Hong Kong Regulations

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH REGULATION - SECT 28

Responsible person to appoint assistants

(1) If 10 or more employees are normally employed at a workplace at any one
time to undertake manual handling operations which may create
safety and health risks, the person responsible for the workplace must appoint
such number of competent persons as may be necessary to assist in carrying out
the preventive and protective measures with respect to those
manual handling operations and, in determining the necessary number of
competent persons to be appointed, the person responsible for the workplace
must have regard to-

   (a)  the number of employees employed at the workplace to undertake those
        manual handling operations; and

   (b)  the size of the workplace; and

   (c)  the risks to which those employees are exposed at the workplace; and

   (d)  the distribution of those risks within the workplace.

(2) If more than one competent person is appointed under subsection

(1), the person responsible for the workplace must ensure that adequate
arrangements are made for securing co-operation among those competent persons
as to the carrying out of the preventive and protective measures referred to
in that subsection.

(3) The person responsible for the workplace must ensure that-

   (a)  the time allowed for the competent persons appointed under subsection
        (1) to perform their functions; and

   (b)  the resources necessary to perform those functions, are adequate,
        having regard to the number of employees employed at the workplace to
        undertake manual handling operations which may create safety 
        and health risks, the size of the workplace, the risks to which those
        employees are exposed at the workplace, and the distribution of those
        risks within the workplace.

(4) A person is a competent person for the purposes of this section only if
that person has undergone the training, and has the experience and other
characteristics, necessary to ensure that he has the capacity to assist the
person responsible for the workplace in complying with the requirements
imposed by or under this Part on persons responsible for workplaces.

(5) A person responsible for a workplace who fails to comply with subsection
(1), (2) or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of
$200000.