Health and safety representatives: the threshold, the ratio and the process

The threshold and the ratio are two different numbers

This is the single most commonly misstated requirement in South African occupational health and safety, so it is worth separating carefully.

Section 17(1) sets the threshold. An employer who has more than 20 employees in his employment at any workplace must designate health and safety representatives for that workplace, in writing and for a specified period, within four months after commencing business.

Section 17(5) sets the ratio. In the case of shops and offices, at least one representative for every 100 employees or part thereof. In the case of all other workplaces, at least one for every 50 employees or part thereof.

So the number 20 tells you whether you need representatives at all. It does not tell you how many.

What the numbers work out to

Section 17(5) uses the phrase or part thereof, so any remainder rounds a representative up.

Election and designation are both part of it

Section 17(2) requires the employer and the employees, or their representatives, to consult in good faith about the arrangements and procedures for the nomination or election, the period of office, and the subsequent designation. Where consultation fails, the matter goes to an inspector for arbitration, and section 17(3) confirms that this arbitration is not governed by the Arbitration Act, 1965.

General Administrative Regulation 6 sets out what that consultation has to cover: the manner of nomination or election, the terms of office and how a representative may be removed, the manner of filling vacancies, how functions are performed, and how facilities, assistance and training are provided. Where a registered trade union is present at the workplace, the employer bargains with it. Where there is none, the employer consults with all employees or their elected representatives. Disputes may go to the CCMA or the relevant bargaining council.

Regulation 7 then requires the designation itself to be made in accordance with that agreement. In practice: employees nominate or elect, and the employer formally designates in writing.

Who is eligible

Section 17(4) limits eligibility. Only employees employed in a full time capacity at a specific workplace, and who are acquainted with the conditions and activities at that workplace, are eligible for designation as health and safety representatives for that workplace. A part time employee, a contractor, or someone based at a different site does not qualify for that site.

What a representative may do, and is entitled to

Section 18(1) sets out the functions: review the effectiveness of health and safety measures, identify potential hazards and potential major incidents, examine the causes of incidents in collaboration with the employer, investigate employee complaints, make representations to the employer or the committee and, where those do not resolve the matter, to an inspector, inspect the workplace at intervals agreed with the employer and after reasonable notice, and participate in consultations with inspectors.

Section 18(2) sets out entitlements: to visit the site of an incident at all reasonable times and attend the inspection, to attend any investigation or formal inquiry, to inspect documents the employer must keep so far as is reasonably necessary, to accompany an inspector, to be accompanied by a technical adviser with the employer approval which may not be unreasonably withheld, and to participate in any internal health or safety audit.

Section 18(3) puts a positive duty on the employer to provide the facilities, assistance and training that a representative may reasonably require and that have been agreed on. Section 18(4) protects the representative: no civil liability arises solely because of a failure to do something the Act permits or requires them to do.

Section 17(7) requires all activities connected with designation, training and functions to be carried out during ordinary working hours, and time reasonably spent counts as part of the employee duties. Representatives are not expected to do this in their own time.

The records an inspector will ask for

The consultation or bargaining record and the resulting General Administrative Regulation 6 agreement. The nomination or election records. The signed written designations, showing the specified period. Training records evidencing section 18(3). The representatives inspection reports. And, once two or more representatives exist, the committee records that follow from section 19.

Questions about health and safety representatives

Is the ratio one representative for every 20 employees?

No. Section 17(5) sets the ratio at one representative for every 100 employees or part thereof in shops and offices, and one for every 50 employees or part thereof in all other workplaces. The number 20 comes from section 17(1), which is the threshold at which the duty to have representatives begins at all: more than 20 employees at a workplace. Applying one per 20 is a legitimate agreed arrangement, but it is not the statutory minimum.

Are health and safety representatives elected or appointed?

Both elements are present. Section 17(2) and General Administrative Regulation 6 require the nomination or election process to be agreed through good faith consultation or bargaining with registered trade unions, or with employees where there is no union. Section 17(1) then requires the employer to designate the representatives in writing. In practice employees nominate or elect, and the employer formally designates.

Does an employer with exactly 20 employees have to designate representatives?

Section 17(1) applies to an employer who has more than 20 employees at a workplace, so an employer with exactly 20 falls outside that trigger. The general duties under section 8 still apply in full. The threshold counts employees at the workplace rather than across the whole business, so a multi site employer assesses each workplace separately.

How long does a representative serve?

Section 17(1) requires designation for a specified period but does not fix that period. It comes from the agreement reached under General Administrative Regulation 6. There is no statutory two year term. The designation should be reviewed when the term expires, when the representative changes role or leaves, when headcount crosses a ratio boundary, and when a new workplace or section opens.

Can a contractor be a health and safety representative for our site?

Section 17(4) limits eligibility to employees employed in a full time capacity at that specific workplace who are acquainted with the conditions and activities there. A contractor is generally not an employee of the client, so they would not be eligible for designation by the client for that workplace. Contractor arrangements are normally dealt with through the section 37(2) written agreement instead.

This guide is general information about published law, stated as at August 2026. It is not legal advice and GRC Shop is not a law firm. Confirm any provision against the current Act or gazetted regulation before acting.