Keeping with the theme of our last post, Volunteers in the Workplace, we thought it would be handy to focus on labour hire workers, including your responsibilities if you engage labour hire workers in your workplace.
There has been a lot of attention over the past 18 months on the labour hire industry with inquiries being conducted by South Australia’s Parliament, the Queensland Parliament, the Senate, the Fair Work Ombudsman and an independent inquiry commissioned by the Victorian Government.
Not to mention the two labour hire companies fined in South Australia in 2016 for offences under the WHS Act. One of these two labour hire companies was fined the highest penalty recorded against a single entity, since South Australia adopted the nationally harmonised work health and safety laws.
Some of the issues the inquiries investigated included:
- The avoidance of paying work injury insurance premiums
- The abuse of visas
- Sham contracting to avoid workplace laws
As a result, SafeWork SA has highlighted the need to ensure all parties in a labour hire arrangement are aware of their work health and safety responsibilities.
The parties generally involved in labour hire arrangements are:
- The labour hire agency
- The business (otherwise known as the host employer)
- The labour hire worker(s)
Host Employer
It is important for host employers to understand that the same WHS duties apply to labour hire workers, as they do to any other worker in the business.
Not only does a host employer need to provide a safe work environment, they should also check the following, before engaging any labour hire worker:
- Provide the labour hire agency with details of the workplace and nature of work being carried out
- Highlight any skills and knowledge required to undertake the work
- Verify that the selected worker(s) have the necessary qualifications, licences, skills and training to carry out the work safely (including high risk licences)
- Confirm who (out of the host employer or labour hire agency) will provide necessary equipment, such as PPE, general WHS information and training
- Does the Labour Hire Agency have all relevant insurance policies, INCLUDING workers compensation insurance covering the labour hire worker (you can check that a labour hire agency’s ReturnToWorkSA insurance is current by using the Employer lookup feature on their website – Click here)
Labour Hire Agency
Labour hire agencies also have WHS duties to the worker, that they cannot contract out or transfer. It’s similar to the myth that if you subcontract a task out, you shift or transfer the safety responsibility.
With the WHS Act 2012 – this is no longer the case.
If a labour hire worker is put at risk of serious injury, is seriously injured or fatally injured at work, depending on the circumstances, both the labour hire agency and host employer could potentially be prosecuted for a breach of the WHS Act.
As a labour hire agency, it is extremely important that any workplace is thoroughly assessed, including the host employer’s relevant documents and safe work systems.
Labour Hire Workers
Labour hire workers also have WHS duties. As with any type of worker, they are required to take care of themselves and not do anything that would affect the health and safety of others. They must, including but not limited to:
- Follow reasonable health and safety instructions
- Ask if they are unsure of how to safely perform a task or safely use plant and equipment
- Report any injuries or near misses IMMEDIATELY to their designated supervisor or manager
