Thursday, 29^th February 2024 - The Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA), a statutory body responsible for regulating and enforcing the Workplace Safety and Health Order (WSHO), 2009, hereby announces the commencement date of compounding of offences on:

1)     Failure to appoint a Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Officer.

The Workplace Safety and Health (Workplace Safety and Health Officers) Regulations, 2014, provides that a WSH Officer shall be appointed in the following workplaces:

1. Shipyards in which any ship, tanker and other vessels are constructed, reconstructed, repaired, refitted, finished or broken up;

2. Factories used for processing petroleum or petroleum products;

3. Factories in which Building Operations or Works of Engineering Construction (BOWEC) of a contract sum of BND$10 million or more are carried out; and

4. Any other factories in which 100 or more persons are employed, except those which are used for manufacturing garments.

The commencement date to compound the fine for the failure to appoint a WSH Officer in the abovementioned workplaces is on 1^st April 2024.

2)    Failure to appoint a Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Co-ordinator.

The Workplace Safety and Health (Construction) Regulations, 2014, provides that a WSH Co-ordinator shall be appointed in respect of every worksite where the contract sum of the Building Operations or Works of Engineering Construction (BOWEC) carried out is less than BND$10 million.

The commencement date to compound the fine for the contravention of the above regulation will be as follows:

1. For contractor classes 4, 5, and 6: 1^st April 2024

2. For contractor classes 1, 2, and 3: 1^st October 2025

3)    Breaches of First-Aid requirements.

Any Occupier, except hospitals, medical clinics or ambulances, who failed to adhere to Regulations 4, 5, 6 and 7 under the Workplace Safety and Health (First-Aid) Regulations, 2021 will have committed a compoundable offence.

The commencement date to compound the fine for the contravention of the first-aid requirements is on 1^st April 2024.

Any person who has violated these regulations may be compounded with a sum not exceeding one-half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence or a sum of $5,000, whichever is the lower: Section 55 of the Workplace Safety and Health Order, 2009

Further guidance and published information are available for Principals, Occupiers, Employers, and Self-Employed Persons such as the Industry Guidance Note (IGN) on Requirements of Workplace Safety and Health Officer & Workplace Safety and Health Co-ordinator and IGN on First Aid Requirements in a Workplace including the respective WSH Self-Assessment Checklists which can be found on SHENA’s website: www.shena.gov.bn.

For any inquiries in relation to relevant regulations under SHENA and its implementation, please submit your questions via “General Enquiries” on the SHENA website: www.shena.gov.bn or contact the SHENA office at +673 238 2000 during office hours.

SHENA would like to thank all stakeholders for their support and cooperation in ensuring that Brunei Darussalam is a safe place to work and live.