Application
This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to oversee and coordinate welfare support activities in response to an incident.
Welfare support activities are those activities which contribute to the welfare support of employees and their families, such as:
access to medical services
access to counselling services
financial support
necessary transport and accommodation
pastoral care.
An incident is an event which causes, or could have caused, injury or illness; damage to plant, material or the environment; disruption to production or public alarm.
This unit of competency applies to incident management team members who are required to set up the necessary logistics and ensure that work is carried out in accordance with legislation, company welfare program and associated procedures. They will be required to establish effective welfare support systems, ensure that welfare support systems are effective in operation and focus, and establish workable linkages between welfare and other aspects of organisational life.
They will be required to:
deal sympathetically with family members
ensure that family members are aware of the range of support services available
assist family members to obtain those services
make recommendations to the organisation concerning changes or improvements to the system.
This unit of competency applies to an individual working alone or as part of an incident management team and working in liaison with other members of the incident management team and the incident manager, as appropriate.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. | ||
1 | Notify families of those effected by the incident | 1.1 | Ascertain details and circumstances and state of employees affected by the incident |
1.2 | Accurately and promptly relay relevant information to families of affected employees | ||
1.3 | Supply appropriate and timely situational reports when necessary | ||
2 | Set up logistical support required for carrying out welfare support activities | 2.1 | Determine the logistical requirements to effectively carry out welfare support activities |
2.2 | Acquire and set up logistical requirements in accordance with procedures | ||
3 | Coordinate and ensure that welfare support activities are conducted appropriately | 3.1 | Ensure that personnel conduct welfare support activities in accordance with procedures, reflect a sensitivity to the needs of those affected by the incident, and promote a positive image of the company |
3.2 | Coordinate proper documentation of results of welfare support activities | ||
4 | Respond to issues arising from welfare support activities | 4.1 | Determine issues arising from welfare support activities |
4.2 | Address issues when within the area of responsibility | ||
4.3 | Relay issues outside the area of responsibility to the appropriate personnel for action | ||
4.4 | Follow through issues until final resolution has been reached | ||
4.5 | Maintain communication with appropriate personnel or persons regarding the progress and/or resolution of issues | ||
5 | Contribute to the evaluation of the company welfare support activities | 5.1 | Conduct consultations to assess the effectiveness of welfare support activities |
5.2 | Provide input/feedback to the appropriate personnel for evaluation of company welfare support activities | ||
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria, and include the ability to:
assess logistical requirements for welfare support activities
communicate effectively and professionally with employees and their families affected by the incident
coordinate welfare activities
maintain records and documentation
identify issues and take action.
Evidence of Knowledge
Evidence must be provided that demonstrates knowledge of:
regulatory framework and specific compliance requirements that apply to the organisation
organisational procedures, including those covering:
welfare program
communication systems
emergency response plans
release of information to external bodies
types of incidents that can arise in the work environment and related risks, responses and equipment
the role of stakeholders and specialists
legal responsibilities to those affected by incidents
rights and responsibilities of those affected by an incident
incident resources and how to access them
insurance policies and considerations
economic impact and considerations.
Assessment Conditions
Competency must be achieved before performing this work unsupervised. Therefore this unit will typically be assessed off the job. Where assessment is undertaken on the job, appropriate supervision and safety precautions must be provided.
The unit should be assessed holistically and the judgement of competence based on a holistic assessment of the evidence.
The collection of performance evidence:
should provide evidence of the ability to perform over the range of situations which might be expected to be encountered, including typical disruptions to normal, smooth work conditions
must include a simulation of carrying out welfare support activities for an incident, the use of appropriate tools, equipment and safety gear requiring demonstration of preparation, operation, completion and responding to problems
may use industry-based simulation particularly where safety, lack of opportunity or significant cost is an issue.
Off-the-job assessment must sufficiently reflect realistic operational workplace conditions that cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.
Assessment in a simulated environment should use evidence collected from one or more of:
walk-throughs
demonstration of skills
industry based case studies/scenarios
‘what ifs’.
Knowledge evidence may be collected concurrently with performance evidence (provided a record is kept) or through an independent process, such as workbooks, written assessments or interviews (provided a record is kept).
Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.
Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.
Foundation skills are integral to competent performance of the unit and should not be assessed separately.
Assessors must satisfy the assessor competency requirements that are in place at the time of the assessment as set by the VET regulator.
In addition, the assessor or anyone acting in subject matter expert role in assessment must demonstrate both technical competency and currency. If the assessor cannot demonstrate technical competency and currency they must assess with a subject matter expert who does meet these requirements.
Technical competence can be demonstrated through one or more of:
relevant VET or other qualification/Statement of Attainment
appropriate workplace experience undertaking the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
appropriate workplace experience supervising/evaluating the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
Currency can be demonstrated through one or more of:
being currently employed undertaking the type of work being assessed
being employed by the organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed and having maintained currency in accordance with that organisation’s policies and procedures
having consulted/had contact with an organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed within the last twelve months, the consultation/contact being related to assessment
conducting on-the-job training/assessments of the type of work being assessed
being an active member of a relevant professional body and participating in activities relevant to the assessment of this type of work
Foundation Skills
This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Range Statement
This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. | |
Regulatory framework | The latest version of all legislation, regulations, industry codes of practice and Australian/international standards, or the version specified by the local regulatory authority, must be used, and include one or more of the following: legislative requirements, including work health and safety (WHS) industry codes of practice and guidelines environmental regulations and guidelines Australian and other standards licence and certification requirements All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence. |
Procedures | All operations must be performed in accordance with relevant procedures. Procedures are written, verbal, visual, computer-based or in some other form, and include one or more of the following: emergency procedures work instructions standard operating procedures (SOPs) safe work method statements (SWMS) formulas/recipes batch sheets temporary instructions any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant |
Logistical requirements | Logistical requirements include one or more of the following: call centre setting up a team of appropriate workers to assist quick access to relevant files and documents arrangements with external agencies financial requirements |
Issues | Issues arising from welfare support activities include one or more of the following: lack of effective communication with family members confusion or misunderstandings concerning welfare service provision contradictory or misleading information internal confusion or obfuscation by sectors of the organisation |
Sectors
Competency Field
Incident readiness and response