Ask Your Employer to Consider a Safe Health Zones Pilot
An employee template for raising SHZ through existing safety, wellbeing or fatigue-management processes
Employees can raise ideas concerning safety, fatigue management and worker wellbeing through the appropriate processes available within their organisation.
This resource provides a structured way to ask an employer to consider whether a limited Safe Health Zones (SHZ) after-shift pilot may be appropriate.
Safe Health Zones are intended to provide a structured, voluntary opportunity for post-shift recovery consideration, particularly in environments involving night work, extended operational hours or other fatigue-related challenges.
SHZ does not replace existing workplace health and safety controls, fatigue-management systems, lawful rest requirements or other employer obligations.
No membership. No fee. No paywall.
What Are You Actually Asking For?
You Are Asking the Employer To
- consider the SHZ concept;
- review whether it is relevant to the workplace;
- assess it through existing WHS, fatigue-management or wellbeing processes;
- identify operational, legal or practical considerations;
- determine whether a limited voluntary pilot warrants further assessment.
You Are Not Asking For
- mandatory participation;
- alteration of paid working hours;
- replacement of required rest;
- an on-shift fatigue control;
- permission to work while impaired;
- a sleep facility;
- removal of existing WHS controls;
- productivity monitoring during SHZ participation.
Core Characteristics of the Suggested Pilot
After Clock-Off
Access occurs after the employee has completed and clocked off from their shift.
Voluntary
Participation is voluntary rather than a mandatory employment requirement.
Time-Bounded
Use is intended to be short and defined, for example up to approximately 60 minutes where appropriate to the pilot design.
Quiet Recovery
The concept is based around quiet, non-interactive post-shift recovery rather than additional workplace activity.
No Productivity Monitoring
SHZ participation is not intended to become a mechanism for measuring employee productivity.
No Operational Coverage
The pilot is not intended to replace staffing, operational coverage or normal rostering requirements.
Privacy-Respecting
Any pilot should be designed with appropriate privacy, inspection, safety and organisational requirements in mind.
Before You Submit the Suggestion
Identify the most appropriate internal channel available within your organisation.
Depending on the workplace, this may include a Safety or WHS Manager, HR, Operations, a wellbeing programme, fatigue-management personnel, a health and safety representative or another internal reporting process.
You do not need to claim that SHZ will produce a particular health or safety outcome.
Editable Employee Suggestion
To: [Safety Manager / WHS Manager / Operations Manager / HR / Depot Manager]
From: [Employee name, optional]
Role / Department: [Role / Department, optional]
Site / Location: [Site / Location]
Date: [Insert date]
Subject: Employee suggestion - exploring a Safe Health Zones (SHZ) after-shift pilot
I am writing to submit a safety and wellbeing suggestion for consideration under our existing WHS and fatigue-management frameworks.
As a worker involved in night shift and/or extended operational hours, I am aware of the potential cumulative effects of circadian disruption and post-shift fatigue on recovery, alertness and commute-home safety.
While existing fatigue-management systems may address working hours, breaks and rest requirements, I would like to suggest consideration of whether an additional voluntary post-shift recovery opportunity may be appropriate for this workplace.
I recently became aware of a framework developed by the NRE Health Institute known as Safe Health Zones (SHZ), which can be explored through limited, voluntary after-shift pilots.
SHZ is not proposed as an on-shift control, rest break or sleep facility. It is not intended to replace existing fatigue management, Chain of Responsibility requirements where applicable, lawful rest requirements or other existing workplace health and safety controls.
Core characteristics that could be considered as part of an SHZ pilot include:
The intent is to explore whether a structured post-shift recovery opportunity may support recovery and help address downstream fatigue-related risk, particularly in night-shift, logistics or extended-hours operations.
I believe it may be worth exploring whether a limited, time-bounded pilot could be assessed by the organisation's appropriate safety, WHS, fatigue-management or wellbeing personnel.
The purpose of this suggestion is not to predetermine the outcome of that assessment, but to ask whether the concept may warrant consideration within our existing WHS, fatigue-management and worker-wellbeing objectives.
Further information about the SHZ framework is available through the NRE Health Institute:
https://www.naturismre.com/shz-hub
https://www.naturismre.com/complete-guide-to-safe-health-zones-shz
I submit this as a good-faith safety and wellbeing suggestion for consideration.
Where the organisation provides an appropriate confidential or anonymous suggestion process, I would be comfortable with the proposal being assessed through that process if preferred.
Thank you for considering the suggestion.
Kind regards,
[Name, optional]
What Happens After You Submit It?
The organisation may assess the suggestion internally, request additional information, refer it to safety or operational personnel, identify regulatory or practical concerns, consider a pilot or decide not to proceed.
Those are all possible outcomes of a genuine assessment process.
An acknowledgement, internal referral or request for information should not be described as organisational endorsement of SHZ.
If the employer raises questions, the NRE Health Institute's SHZ resources can provide additional information about the framework for consideration.
Safe Health Zones Resources
Employers, safety personnel and workers can examine the wider SHZ framework before deciding whether further assessment is appropriate.
Safe Health Zones Hub
Central access point for SHZ information, stakeholder resources and supporting material.
Explore the SHZ HubComplete Guide to Safe Health Zones
A broader explanation of the SHZ framework, its purpose, structure and implementation considerations.
Read the Complete SHZ GuidePublic Use & Adaptation
This template is provided freely for public use. No copyright restrictions are attached to this template.
Employees and workers may adapt it to their workplace, industry, internal reporting process and circumstances.
Remove sections that do not apply and avoid making claims about workplace obligations, legal requirements or expected health and safety outcomes that have not been established.
Where your organisation already provides a formal safety-suggestion or consultation process, use that process where appropriate.
Suggest. Assess. Pilot Where Appropriate.
An employee safety suggestion does not need to claim that every answer is already known.
It can identify an issue, present a framework and ask the people responsible for workplace safety whether the concept deserves proper assessment.
Safe Health Zones begin with consideration, not assumption.