage committee meetings, it provides the data the committee needs: current hazard register status, overdue actions, incident trends, upcoming inspections, and training gaps. Export reports from SteadyOn to bring to committee meetings as your compliance dashboard.
Worker participation practices
Section titled “Worker participation practices”Even where no HSR is elected and no committee is formed, a PCBU must still have worker participation practices — these are the day-to-day ways workers can raise health and safety concerns and contribute to safety decisions.
Examples include:
- Toolbox talks and safety briefings
- Hazard reporting systems
- Pre-task hazard assessments (take-5 / JSA)
- Anonymous hazard reporting channels
SteadyOn support: The most direct form of worker participation in SteadyOn is hazard and incident reporting. Every user — including Members (the lowest role) — can report a hazard or incident. The public incident reporting link allows workers, contractors, and visitors to report without needing a SteadyOn account at all. This makes it easy for every person at your workplace to participate in identifying risks.
Designated work groups (DWGs)
Section titled “Designated work groups (DWGs)”In larger workplaces, workers and the PCBU can agree to form designated work groups (DWGs) — groups of workers who share similar work, location, or H&S interests and who elect their own HSR. The regulations set out the process for establishing and changing DWGs.
SteadyOn support: SteadyOn’s user roles (Owner, Admin, Member) and team structure do not directly map to DWGs, but you can use the reporting and dashboard tools to generate data relevant to specific DWGs or sites.
Overlapping PCBUs
Section titled “Overlapping PCBUs”Many workplaces involve multiple PCBUs — for example, a construction site where a principal contractor and several subcontractors all share the same work environment. Where PCBUs share a workplace, they must consult, cooperate, and coordinate their worker engagement activities.
SteadyOn support: The public incident reporting link is particularly useful in multi-PCBU environments — contractors and subcontractors can report hazards and incidents without needing SteadyOn accounts.
Summary: worker engagement in SteadyOn
Section titled “Summary: worker engagement in SteadyOn”| Worker engagement requirement | SteadyOn feature |
|---|---|
| Workers can report hazards | Hazard Register — all roles can report |
| Workers can report incidents | Incident Register — all roles can report |
| Contractors/visitors can report | Public Incident Reporting link |
| HSR certification tracked | Training module — Health & Safety Awareness |
| Committee safety data available | Dashboard, Reports, CSV export |
| Toolbox talk records | Documents module (store SOPs and records) |
Further reading
Section titled “Further reading”- Roles and Permissions — how SteadyOn roles align with different participation levels
- NZ Regulatory Framework — overview of all regulations