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Legislation and Frequently Asked Questions
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Some of my employee’s use a computer for 1 hour per day – do I need to provide eye testing for these employees?
No, by law you only need to provide eye testing for those who use a PC for 2 or more hours per day. This may be 2 hours at once or sporadically throughout the course of their working day.
Some of my employees have a large number of sporadic sick days; can I investigate this in order to increase/maintain productivity?
Yes, as long as your company has a formal procedure for assessing sick leave it is fine to investigate this. It is most effectively assessed by an occupational health professional as this not only ensures an unbiased approach to employees but also ensures that underlying medical problems can be detected at an early stage.
I believe some of my employees may be taking drugs outside of work, can I arrange drug screening?
Yes, provided that a formal procedure has been set up detailing a “chain of custody” and carried out by a competent person, (such as HealthForce’s Drug Screening Service) it is feasible for employers to carry out random drug screening.
One of my employee’s has reported a muscular injury due to using her computer. Can I be prosecuted for this?
Yes, if the problems are arising from her workstation and there is any form of disability arising from the injury the employee would be able to prosecute if it were deemed that the employer had not taken necessary health and safety measure to prevent and /or manage the problem.
How can I prevent this?
Through the provision of proper ergonomic training for employees and review of ergonomic workstations to ensure the area “fits the person” the possibility of litigation can be prevented.