As we approach the summer holidays, it is common for businesses in all sectors to face increased demand as well as staff shortages. Many employees will likely be taking time off over the summer, leading to businesses needing to plug the resource gap this leaves. At certain peak periods, such as the school summer holidays, this can lead to an increased reliance on agency or casual workers and it is important that employers are aware of their duties under health and safety law and the associated risks of using temporary workers.
What is a temporary worker?
There are different types of temporary worker. An agency worker will have a hiring agency, who will seek work for them with a hiring organisation. This could be for any amount of time that the hiring organisation requires. There are many other types of short-term working relationships that are colloquially referred to as “the gig economy” which include casual workers and temporary workers. The key feature of all these types of relationship is that the worker will likely only be engaged by the hiring organisation for a short period of time.
Whilst agency and other temporary workers are typically more expensive for hiring organisations, we commonly see them utilised during the summer holidays, where permanent employees are taking more time off than normal. It is also common to see them used in this period due to increased footfall in sectors such as hospitality, where the current number of staff isn’t sufficient to cope with the increased demand. They may also be utilised in the transport and logistics sector, where there are skills shortages or during periods of increased demand.
It is important for employers to remember that all workers are owed the same duty of care when it comes to ensuring their health and safety whilst at work. This includes a requirement for employers to ensure the work environment has proper controls and safeguards in place.
Health and safety considerations
The principal health and safety legislation in the UK is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (“HSWA”). HSWA sets out the general duties of employers, employees and the self-employed in relation to the health and safety of themselves and others. The duties owed by employers to their permanent employees are the same as those owed to agency and other temporary staff.
This makes practical sense, as the day-to-day responsibility for health and safety will sit with the hiring organisation. They will determine what tasks the worker is required to complete, and the location. Not only this, but they will usually have knowledge of, or control over, the premises where the work is going to take place.
Due to the fact that agency workers are frequently changing work, and adapting to new premises and ways of working, hiring organisations must give thought to health and safety requirements. It may be easy to assume that a worker is used to a specific piece of machinery, or layout of a site, because they have done similar work before. However, these assumptions may prove fatal, and every agency worker should be treated the same as a new employee. Temporary workers, just like new employees, may be more vulnerable to risks of injury due to being unfamiliar with the host company’s safe systems of work, equipment and site.
In the context of the hiring organisation, the safety of agency and casual workers will be captured under Section 3 HSWA, which states that “employers must conduct their undertaking in such a way to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.”
The fundamental principles of HSWA remain relevant when employing temporary workers. The hiring organisation must:
- Provide a safe working environment and a safe system of work
- Ensure that the worker is correctly supervised and adequately supported
- Provide all necessary training
- Give the worker all relevant information they need to safely undertake their role
- Make sure that work undertaken by temporary workers is captured by risk assessments
We often see clients struggling to balance the need to meet business demands by onboarding staff quickly against also ensuring that new workers have received sufficient training and induction before being deployed into the workforce. This is a particular issue where agency workers have been engaged at short notice. It is important that employers ensure that all staff, whether permanent or temporary, receive adequate training as part of their onboarding and that they continue to receive appropriate supervision whilst engaged in their role.
Making sure that temporary workers can carry out their role safely can also be a way for organisations to discharge their duties under the Sections 2 and 3 of HSWA. An inadequately trained agency worker is more likely to pose a hazard to employees or non-employees alike, by performing the role in a dangerous or unsafe manner, exposing others to risk in circumstances that may ultimately leave the hiring organisation exposed.
Practical tips for using temporary workers
- If using an agency worker, communicate clearly with the hiring agency before the start of the employment relationship to check that the worker is suitable for the job at hand. This will reduce the risk of any health and safety issues arising, as a worker that is poorly suited to the job is inevitably more likely to pose a risk to themselves and others.
- Ensure that temporary workers are fully aware of their health and safety responsibilities and are able to carry out the job safely.
- Consider whether your risk assessments need to be updated to reflect the use of temporary workers and highlight any specific risk this may bring and the control measures in place. For example, allocating only low risk activities to seasonal or temporary workers or requiring closer supervision of them.
- Ensure that the worker is sufficiently trained and inducted on all matters specific to your business and their role before being released to commence their duties. This should include a site tour (if applicable) and an introduction to any specific machinery or equipment at the start of the working relationship with your organisation.
- If the worker needs specific professional qualifications in order to carry out the role, ask the agency / worker to provide evidence of this before agreeing to take the worker on.
- Ensure that you document your due diligence process and any supporting documentation received as part of this and retain evidence of qualifications and any training provided.
- Businesses should identify common peak trading or busy periods, and ensure they are forward planning so that when increased resource is required, temporary staff can be brought on board in good time to enable sufficient due diligence, induction and training without time pressures.
- If an incident does occur, remember that the reporting requirements under RIDDOR apply equally to temporary workers as to any other employee.
For more information and advice on the use of agency workers or the HSWA, contact our health and safety solicitors.
