TEMPORARY WORKERS

The main difference between a temporary worker and a permanent employee is that the former does not have an ongoing contract of employment with the company he or she is working for, in many cases, temporary workers are employed by an employment agency. Temporary workers are an important safety management issue because they are unfamiliar with the workplace and company rules, and are on-site for a limited time period, sometimes only a few hours. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) (MHSWR), Regulation 15 “Temporary workers” places a requirement on management to assess the suitability and capability of temporary workers.

Health and safety legislation applies equally to temporary workers and employees working directly under the control of their own employer. In practice, responsibility for implementing the legislation for temporary workers is divided between the employment agency and the host employer. The former is in control of the worker, and the latter is in control of the work activity and, in most cases, the workplace.

Legal duties - company X, as an employer, has a general duty under s.2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSW Act) to provide information, instruction and training to all employees. Workers on a fixed term contract are classed as employees, and will receive the same health and safety training as other employees. Additionally company X also has a duty under s.3 of the HSW Act to ensure the health and safety of non-employees. Under the (MHSWR), management have a duty to provide information on health and safety to these workers.

Temporary jobs - nearly 3 in 5 (57%) of temporary workers have been with their present employer for less than 12 months. The risks to temporary workers are associated with the high risks to workers new to their employer.

Labour Force Survey (LFS) June 2000.
JOB TENURE	Rate of all workplace injuries per 100 workers per 12 months.
Less than 6 Months	11.40%
Between 6 - 11 Months	5.60%
Between 12 Months to 5 years	4.20%
Over 5 years	3.50%

Induction training - for new employees and refresher training for existing employees, in the identification of particularly hazardous production processes and dangerous plant and/or equipment, good housekeeping practices, the use of machine guards, safety audits, accident investigation and reporting, the issue of protective clothing and equipment, the preparation and dissemination of health and safety rules. Training should also include fire evacuation drills as fire certificates frequently specify that this induction training should be followed by regular re-training sessions. First aid information should be included in any induction programme for new employees and other employees should be informed of any changes to existing arrangements. All health & safety training “shall take place during working hours” (MHSWR), Regulation 13(3)(c).

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