Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("Client", "User", or "you") and Safety Management Group (Pty) Ltd ("SMG", "we", "us", or "our").

By accessing or using this website, downloading our safety checklists, templates, or compliance calendars, or engaging SMG for consulting, auditing, training, or industrial relations services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by these Terms.

If you enter into these Terms on behalf of an enterprise, company, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you possess the requisite authority to bind such entity.

2. Nature of advisory services

SMG acts as an outsourced occupational health and safety advisory, training, and risk management partner. To maintain clarity regarding legal accountability, the following operational principles apply:

• Employer statutory duty: The primary legal duty to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a safe working environment remains the non-delegable statutory responsibility of the employer under Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS Act).
• Advisory scope: Advice, audit findings, gap analyses, and recommendations provided by SMG are based upon observations, operational evidence, documentation supplied by the Client, and prevailing regulations at the time of assessment. Recommendations do not replace managerial oversight or executive decision-making.
• Free resources & calculators: Checklists, calculators, and calendars published on this website are provided for screening, educational, and prioritization purposes only. They do not constitute formal compliance certification or legal advice.

3. Intellectual property rights

All content published on this website, including text, graphics, methodologies, audit instruments, training curricula, slide packs, calculators, and software code, is the exclusive intellectual property of SMG or its licensors, protected by South African copyright and trademark law.

Subject to these Terms, SMG grants Users a revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to download and utilize our publicly provided safety checklists and audit templates solely for internal health and safety operational use. You may not:

• Resell, sublicense, redistribute, or commercially exploit SMG materials to third parties.
• Remove or alter any copyright notices, trademarks, or accreditation marks appearing on materials.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or copy the structure of our digital tools or calculators.

4. Client obligations and site access

For SMG to deliver effective safety systems, audits, and workplace inspections, the Client agrees to:

• Unrestricted access: Provide our safety specialists with reasonable and safe access to premises, operational sites, plant, equipment, and records relevant to the agreed scope.
• Accurate documentation: Supply timely, complete, and accurate information regarding operational activities, hazardous substances, subcontractor agreements, and prior incident reports.
• Safety on site: Ensure that SMG personnel visiting Client sites are informed of site-specific hazards and provided with necessary personal protective equipment or orientations where required.
• Implementation: Acknowledge that recommendations, corrective action plans, and risk controls have practical value only when implemented and enforced by the Client's operational management.

5. Fees, payment & retainer terms

Specific fees for consulting projects, compliance audits, accredited training, and retainer packages are set out in written service agreements or quotations approved by the Client.

• Payment terms: Unless specified otherwise in writing, invoices are payable within 30 days from the date of issue.
• Retainer arrangements: Monthly retainer agreements operate on a structured commitment basis. Unused monthly consulting hours or site inspections do not roll over to subsequent months unless explicitly provided in the written agreement.
• Training cancellations: Cancellations for scheduled accredited training courses received less than five business days prior to the start date may incur cancellation charges to cover venue and facilitator bookings.

6. Limitation of professional liability

SMG delivers its consulting, audit, and training services with professional diligence and skill aligned with Saiosh and Department of Employment and Labour recognized standards. However, to the maximum extent permitted by South African law:

• SMG will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, loss of business revenue, commercial interruption, or loss of profits arising out of the services.
• SMG is not liable for regulatory fines, statutory penalties, or Department of Labour prohibition notices issued due to the Client's failure to implement recommendations, deliberate non-compliance, or suppression of operational facts.
• The total aggregate liability of SMG for direct damages arising under or in connection with an engagement, whether in contract or delict, shall be limited to the total fees actually paid by the Client to SMG under the relevant engagement in the preceding three months.

7. Confidentiality and POPIA compliance

Both SMG and the Client undertake to maintain strict confidentiality regarding proprietary business information, operational procedures, audit scores, incident findings, and trade secrets disclosed during an engagement.

All personal information handled in connection with the services will be processed in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, as detailed in our POPIA and Privacy Policy.

8. Governing law and dispute resolution

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

In the event of any dispute arising from an engagement, the parties agree to first seek an amicable resolution through senior executive negotiations. Failing resolution within 14 days, the dispute shall be referred to mediation or arbitration under the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) seated in Johannesburg.