Health and Safety at Work Act 2015

83 Right of worker to cease or refuse to carry out unsafe work

(1)

A worker may cease, or refuse to carry out, work if the worker believes that carrying out the work would expose the worker, or any other person, to a serious risk to the worker’s or other person’s health or safety arising from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.

(2)

A worker may continue to refuse to carry out the work if—

(a)

the worker attempts to resolve the matter with the PCBU as soon as practicable after first refusing to do the work; and

(b)

the matter is not resolved; and

(c)

the worker believes on reasonable grounds that carrying out the work would expose the worker or any other person to a serious risk to the worker’s or other person’s health or safety arising from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.

(3)

Without limiting subsection (2)(c), reasonable grounds exist if a health and safety representative has advised the worker that carrying out the work would expose the worker or any other person to a serious risk to the worker’s or other person’s health or safety arising from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.

(4)

A worker who ceases work under subsection (1) must, as soon as practicable, notify the PCBU that the worker has ceased work.

(5)

Subsection (1) does not authorise a worker to refuse to do work that, because of its nature, inherently or usually carries an understood risk to the worker’s health and safety, unless that risk has materially increased beyond the understood risk.

(6)

To avoid doubt, nothing in this section limits or affects an employee’s right to refuse to do work under any other enactment or the general law.

Compare: 1992 No 96 s 28A; Model Work Health and Safety Act (Aust) ss 84, 86