A labour inspection rarely comes with warning. An inspector from the Department of Employment and Labour arrives, presents identification, and asks to speak to whoever is responsible for health and safety. From that point the visit follows a fairly predictable shape — and businesses that know the shape handle it far better than those improvising.
The visit is not an attempt to catch you out. Inspectors are checking whether the duties in the Occupational Health and Safety Act are being carried out, and the evidence for that is documentary. A workplace can be visibly well run and still fail, because there is nothing written down.
Inspectors act under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993. They may enter a workplace, question people, examine and copy documents, and issue notices where they find contraventions. Obstructing an inspector is itself an offence.
SECTION 01What happens during a visit
Most inspections follow the same sequence. The inspector introduces themselves and explains the purpose of the visit, asks to see the responsible person, and requests documentation. A walk-through of the workplace usually follows, with questions to employees along the way.
Employee interviews matter more than people expect. An inspector will often ask a worker whether they have been inducted, whether they know who the health and safety representative is, and whether they were trained on the equipment they are operating. Answers that contradict your records are a serious finding.
The visit closes with a summary of what was found. Where there are contraventions, notices follow — sometimes on the day, sometimes afterwards.
SECTION 02What gets asked for first
In our experience the opening requests are consistent, and they are all documents that should live in the file:
- Written appointments — the Section 16(2) assignee, health and safety representatives, first aiders, fire fighters
- Risk assessments for the work actually being performed
- Induction and training records, with signatures
- The incident register, and any injury on duty records
- Inspection registers for equipment, electrical installations and fire equipment
- Letter of Good Standing from the Compensation Fund
If those six things are present, current and coherent, the tone of the visit changes immediately. If they are missing, everything that follows is harder.
Not sure your file would hold up?
We audit existing files against your actual scope of work and tell you exactly what's outstanding — usually within a day or two.
Request a call-backSECTION 03The findings we see most often
Certain gaps come up repeatedly, and almost all of them are administrative rather than practical.
Appointments that were never made in writing
Someone is clearly acting as the responsible person, but no signed appointment exists. Or the appointment names an employee who left two years ago.
Risk assessments that describe someone else's work
A generic assessment listing hazards that do not exist on your site is worse than none. It demonstrates the process was a paperwork exercise.
Registers that stop in January
Inspection registers with entries for the first month and nothing since are an obvious tell. A file is a live system, not a once-off compilation.
Training records without evidence
Claims of induction with no signed attendance register. If an employee cannot confirm it and there is no signature, it did not happen as far as the record is concerned.
SECTION 04What an inspector can issue
Where contraventions are found, the Act provides for written notices. A contravention notice requires you to correct a specific failure within a stated period. A prohibition notice goes further and stops the activity concerned until the danger is addressed — which on a site means work halts.
Notices are not the end of the matter. Failure to comply with one is a separate and more serious offence, and repeated non-compliance escalates. The practical cost is usually operational rather than financial: work stopped, deadlines missed, clients informed.
Businesses often assume an inspection is triggered by a complaint or an incident. Many are proactive — inspectors visit sectors and areas as part of planned programmes. Waiting for a reason to prepare is waiting too long.
SECTION 05What being ready actually looks like
Preparation is not complicated, but it is specific:
- The file exists, is on site or immediately accessible, and someone knows where it is
- Appointments are current and signed by both parties
- Risk assessments describe the work you actually do
- Registers have recent entries
- Someone on site can speak to the file — not just produce it
- Employees can answer basic questions about induction and training consistently with the records
That last point is the one businesses neglect. A file nobody understands is a file that falls apart under questioning.
NEXT STEPSIf an inspection is coming
If you have reason to expect a visit — a client has mentioned one, a neighbouring business has been inspected, or you simply have not looked at your file in a year — the useful first step is an honest audit of what exists against what should.
We compile and audit industry-specific files across Gauteng and beyond, typically within one to five business days. If the timeline is tight, say so when you get in touch.