Here is the ergonomics legislation from
South Africa
The information here was collated from official online sources by Ergo Global ergonomists. All information is for general purposes and cannot be considered 1-to-1 legal advice. Ergo Global disclaim any liability relating to the information provided on this page.
To Note
South Africa's ergonomics regulations is integrated into its Ergonomics Regulations 2019.
Page last updated: 18/05/2026
The Duties of
The Employer
-
Information, instruction and training (3)
(1) An employer must, after consultation with the health and safety committee established in respect of a workplace under such employer’s control or the health and safety representatives designated for that workplace or for different sections thereof, establish for all employees and mandatories or persons other than employees who may be affected or potentially exposed to ergonomic risks a training programme that incorporates the following:
(a) the content and scope of these Regulations;
(b) the potential sources of exposure to ergonomic risks;
(c) the nature of ergonomic risks;
(d) the potential risk to health associated with ergonomic risks;
(e) the control measures that are in place to prevent exposure to ergonomic risks;
(f) the procedure for reporting ergonomic risks to the health and safety representative or employer;
(g) the precautions to be taken by an employee to protect himself or herself against ergonomic risks; and
(h) the assessment of exposure, the necessity for medical surveillance and the long-term benefits of undergoing such surveillance.
(2) The employer must conduct the training contemplated in subregulation (1) prior to the placement of the relevant employee in the workplace.
(3) The employer must conduct refresher training at intervals that may be recommended by the health and safety committee or the health and safety representative. -
Ergonomic risk assessment (6)
(1)
(a) An employer must, before the commencement of any work that may expose employees to ergonomic risks, have an ergonomic risk assessment performed by a competent person.
(b) The ergonomic risk assessment contemplated in paragraph (a) must be performed after consultation with the health and safety committee established in respect of a workplace under the employer’s control or the health and safety representatives designated for that workplace or for different sections thereof.
(2) The ergonomic risk assessment contemplated in subregulation (1) must—
(a) be conducted at intervals not exceeding two years; and
(b) include— (i) a complete hazard identification; (ii) the identification of all persons who may be affected by the ergonomic risks; (iii) how employees may be affected by the ergonomic risks; (iv) the analysis and evaluation of the ergonomic risks; and (v) the prioritisation of ergonomic risks.
(3) An employer must review the relevant ergonomic risk assessment made in accordance with subregulation (1) if—
(a) such assessment is no longer valid;
(b) control measures are no longer effective;
(c) technological or scientific advances allow for more effective control methods;
(d) there has been a change in— (i) the work methods; (ii) the type of work carried out; or (iii) the type of equipment used to control the exposure; and
(e) an incident occurs or medical surveillance reveals an adverse health effect, where ergonomic risks are identified as a contributing factor. -
Risk control (7)
(1) An employer or self-employed person must ensure that the exposure of a person to ergonomic risks is prevented or, where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately controlled.
(2) In order to comply with subregulation (1) an employer or self-employed person must, as far as is reasonably practicable, remove or reduce exposure to ergonomic risks by implementing control measures in accordance with the hierarchy of controls. -
Medical surveillance (8)
(1) An employer must ensure that an employee is placed under medical surveillance, which is overseen by an occupational medicine practitioner, if—
(a) the ergonomic risk assessment referred to in regulation 6 indicates the need for the employee to be placed under medical surveillance; or
(b) an occupational health practitioner recommends that relevant employees must be under medical surveillance, in which case the employer may call upon an ocupational practioner to ratify the appropriateness of such recommendation.
(2) An employer must ensure that the medical surveillance contemplated in subregulation (1) consists of—
(a) in the case of a new employee, an initial health examination before the employee commences employment or within 30 days of commencement of such employment;
(b) a periodic health examination informed by the ergonomic risk assessment, at intervals specified by an occupational medicine practitioner, but not exceeding two years; and
(c) an exit health examination informed by the ergonomic risk assessment. -
Records (10)
(1) An employer or self-employed person must
(a) keep records of documents contemplated in regulations 3, 6, 7, 8(2) and 9;
(b) keep records for a minimum period of— (i) 40 years for records contemplated in regulations 6 and 8(2); (ii) three years for records contemplated in regulations 7 and 9; (iii) the length of time the employee remains at the workplace for records contemplated in regulation 3;
(c) make available to— (i) the relevant health and safety representative, health and safety committee or to an inspector, the records contemplated in regulations 3, 6, 7 and 9; (ii) any person, the records contemplated in regulation 8(2), subject to formal written consent of the employee.
(2)
(a) If the employer ceases activities, the employer must hand over or forward by registered post all records to the relevant chief director: provincial operations.
(b) The records referred to in paragraph (a) must contain at least the following information of the employee: (i) surname and forenames; (ii) gender; (iii) date of birth; (iv) name of spouse or closest relative; and (v) where available, permanent residential address and postal code.
The Duties of
The Employer
🏠 for Remote Work
-
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Beyond the Office
Under the OHS Act, an employer must provide a working environment that is safe and without risk to health.
Employers are now expected to:
1. Conduct remote risk assessments (often via digital self-audits).
2. Provide ergonomic guidelines.
3. Ensure that company-provided equipment (laptops, monitors) meets safety standards.
4. Ensure that company-provided equipment (laptops, monitors) meets safety standards.
The Duties of
The Employee
-
Duties of persons who may be at risk of exposure to ergonomic risks (4).
Any person who is exposed or may be exposed to ergonomic risks must obey any lawful instruction given to him or her by the employer or self-employed person or by anyone authorised by the employer or self-employed person, regarding—
(a) the use of measures adopted to control ergonomic risks;
(b) cooperation with the employer in determining the employee’s exposure to ergonomic risks;
(c) the reporting of potential ergonomic risks to the health and safety representative or the employer;
(d) reporting for medical surveillance as required by regulation 8; and
(e) information, instruction and training received as contemplated in regulation 3.
What's next?
Step 1
Run an ergonomics audit following these regulations.
Step 2
List out the gaps in your ergonomics policy.
Step 4
Contact Ergo Global for more support where needed.
