Plan Franchise Health and Safety in New Zealand

Franchising an existing business means turning familiar working practices into a system other owners can operate safely. A successful pilot is not enough if safety depends on the founder spotting hazards and quietly fixing them. Before recruiting franchisees, establish how risks will be controlled, who will take action and how the franchise community will learn when something goes wrong.

1. Understand duties before allocating responsibilities

New Zealand has no franchise-specific legislation, statutory franchise disclosure regime or franchise registration requirement. General laws apply, including the Fair Trading Act 1986, the Commerce Act 1986 and laws governing contracts, employment, privacy and health and safety. Membership of the Franchise Association of New Zealand is voluntary, but members must comply with its Code of Practice and Ethics, including its disclosure requirements.

For workplace safety, the central legislation is the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. A person conducting a business or undertaking, commonly called a PCBU, has duties that include ensuring, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of its workers and ensuring others are not put at risk by its work.

Franchisors and franchisees may each be PCBUs. Their duties depend on the circumstances, including their influence and control over the relevant work. A franchise agreement cannot simply transfer away statutory duties. Where businesses have overlapping duties, they must consult, co-operate and co-ordinate activities.

Obtain specialist advice on your actual operating model rather than assuming that independent ownership makes every safety matter solely the franchisee’s responsibility.

2. Use the pilot to identify transferable risk controls

Review the existing business task by task. Include routine work, cleaning, maintenance, deliveries, lone working and unusual situations such as equipment failures. Consider workers, customers, contractors and visitors, rather than focusing only on staff injuries.

For each significant risk, record:

• What could cause harm and who could be affected.
• Whether the risk can be eliminated.
• If elimination is not reasonably practicable, how it will be minimised.
• Who implements and checks each control.
• What evidence shows that the control works.

Test controls under realistic conditions. For example, does a safe unloading procedure still work when a delivery arrives during the busiest trading period? Can a new operator isolate faulty equipment without the founder’s help?

Involve workers in identifying problems and reviewing solutions. Their experience often reveals workarounds that a written procedure misses. Record unresolved risks as barriers to expansion, not tasks to leave for the first franchisee.

3. Separate network standards from local action

Create a responsibility matrix covering the franchisor, franchisee and relevant third parties. Treat it as a working tool, not a declaration that only one party can have a legal duty.

The franchisor might specify approved equipment, provide operating instructions and circulate safety alerts. The franchisee might organise local inductions, maintain equipment and manage daily supervision. A landlord or contractor may also have responsibilities requiring co-ordination.

Identify shared decisions explicitly. If the franchisor mandates a machine, who assesses its suitability for a particular site? Who responds when a franchisee reports that the prescribed layout creates a handling risk?

Reflect the agreed arrangements consistently in the franchise agreement, safety procedures and training materials. Have a franchise lawyer review reporting, access and corrective-action provisions. Avoid relying on a broad clause requiring franchisees to “comply with all laws” without explaining how the businesses will work together.

4. Establish incident reporting and escalation

Set up a reporting route for injuries, near misses, equipment defects and newly identified hazards. Specify whom to contact, what information to provide and what happens outside normal business hours.

Distinguish internal reporting from statutory notification. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, certain deaths, injuries, illnesses and incidents are notifiable. The relevant regulator must be notified as required, and site-preservation obligations may apply. An internal message to the franchisor does not replace these duties.

Give operators clear instructions to protect people first, obtain emergency assistance where needed and escalate uncertainty promptly. Agree how overlapping duty holders will co-ordinate notifications without assuming someone else has acted.

Share useful lessons across the network while limiting personal information to what is necessary. A report should lead to action, not merely populate a register.

5. Check readiness before recruitment

Ask a suitably qualified health and safety adviser to review the pilot’s controls and proposed franchise arrangements. Confirm that essential equipment, training, maintenance and specialist assessments are reflected in the operating costs prospective franchisees will need to understand.

Finally, rehearse a realistic incident with someone other than the founder leading the response. Check whether they can find instructions, contact the right people and make safe decisions.

Practical takeaway: Before offering your first franchise, complete a tested risk register, a shared-responsibility matrix and an incident escalation procedure. Franchising readiness includes a safety system that works without relying on the founder’s memory.