OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994

LAWS OF MALAYSIA ONLINE VERSION OF UPDATED TEXT OF REPRINT Act 514 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994 As at 1 June 2024 This text is ONLY AN UPDATED TEXT of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 by the Attorney General’s Chambers. Unless and until reprinted pursuant to the powers of the Commissioner of Law Revision under subsection 14(1) of the Revision of Laws Act 1968 [Act 1], this text is NOT AN AUTHENTIC TEXT. 2 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994 Date of Royal Assent … … … 15 February 1994 Date of publication in the Gazette … … … 24 February 1994 Latest amendment made by Act A1648 which came into operation on … … … 1 June 2024 PREVIOUS REPRINTS First Reprint … … … … … 2002 Second Reprint … … … … … 2006 3 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 514 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I PRELIMINARY Section 1. Short title and application 2. Prevailing laws 3. Interpretation 4. Objects of the Act PART II APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS, INDEPENDENT INSPECTING BODY AND LICENSED PERSON 5. Appointment of officers, etc. 6. Appointment of independent inspecting body 7. Certificate of authorization 7A. Appointment of licensed person, etc. 7 B. Revocation of licence 7 C. Granting of new licence upon revocation 7D. Representing as licensed person 4 Law of Malaysia ACT 514 PART III NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH Section 8. Establishment of the Council 9. Membership of the Council 10. Second Schedule to apply 11. Powers and functions of the Council 12. Appointment of secretary to the Council 13. Committees 14. Annual report PART IV GENERAL DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS, SELF-EMPLOYED PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL 15. General duties of employers 16. Duty of employer to formulate occupational safety and health policy 17. General duties of employers and self-employed persons to persons other than their employees 18. Duties of an occupier of a place of work to persons other than his employees 18A. Duties of principal 18B. Duty to conduct and implement risk assessment 19. Penalty for an offence under section 15, 16, 17, 18, 18A or 18B PART V GENERAL DUTIES OF DESIGNERS, MANUFACTURERS AND SUPPLIERS 20. General duties of manufacturers, etc., as regards plant for use at work 21. General duties of manufacturers, etc., as regards substances for use at work 22. Explanations to sections 20 and 21 23. Penalty for an offence under section 20 or 21 Occupational Safety and Health 5 PART VI GENERAL DUTIES AND RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES Section 24. General duties of employees at work 25. Duty not to interfere with or misuse things provided pursuant to certain provisions 26. Duty not to charge employees for things done or provided 26A. Rights of employees 27. Discrimination against employee, etc. PART VIA NOTIFICATION OF OCCUPATION OF PLACE OF WORK, INSTALLATION AND INSPECTION OF PLANT, ETC. 27A. Notice of occupation of place of work 27B. Prescription of plant requiring certificate of fitness 27C. Installation of plant 27D. Certificate of fitness 27E. Periodical inspection of plant 27F. Special scheme of inspection 27G. Director General may make orders in certain circumstances PART VII SAFETY AND HEALTH ORGANIZATIONS 28. Occupational health service 28A. No action against person carrying out occupational health service 29. Safety and health officer 29A. Occupational safety and health coordinator 30. Establishment of safety and health committee at place of work 31. Functions of safety and health committee 31A. Occupational safety and health training course 6 Law of Malaysia ACT 514 PART VIIA COMPETENT PERSON AND REGISTERED TRAINING PROVIDER Section 31B. Activities to be carried out by competent person and registered training provider 31C. Application for registration 31D. Validity of registration 31E. Renewal of registration 31F. Cancellation of registration PART VIII NOTIFICATION OF ACCIDENTS, DANGEROUS OCCURRENCE, OCCUPATIONAL POISONING AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES, AND INQUIRY 32. Notification of accidents, dangerous occurrence, occupational poisoning and occupational diseases, and inquiry 33. Director General may direct inquiry to be held 34. Power of occupational safety and health officer at inquiry 34A. Duties of the owner, occupier, etc., in inquiry PART IX PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF PLANT OR SUBSTANCE 35. Power to prohibit the use of plant or substance 36. (Deleted) PART X INDUSTRY CODES OF PRACTICE 37. Approval of industry codes of practice 38. Use of industry codes of practice in proceedings Occupational Safety and Health PART XI ENFORCEMENT AND INVESTIGATION Section 39. Powers of entry, inspection, examination, seizure, etc. 40. Entry into premises with search warrant and power of seizure 41. Entry into premises without search warrant and power of seizure 42. Power of forceful entry and service on occupier of signed copy of list of things seized from premises 43. Further provisions in relation to inspection 44. Power of investigation 45. Power to examine witnesses 46. Employer, etc., to assist officer 47. Offences in relation to inspection, examination or investigation 48. Improvement notice and prohibition notice 49. Penalty for failure to comply with notice 50. Aggrieved person may appeal PART XII LIABILITY FOR OFFENCES 51. General penalty 52. Liability of director, etc., of company, etc. 52A. Liability of person for act, etc., of employee, etc. 53. Offences committed by trade union 54. Offences committed by agent 55. (Deleted) 56. Body corporate or trade union liable to fine 57. Aiding and abetting 58. Safeguards against further personal liability 59. Civil liability not affected by Parts IV, V and VI 60. Onus of proving limits of what is practicable 60A. Evidence 7 8 Law