OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT, ACT 85 OF 1993

SECTION 16 (2) – ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

APPOINTMENT
David Matlou

I, Dirk Meyer, the 16.1 appointee of Corobrik (Pty) Ltd, hereby appoint you, David Matlou, as the
section 16(2) appointee [assistant to the CEO] for Corobrik Factories.

In terms of this appointment, you are responsible to ensure that the duties of the employer, as
contemplated in the Occupational Health and Safety Act, are properly discharged in your area of
responsibility, as outlined above.

In order to ensure that you meet this responsibility you must familiarise yourself with the Occupational
Health and Safety Act and its Regulations. You are also required to ensure that all statutory
requirements are met at all times.

You may not further assign this duty.

Your appointment is valid with immediate effect until further notice.

You shall report regularly directly to me on all occupational health and safety matters arising out of
Corobrik Factories.

................................................................. ........... /........... /.............

Signature: D.J. Meyer Date

Kindly confirm your acceptance of this appointment by completing the following:

ACCEPTANCE

I, David Matlou understand the implications of the appointment as detailed above and confirm my
acceptance thereof.

................................................................. ........... /........... /.............

Signature: D.B. Matlou Date
2. ASSISTANT TO THE CEO

LEGAL REFERENCE – Section 16(1) and (2)

16. Chief executive officer charged with certain duties.
(1) Every chief executive officer shall as far as is reasonably practicable ensure that the
duties of his employer as contemplated in this Act, are properly discharged.
(2) Without derogating from his responsibility or liability in terms of subsection (1), a
chief executive officer may assign any duty contemplated in the said subsection, to any
person under his control, which person shall act subject to the control and directions of
the chief executive officer.

EXPLANATION:
Section 16(2) makes provision for chief executive officers to assign their duties to any person under
their control. Furthermore, this sub-section makes it clear that the persons to whom duties have been
assigned shall be under the direction and control of the chief executive officers. Chief executive officers
cannot assign duties and be under the impression that they are released from all responsibilities. The
Act is clear on this issue – the chief executive officer has to direct and control the assignee. The
implication of this is that chief executive officers must have a general idea of the situation regarding
health and safety. It is not expected that chief executive officers have to know the minute details of
health and safety matters, but they must have a fairly good idea of what is going on regarding health
and safety, bearing in mind that they will always be legally liable, and as such liability cannot be
delegated.
The same principle which will apply to the financial state of affairs of a company, will apply to health
and safety. It is not expected of chief executive officers to know all the financial detail, but they will have
a very good idea of it – should more information be needed, the accountant or person in charge of
finances will be consulted. The chief executive officers have to ensure that they are kept informed
regarding the state of affairs regarding occupational health and safety and furthermore ensure that all
reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that occupational health and safety are implemented at all
levels in the company – from top management to shop floor level.
A further important aspect to note is that provision is, by implication, made for duties to be assigned to
more than one person, because in terms of the rules of the interpretation of statutes a person also
means persons. Chief executive officers have to make sure that their duties have been assigned in
such a manner that each and every assignee will know exactly what their responsibilities are in order to
prevent the situation where someone can pass the buck.
The most common question in this regard is, can the person to whom duties have been assigned in
terms of section 16(2), also assign another person in terms of section 16(2)? The answer to that is no,
because once a chief executive officer has assigned a duty, that function (to assign) has taken place
and doesn’t exist anymore. However, this does not mean that assignees cannot appoint other people to
assist them in the carrying out of their duties. The most important aspect with regard to an appointment
is that it should be specific in terms of the duties, scope of authority and physical area of responsibility.
Another important principle to realise in this regard, is the delegere delegatus non potest-rule, which
means that the person to whom duties have been delegated, cannot delegate those very same duties
further.
People must not be dogmatic as to who can be appointed when and where, but should rather look at
effective appointments which will ensure that occupational health and safety are properly implemented.
An obstacle to effective appointments could be that certain people in a company would use these
appointments for empire building purposes – in other words, the appointment of a junior person as the
assignee could be unacceptable to more senior people. The culture regarding occupational health and
safety in a company should be such that the focus is on the appropriateness of the appointment rather
than the seniority thereof.

This section should be read in conjunction with section 37 of the Act. Section 16(3) makes provision for
the chief executive officer to be relieved of his or her responsibility and liability under certain
circumstances as stipulated in section 37 of the Act.

Certain organisations have difficulty with managers not willing to sign letters of appointment. Whether
they sign it or not is immaterial, for health and safety forms part of their responsibility.

Another issue that raises concern is the fact that organisations believe they have to assign a person in
terms of a regulation or a section of the Act. Obviously if a regulation or section of the Act requires a
person to be appointed, then such appointment can be made by using that specific reference. However,
all other appointments the employer or management deems necessary, may be done on a letterhead of
that organisation – it will have the same legal effect as one made in terms of a regulation or section of
the Act.