DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR HEALTH & SAFETY INSPECTIONS, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW?- Labournet
- Mar 26
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 27
Health & Safety is a universal language: “What goes up must come down.” Wheth er you are ascending or descending a ladder in South Africa or anywhere else in the world, the risks remain the same. The Occupational Health & Safety Act and its regulations help employers to manage these risks and are not designed to complicate operations. Instead, they exist to protect employees, reduce risk, and safeguard your business.
Once this mindset becomes part of your daily operations, Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) inspections become routine and uneventful, with minimal findings, especially if you are mentally prepared for them. While there is a lot of negativity and misunderstanding surrounding these inspections, most of it is unfounded. The reality is simple: If you comply with the required legislation, you have nothing to fear. We’ve simplified it into three clear steps.
Step 1: Understand What the DEL Is Looking For
The DEL’s goal is to verify that employees are working in a safe, comfortable, and wellmanaged environment. This can be achieved by ensuring that the following basic, universally accepted requirements that the DEL will look for, are in place:
■ Clean, adequate changing rooms, seating, and sanitation facilities suitable for the number of employees
■ Personal lockers capable of securely storing personal belongings
■ A canteen or dining area that is free from dust, smoke, chemical contamination, or production-related hazards
■ Basic warm running water for handwashing These are reasonable, minimum expectations. Without these facilities, a contravention notice is almost guaranteed, and rightly so.
Step 2: Ensure All Required Documentation Is Current and Available
Inspectors request documentation to confirm that your organisation understands its risks and manages them effectively. They are looking for evidence that:
■ Hazards and risks have been identified and assessed
■ Competent persons are appointed to supervise and manage potential risk
■ Risk mitigation measures and controls are in place
■ Emergency preparedness and incident management processes are established and supported by trained personnel The documents below form the foundation of your safety management system and are therefore the minimum documentation required. You may be asked to provide them before or on the day of inspection, irrespective of whether the latter is scheduled or unannounced:
■ COIDA registration number
■ Section 16(2) appointments
■ GMR 2(1) and 2(7) Competent Person Designations
■ Approved inspection authority reports
■ First aider competency certificates
■ Health & Safety representative inspection reports
■ Minutes of the last four consecutive Health & Safety committee meetings
■ Incident Register (Annexure 1 to the general administrative regulations)
■ Certificate of Compliance for electrical installation
■ Certificate of Conformity for gas installations
■ Medical surveillance programmes & biological monitoring records
■ Risk assessments, including health risk assessment
While having these documents does not guarantee full compliance, it significantly strengthens your inspection outcome. Additional findings may still result in temporary closure or corrective actions with clear deadlines, communicated in writing with legal references.
Step 3: Act on the Findings
After the inspection, any findings will be issued in writing. It is critical that all items are resolved within the prescribed timeframe (usually 60 days), and that proof of compliance is submitted to the inspector before the followup visit. Failure to comply may result in prosecution.
Get Audit-Ready Before It’s Too Late
Meeting the basic requirements of the Act is essential for protecting your people and your business. Compliance ensures safer operations, a healthier workplace culture, and reduced exposure to costly penalties, while ignoring these responsibilities can disrupt your business, compromise employee wellbeing, and damage trust. Act now to secure your operations and create a workplace where safety and accountability are non-negotiable.
T: +27 (0)31 266 6570
M: +27 (0)82 786 7480
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