OHS legal appointments pack

When a labour inspector walks in, the first things asked for are the section 16(2) letter, the health and safety representatives, the first aid arrangements and the incident register. Template packs sell eighty letters and cite regulations that were deleted in 2003. We draft the ones the Occupational Health and Safety Act requires at your headcount, from your details, mark the recommended ones as recommended, and hand you a file your CEO signs in twenty minutes.

R990per workplace, drafted from your details · R390 for each further workplace of the same employer

The OHS legal appointments pack costs R990 at ProperSA for one workplace, a fixed service fee with no government fee involved, because the appointments are made by you and lodged nowhere. Turnaround: our part is done within three business days of your questionnaire. If you give us everything we ask for and we still fail to deliver what this page promises, we refund our fee.

Independent paperwork service. ProperSA is an independent private company, not the Department of Employment and Labour. The Act prescribes no form for these appointments and you can write them yourself. Our fee pays for the letters, registers and notices to be drafted correctly for your workplace, each one tied to the section or regulation it satisfies, with the ones the law does not require clearly marked as recommended.

What the law requires, by headcount

These come from the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, the General Administrative Regulations of 2003, the General Safety Regulations and the General Machinery Regulations, read on 15 October 2026. They apply to an ordinary workplace: an office, shop, workshop, warehouse, farm or factory. A construction site is governed by the Construction Regulations and is a different service.

From	What the law requires	Where it says so
Any employer	Duties of the employer assigned in writing to a manager is not compulsory, but failing section 16(1) or (2) is an offence and the letter is the first document an inspector asks for	Act, section 16, section 38(1)(a)
Any employer	An incident register kept for three years and every recordable incident investigated within seven days; serious incidents reported to the provincial director within seven days on the WCL1 or WCL2, immediately by phone where someone dies, is unconscious or loses a limb	General Administrative Regulations 8 and 9
Any machinery	A person designated in writing, full time, to supervise the machinery on each premises, with assistants where needed	General Machinery Regulations 2(1) and 2(7)
5 employees	A copy of the Act and the relevant regulations readily available at the workplace	General Administrative Regulations 4
More than 5	A first aid box with the eighteen prescribed items and a prominent notice saying where it is and who keeps it	General Safety Regulations 3(2), 3(3) and 3(6)
More than 10	At least one person with a valid first aid certificate from an approved body for every 50 employees, every 100 in a shop or office, available in working hours	General Safety Regulations 3(4)
More than 20	Health and safety representatives designated in writing within four months, after consulting the union or the employees on how they are chosen: one per 50 employees, one per 100 in a shop or office	Act, section 17; General Administrative Regulations 6
2 or more representatives	A health and safety committee with the employer's members designated in writing, meeting at least every three months, with records kept for three years	Act, sections 19 and 20; General Administrative Regulations 5

Recommended, not required. A fire marshal or warden, an evacuation plan, a risk assessor, an incident investigator, a hazardous chemicals controller and a ladder inspector have no appointment rule for an ordinary workplace. The fire regulation requires escape routes and fire fighting equipment, not a marshal. We include these letters because clients, insurers and auditors ask for them, and we say so on each one.
Penalties. Section 38: up to R50 000 or twelve months, or both, for the section 8, 13, 16, 17, 19 and 20 duties; up to R100 000 or two years where an act or omission injures someone. The General Administrative Regulations add a fine or twelve months plus R200 a day for a continuing breach of the copy of the Act, consultation, records and incident duties.
What the inspector checks. The Department’s own inspection list: Compensation Fund and UIF registration, a copy of the Act, representatives and a committee where required, equipped first aid boxes, injury reporting, and an attendance register.

What is included

One workplace, R990. Every document carries your company name, the workplace address, the person’s name and role, the period of the appointment, and the section or regulation it satisfies.

A one page headcount note that says exactly which items the law requires at your numbers and which are recommended, so you know what you are signing and why
Section 16(2) assignment of duties to your manager, with the scope of authority the Act expects under section 37
Health and safety representative designations, one per person, and the consultation agreement with the union or employee representatives that regulation 6 requires before you designate
Committee constitution, the written designation of the employer’s committee members, a quarterly meeting schedule and a minutes template with the three year record rule built in
First aid: the box contents list with the eighteen prescribed items and the shop and office reductions, the notice naming the box keeper, the first aider appointment with the certificate record, and the eyewash note where an eye hazard exists
The incident register in the prescribed layout, the seven day investigation procedure, and a one page reporting sheet with the WCL1 and WCL2 route and the immediate reporting rule
Machinery supervisor designation and assistant designations where you use machinery, and the lifting tackle inspector appointment where you use lifting tackle
Recommended letters, each marked recommended with the reason: fire and evacuation marshal with an evacuation plan sheet, risk assessor, incident investigator, hazardous chemicals controller, ladder inspector, and a health and safety policy for the CEO to sign
A copy of the Act and the regulations that apply to you, compiled into the file so regulation 4 is met, and an index sheet for the file
A signing list in the right order, a renewal diary for the appointment periods and the quarterly meetings, and the Word and PDF versions in your client portal

Each further workplace, R390. The site specific items rebuilt for the next address: representatives, committee, first aid, incident register and machinery supervisor, with the company documents carried over.

