OHS2602
ASSIGNMENT 1
SEMESTER 2
ANSWERS 2025
OHS2602 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2
ANSWERS 2025
, OHS2602 SEMESTER 2 ASSIGNMENT NO:1
1.1 What is occupational hygiene? Provide an example.
- Definition: Occupational hygiene is the science of preventing ill health and injury by
anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling workplace hazards that can
affect workers’ health.
- Key idea: It focuses on the health aspects of work environments and aims to
prevent exposure to hazards (physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, etc.) through
measurement, risk assessment and control strategies.
- Example: Measuring employees’ exposure to respirable silica dust in a sugar or
glass factory, implementing engineering controls (ventilation, dust suppression), and
providing appropriate respirators to keep exposure within statutory limits.
1.2 The safety shoes policy: Is it correct and permissible to deduct the cost of
an extra pair from an employee’s salary?
- The general principle: Employers must provide necessary PPE (including safety
shoes) at no cost to employees. It is not acceptable to deduct the cost of PPE from
an employee’s wages as a routine matter.
- Legal basis (summary): OHSA requires the employer to ensure PPE is supplied
free of charge; the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) regulates wage
deductions and generally restricts deductions unless legally permissible, with written
consent and limited scope.
- Practical position: If an employee asks for an extra pair of safety shoes, the
employer should provide it at no cost. Deductions from salary for PPE are not
appropriate except in very limited, properly documented scenarios (e.g., a written,
voluntary loan arrangement for a non-essential item, not to be the norm, and within
ASSIGNMENT 1
SEMESTER 2
ANSWERS 2025
OHS2602 ASSIGNMENT 1 SEMESTER 2
ANSWERS 2025
, OHS2602 SEMESTER 2 ASSIGNMENT NO:1
1.1 What is occupational hygiene? Provide an example.
- Definition: Occupational hygiene is the science of preventing ill health and injury by
anticipating, recognising, evaluating and controlling workplace hazards that can
affect workers’ health.
- Key idea: It focuses on the health aspects of work environments and aims to
prevent exposure to hazards (physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, etc.) through
measurement, risk assessment and control strategies.
- Example: Measuring employees’ exposure to respirable silica dust in a sugar or
glass factory, implementing engineering controls (ventilation, dust suppression), and
providing appropriate respirators to keep exposure within statutory limits.
1.2 The safety shoes policy: Is it correct and permissible to deduct the cost of
an extra pair from an employee’s salary?
- The general principle: Employers must provide necessary PPE (including safety
shoes) at no cost to employees. It is not acceptable to deduct the cost of PPE from
an employee’s wages as a routine matter.
- Legal basis (summary): OHSA requires the employer to ensure PPE is supplied
free of charge; the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) regulates wage
deductions and generally restricts deductions unless legally permissible, with written
consent and limited scope.
- Practical position: If an employee asks for an extra pair of safety shoes, the
employer should provide it at no cost. Deductions from salary for PPE are not
appropriate except in very limited, properly documented scenarios (e.g., a written,
voluntary loan arrangement for a non-essential item, not to be the norm, and within
