By Gaby Grammeno Contributor

The employer was part of a group owning a number of supermarkets, grocery stores and cafes across Victoria and New South Wales, included a general store on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, at Wye River.

Various chemicals were stored at the workplace, including methylated spirits and an oven-and-grill cleaner, which was used by employees to clean the grill in the kitchen. The two substances were stored next to each other at the back of the kitchen in very similar-looking bottles.

The incident

On 12 February 2022 a labour hire worker who was cleaning the grill in the kitchen of the store mistakenly picked up the bottle of methylated spirits instead of the grill cleaner, and used it on the hot grill. The liquid ignited, burning the worker on the right hand, forearm and neck.

WorkSafe Victoria’s investigation found that storing the two substances next to each other in similar bottles entailed a risk of serious injury to workers cleaning the grill if they accidentally picked up the wrong bottle. 

Adverse consequences were more likely given the limited information and training staff were given in chemical safety.

To minimise the risk, it would have been reasonably practicable for the employer to provide systems of work for the storage of chemicals at the workplace that reduced this risk, such as storing the methylated spirits at least three metres away from the oven and grill cleaner, and/or marking the respective containers in a way that clearly distinguished one from the other.

There were no checklists in place, so stock levels of chemicals were only checked in an ad hoc manner. This often meant stock levels were too low, which resulted in workers using chemicals for incorrect purposes.

WorkSafe charged the company with four alleged contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and four contraventions of the Dangerous Goods Act 1985. Specifically, the company failed to ensure that a register of hazardous substances and the current safety data sheet for each hazardous substance was readily accessible to any employee who may be exposed to the substance, contrary to the requirements of the OHS Regulations 2017.

In response to the charges, the employer undertook a range of activities to improve its safety performance:

  • training managers in first aid and chemical awareness
  • highlighting the risks and preventive measures to the industry nationwide 
  • improving the training, support and influence of health and safety representatives at each worksite
  • presentation of industry safety training in proper storage and use of cleaning supplies 
  • onsite retraining for all department managers
  • full re-audit and review to ensure compliance with the DG act
  • employment of three part time WHS supervisors each with a different specific role, an external third-party consultant and a head office HSR committee.

With a view to prosecuting the company, WorkSafe filed the matter to be heard by the Geelong Magistrates Court.

The enforceable undertaking

In lieu of prosecution, the employer offered WorkSafe Victoria an enforceable undertaking committing the company to practical measures to improve its chemical safety and cleaning systems. The enforceable undertaking came into operation when WorkSafe accepted it and formally discontinued its pending prosecution of the company.

The first commitment was that the employer would create and publish an online training program for chemical safety and cleaning management, which all staff would be required to undertake. Before the incident, training programs had not extended to all workers. Specialised chemical safety training would also be available to the broader retail industry.

In addition, 12-weekly audits would be carried out to check that all equipment and chemicals are stored correctly, are being used for their correct purpose and stock levels are being maintained in accordance with appropriate standards.

The second commitment was to create a Chemical and Hazards Audit as part of a tablet-based checklist linked to a web portal that captures the results of the assessment and reports them to the senior management team. This checklist – which the incident prompted the Group to develop – is not a legislative or regulatory requirement, but was provided as part of the enforceable undertaking.

Together with an independent third party the Group worked with since the incident, two types of checklist were developed – a basic set-up checklist to ensure stores are correctly set up on opening, and a monthly checklist to ensure the chemicals are stored in the correct spot, there is adequate supply available and they are being used for their prescribed purposes.

Other actions taken since the incident included the establishment of a hazardous substances register, a new safety induction program for all staff working in the kitchen and front of house, preparation of safe work instructions for all kitchen equipment and the provision of safety data sheets and newly labelled containers for hazardous substances.

Workshops on proper storage of chemicals were also held, with discussions led by the CEO of the group.

The estimated cost of the activities already undertaken was $530,000, with an additional cost of over $62,000 for implementation, monitoring and reporting on the undertakings, including the audit by an independent dangerous goods consultant.

Read the enterprise agreement

Wye River Grocer Pty Ltd and Dreyfus Pty Ltd enforceable undertaking