What we do not do

We do not appoint anyone. The duty sits with the employer and the letters are signed by your CEO or the section 16(2) assignee. We draft; you appoint.
We do not train first aiders or representatives. The first aid certificate must come from an approved body; we record it and tell you where to get it.
We do not inspect the premises. The machinery, the escape routes and the fire equipment are yours to check; the pack tells you what the regulations say about each.
We do not register you with the Compensation Fund or UIF. Those are the first two questions an inspector asks, and they are separate services: COIDA registration and UIF registration.

How ordering works

Order online with the button below and pay securely by card or instant EFT (PayFast), or wait for the EFT invoice. One order per workplace.
Complete the questionnaire in your client portal: the workplace, the headcount, whether it is a shop or office or another kind of workplace, the people and roles, the machinery and chemicals in use, and the union position.
We draft the pack within three business days and send it to your portal as PDF and Word, with the headcount note and the signing list.
Your CEO signs, the appointees accept, the file goes on the shelf next to the first aid box, and the diary reminds you before each renewal and quarterly meeting.

Start secure order

Not sure whether your workplace counts as a shop or office, or whether the machinery rule applies to you? Ask us first and you get a written answer within one business day.

What we will need from you

Company name and registration number, and the workplace address.
The chief executive officer’s name, and the manager the duties are assigned to.
Headcount at the workplace, and whether it is a shop or office or another kind of workplace, because the ratios differ.
Names and roles of the representatives, the first aiders with their certificate details, the machinery supervisor, and anyone taking a recommended role.
What is on the floor: machinery, lifting equipment, hazardous chemicals, ladders, and whether there is an eye hazard.
Whether a registered trade union is present, which decides who you consult before designating representatives.

Frequently asked questions

Which health and safety appointments does the law actually require?

For an ordinary workplace outside construction: a copy of the Act and regulations on the premises once you have five or more employees, a first aid box with the prescribed contents and a notice naming who keeps it once you have more than five, a certified first aider for every 50 employees (every 100 in a shop or office) once you have more than ten, health and safety representatives designated in writing once you have more than twenty, a committee with written employer nominees once two or more representatives exist, an incident register, and a machinery supervisor designated in writing wherever machinery is used. The section 16(2) assignment letter is not compulsory but is the document every inspector asks for first.

Do I need a fire marshal, a risk assessor or an incident investigator letter?

No regulation under the Act requires a fire marshal or fire warden appointment for an ordinary workplace; the fire rule requires escape routes and fire fighting equipment. Risk assessment is the employer’s general duty under section 8 and only the Construction Regulations require a written risk assessor appointment. An incident must be investigated by the employer, a person the employer appoints, a representative or a committee member within seven days. The pack includes these letters and marks them as recommended, with the reason, so you are never told a template is the law.

What are the penalties?

Section 38 of the Act sets a fine of up to R50 000 or twelve months imprisonment, or both, for failing to assign duties, designate representatives, establish a committee or inform employees, and up to R100 000 or two years where an act or omission injures someone. The General Administrative Regulations add a fine or twelve months for the copy of the Act, committee records, representative consultation and incident reporting duties, plus R200 a day while a breach continues. An Occupational Health and Safety Bill with higher fines has been on the Department’s programme since 2018 and had not been introduced at the date of this page.

Who signs the letters?

The chief executive officer, or the person the CEO has assigned under section 16(2) for sub delegations under that person’s control. The Act says designate in writing; it prescribes no form, no oath and no commissioner. The appointee usually signs acceptance as good practice. We draft; you appoint.

Does this cover a construction site?

No. A construction site needs the Construction Regulations appointments, which are different and include a registered construction health and safety officer where the site size requires one. That is the construction health and safety file service. This pack is for offices, shops, workshops, warehouses, farms and factories.

Will an inspector accept letters drafted by you?

The duty to appoint sits with the employer, and nothing in the Act or regulations restricts who drafts the letter. What inspectors look for is the Department’s own list: Compensation Fund and UIF registration, a copy of the Act on site, representatives and a committee where the headcount requires them, equipped first aid boxes, incident reporting and an attendance register. The pack is built to that list.

I have twelve staff in an office. What do I actually need?

A copy of the Act on site, a first aid box with the prescribed items and the notice naming its keeper, one certified first aider, an incident register with the reporting sheet, a machinery supervisor only if you use machinery, and the section 16(2) letter as the document that shows the duties are managed. No representatives and no committee until you pass twenty employees. The headcount note in the pack says this in writing for your numbers.

Usually ordered with it

COIDA registration, R1 290, and the letter of good standing, R690. The inspector’s first question.
UIF registration, R690. The second question.
Employment contract, R490. The roles in the contracts become the roles in the appointments.
Construction health and safety file, R1 490. For a building site rather than a fixed workplace.

Checked on 15 October 2026 against the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (sections 7, 8, 13, 16 to 20 and 38), the General Administrative Regulations of 2003 (regulations 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 12, noting that regulation 7 was deleted in June 2003), the General Safety Regulations (regulation 3 with its annexure, and regulation 13J on fire precautions inserted in March 2025), the General Machinery Regulations (regulation 2), the Driven Machinery Regulations (regulation 18) and the Department of Employment and Labour’s inspection flyers. The employer remains responsible for making the appointments, for the training the appointees need and for the condition of the workplace; the Department decides what it inspects.