Workplace Safety Discounts (WSD)

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Tony Collins here with a really positive step you can take if you are a small business owner.

The ACC have a programme that will provide you a discount on your insurance levy if you can show you have a safety system in place. The scheme is called the Workplace Safety Discount scheme or WSD for short. On the 1 Apr, the WSD was opened up from just being available to certain industries, to all businesses types.

By getting accepted on the scheme you will get a 10% discount on your ACC levies. Also, with big changes afoot in New Zealand workplace Safety, being part of a Government recognised product around safety will provide a competitive advantage. For example, larger companies will prefer those companies that can provide some kind of assurance that the are a safe company before they work with you – they do not want to carry the risk. This helps also when tendering for work in a formal setting. Also by having a system in place, you are more likely to reduce injuries which can really impact your own business. There are some limits on the WSD scheme as it is focused on smaller companies with less than 10 employees or a certain payroll If you are larger than that you can apply for the larger programme called the WSMP, which can give you a larger discount.

To be accepted you have to submit an application and agree to a possible audit. The details are in this application form.

A lot of companies may already have some kind of audit or standard they abide by, but none of these will prove automatic cross-accreditation. You still need to apply for a WSD, which includes answering a series of questions. You must however, provide supporting documentation that proves you do have a system in place. This is more than a ticking the box exercise. Remember, if you need support you can sign up for the free video or podcast training that walks you through how to do this work.

You can sign up to receive the videos here to help get your application and system ready.

Regards
Tony Collins

What are your experiences with the Workplace Safety Discounts programme? Leave your comments below.