Workers are as likely to have an accident in their first 6 months at work as during the whole of the rest of their working life because of lack of experience of working in a new industry or workplace, being unfamiliar with the job and the work environment, not wanting/knowing how to raise concerns, or eagerness to impress workmates and managers.
This means workers new to a workplace may not recognise hazards as a potential source of danger, not understand ‘obvious’ rules for equipment use, not be familiar with site layout, especially where site hazards may change from day to day, and ignore warning signs and rules, or cut corners.
Steps to protect new starters
- Assess the new starter’s capabilities including general health, relevant work experience, physical capability to do the job and familiarity with the work being done and the working environment.
- Deliver an induction using plain and simple language including highlighting how important it is to report accidents and near misses, making necessary arrangements for health surveillance and providing and maintaining suitable personal protective equipment.
- Provide relevant information, instruction and training about the risks new workers may be exposed to and the precautions they will need to take to avoid them.
- Provide adequate supervision and make sure workers know how to raise concerns being aware that new workers may find it difficult to raise concerns because of unfamiliarity and inexperience.
- Check workers have understood the information, instruction and training they need to work safely, and are acting on it.
Be mindful that young people may lack the experience and maturity of their colleagues and migrant workers may be particularly at risk when starting work.
How can we help?
For further information about issues raised in this article, please contact a member of our Safety & Health — Training & Consultancy team.
