Psychosocial risk management - legal responsibilities
Emily Rust
New Zealand workplaces are legally obligated to identify and address work-related risks to worker mental health and wellbeing.
The Health and Safety at Work Act (2015) states businesses have a primary duty of care to make sure the health and safety of their workers and others is not put at risk by the work they do.
Although the terms 'mental health' and 'psychosocial risk' are not explicitly mentioned within the Act, the interpretation and application of the law clearly covers these aspects as part of overall worker health and safety.
The Act also makes clear that everyone in the work system (directors, executives, leaders, workers and other people) has a role to play to ensure it is safe and healthy.
According to WorkSafe, recent changes to the HSWA (2015) see it "shift the focus from monitoring and recording health and safety incidents to proactively identifying and managing risks so everyone is safe and healthy."
A psychosocial risk - something that workplaces are expected to identify and eliminate or mitigate - can be thought of as a workplace stressor or an occupational hazard that could cause psychological harm or negatively impact wellbeing (hauora).
Growing case law demonstrates that NZ is now catching up with other international trends and practices to protect the mental health and wellbeing of workers:
- In 2023, WorkSafe issued Auckland One Rail an improvement notice after finding the known psychosocial risk to workers of viewing, experiencing, or hearing about on-track collisions was not being managed effectively.
- The Employment Court's $1.8 million award for mental harm at Melville High School.
- In Feb 2024 the ERA determined that employer Magnum Hire created an unsafe work environment where bullying and harassment caused an ex-employee to suffer panic attacks. Magnum Hire was ordered to pay the former GM $137,000 in compensation.
- Noel Leeming employee paid $50,000 after suffering burnout (January 2024)
According to Umbrella's 2024 Wellbeing Report, "viewing mental safety as 'just another thing organisations need to do' is a gross simplification. Improving mental safety is much more than dodging the stick of punishment; it is a carrot, too – an opportunity to enhance teams, to strengthen performance, and to earn an incontestable reputation for healthy work."