Many mining companies face the challenge of making and maintaining an employee appointment structure that is not only practical but also legally compliant, law firm Edward Nathan Sonnen-bergs (ENS) mine and occupational health and safety director Willem le Roux tells Mining Weekly.

However, it is important that companies operating in the mining industry appoint the necessary persons, as dictated by the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA), and that these persons are well aware of their obligations, specifically with regard to reportable accidents or diseases.

In the case of reportable diseases and injuries, the appointed person must also know the rights and obligations of the relevant parties and, specifically, what the obligations were of the particular managers who were involved, he adds.

“A proper appointment structure also ensures better compliance with legislation and more effective prevention of injuries and diseases,” Le Roux says.

In terms of the MHSA, some appointments at a mine are compulsory, while others are discretionary, he explains.

“Often, you will also find that a small mine cannot afford the appointment of a person in a full-time position and that the mine does not truly have a need for a full-time position, even though that is what is dictated by the MHSA.”

In those cases, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) could, in terms of legislation, approve the appointment of a person in a part-time position; however, in some cases, the DMR is not prepared to do that.

“In practice, the DMR is unreasonable some- times and does not want to allow for the provision of appointing a person in a part-time position, while, in all fairness, this should be granted.

“The DMR should grant this permission on reasonable grounds and, should it appear that the work of the employee is not legally compliant after permission has been granted, the DMR then has the right to withdraw the permission and insist on a person being appointed full-time,” says ENS mine and occupational health and safety senior associate Edward James.

Further, some positions cannot be filled, owing to the skills shortages in the mining industry, he points out.

Mining companies can deal effectively with appointments that are legally challenging by ensuring that they have a proper mine health and safety system in place.

When this is in place, companies that wish to appoint employees in part-time positions to full-time positions should explain, in writing and by means of a proper presentation to the DMR, that they have a functional structure, that this structure would still be functional and that health and safety would not be undermined should a person occupying a part-time position be appointed in a full-time position, Le Roux and James explain.

Further, there are certain issues that should be spelled out clearly in the appointment letter of a person appointed in terms of the MHSA.

“The geographical area and scope of the person’s responsibility should be stated clearly [as well as], in effect, the factual content of the person’s obligations on a day-to-day and long-term basis,” Le Roux says.

Meanwhile, the appointee’s reporting struc- ture should also be stated and, in the case of a horizontal relationship with other employees, whether that also entails a reporting respon- sibility. This is important to ensure the coordin- ation of functions, he adds.