of Malaysia Section 61. Prosecutions 62. Compounding of offences PART XIII APPEALS 63. Appeal committees 64. Powers of appeal committee 65. Decision of appeal committee PART XIV REGULATIONS 66. Regulations PART XV MISCELLANEOUS 67. Confidentiality of information 67A. Power to exempt 67B. Power to amend Schedules SCHEDULES ACT 514 9 LAWS OF MALAYSIA Act 514 OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT 1994 An Act to make further provisions for securing the safety, health and welfare of persons at work, for protecting others against risks to safety or health in connection with the activities of persons at work, to establish the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, and for matters connected therewith. [25 February 1994] BE IT ENACTED by the Seri Paduka Baginda Yang di-Pertuan Agong with the advice and consent of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: PART I PRELIMINARY Short title and application 1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994. (2) Subject to subsection (3), this Act shall apply to all places of work throughout Malaysia including in the public services and statutory authorities. (3) Nothing in this Act shall apply to the work specified in the First Schedule. 10 Law of Malaysia ACT 514 Prevailing laws 2. (1) The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of any other written law relating to occupational safety and health. (2) In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between the provisions of this Act and that of any other written law pertaining to occupational safety and health, the provisions of this Act shall prevail and the conflicting or inconsistent provisions of such other written law shall, to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency, be construed as superseded. Interpretation 3. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires— “certificate of fitness” means a certificate issued under section 27D; “competent person” means a competent person registered under section 31C; “contract of service” means any agreement, whether oral or in writing and whether express or implied, whereby one person agrees to employ another as an employee and that other agrees to serve his employer as an employee and includes an apprenticeship contract; “contractor” means any person who contracts with a principal to carry out in whole or in part any work undertaken by the principal in the course of or for the purposes of the principal’s trade, business, profession or undertaking; “Council” means the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health established under section 8; “Director General” means the Director General of Occupational Safety and Health appointed under subsection 5(1); Occupational Safety and Health 11 “employee” means any person who has entered into a contract of service with an employer; “employer” means any person who has entered into a contract of service to employ any other person as an employee; “government” means the Federal Government, the Government of a State or a local government; “licensed person” means a person who is granted a licence under subsection 7A(1); “occupational health service” includes service for the protection of an employee’s health at work, for the promotion of health and well-being at place of work, as well as for the prevention of occupational diseases, occupational poisoning and accidents; “occupier”, in relation to a place of work, means a person who has the management or control of the place of work; “officer” means the officer appointed under subsection 5(1) or (3); “place of work” means premises where persons work or premises used for the storage of plant or substance; “plant” includes any machinery, equipment, appliance, implement or tool, any component thereof and anything fitted, connected or appurtenant thereto; “practicable” means practicable having regard to— (a) the severity of the hazard or risk in question; (b) the state of knowledge about the hazard or risk and any way of removing or mitigating the hazard or risk; (c) the availability and suitability of ways to remove or mitigate the hazard or risk; and 12 Law of Malaysia ACT 514 (d) the cost of removing or mitigating the hazard or risk; “premises” include— (a) any land, building or part of any building; (b) any vehicle, vessel, hovercraft or aircraft; (c) any installation on land, offshore installation or other installation whether on the bed of or floating on any water; and (d) any tent or movable structure; “prescribed” means prescribed by this Act or the regulations; “principal” means any person who in the course of or for the purposes of his trade, business, profession or undertaking contracts with a contractor for the execution by or under the contractor of the whole or any part of any work undertaken by the principal; “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner registered under the Medical Act 1971 [Act 50]; “registered training provider” means a training provider registered under section 31C; “self-employed person” means an individual who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of service, whether or not he himself employs others; “serious bodily injury” means any injury as specified in the Fourth Schedule; “substance” means any natural or artificial substance, whether in solid or liquid form or in the form of a gas or vapour or any combination thereof; “substance for use at work” means any substance intended or supplied for use, whether exclusively or not, by persons at work; Occupational Safety and Health 13 “supply”, in relation to any plant or substance, means the supply by way of sale, exchange, lease, hire or hire-purchase, whether as principal or agent for another; “trade union” means any association or combination of workmen or employers within the meaning of the Trade Unions Act 1959 [Act 262]. (2) For the purposes of this Act, risks arising out of or in connection with the activities of persons at work shall be treated as including