Management: You, too, have health and safety responsibilities for your temps

Monday, October 5, 2009

It's not just the employment agency that is responsible for health and safety education. The task is shared and you neglect it at your peril

by DIANE HAROLD

When it comes to health and safety, employers cannot take shortcuts with temporary workers.  During times of high production, it is tempting to rush through training and put the temps to work right away. But the benefits of increasing production are not worth the risk of potential fines by the Ministry of Labour for a violation.

Many employers falsely believe that it is the temporary employment agency's sole responsibility to educate the worker on health and safety. Usually, employment agencies will train them on the basic principles of health and safety, such as worker rights and responsibilities and Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training.

But health and safety is a shared responsibility between the agency and the employer. There is a general duty on employers to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of workers, whether they are permanent or temporary. The employer also has many specific responsibilities, such as the duties to provide written information, supervision and instruction to workers to protect their health and safety, ensuring that equipment is maintained in good condition and providing personal protective equipment.
Some guidelines to follow to provide a safe workplace:

•    If you have made requests to the agency for a worker trained on a forklift or a tractor, be sure to ask for proof of that training. Perform your own assessment of whether the worker is qualified by testing him or her yourself.

•    Provide an orientation for your temps. Describe your processes and safety procedures and explain why the procedures are performed a certain way.

•    Check for understanding by asking the worker to explain the work process back to you.

•    Continuously monitor the temp throughout the day to correct any undesirable work methods and reinforce safe work habits.

•    Provide work instructions in writing and in all the required languages. Document all training you provide and have the worker sign off to prove that training was given.

•    Only allow the worker to perform the job he or she was originally hired to do.

Currently, under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), if a temporary worker is injured on the job, the claim is registered with the temporary agency and not the employer. This means that these employers are flying under the radar and may still be receiving rebates from WSIB, even if a temporary worker has been injured at their workplace.

Employers should know that this loophole may be closing and that the WSIB is reviewing how rebates are given. There may be some changes coming, with the possibility of the WSIB aligning with the Ministry of Labour so that employers will no longer receive a rebate if they are convicted for an offence under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

While you can escape some responsibilities when you hire temporary workers, you must still take extra care with health and safety training. Failure to do so could result in charges by the labour ministry for non-compliance. In worst case scenarios, such as critical injuries, this could mean being shut down while the ministry investigates, loss of reputation and loss of production. BF

Diane Harold, CHRP, Human Resource Management, is owner/consultant for Human Resource Essentials in Kingsville, specializing in the agricultural sector.