Safety Management and Labour Hire

The Queensland Government and WorkCover Queensland have released a Labour Hire micro-site providing advice and services to organisations involved in or utilising Labour Hire companies. In support of this initiative, Donesafe offers the following practical information.

Labour hire workers are those directly employed by a company which on-hires them to perform work for a different organisation. Labour hire workers are most commonly under the direction of the host organisation engaging the labour hire provider and as such are under that organisations duty of care.

Statistically, Labour hire workers are disproportionately injured at work which can be unsurprising due to the level of confusion that can be found within organisations as to who is responsible for the labour hire workers health and safety.

Under harmonised legislation, the Host Person Conducting the Business or Undertaking (PCBU) who engages the Labour Hire provider for workers is responsible for worker safety. Furthermore both the Labour Hire PCBU and the Host PCBU have duties to consult and cooperate on health and safety so far as reasonably practicable.

Organisations can do a number of things to assist in keeping Labour Hire workers safe and also protecting their businesses, these include:

• Keeping Safety the number one priority and discussion item between organisations and workers.
• Provide access to Labour hire personnel to your safety management system and safety software.
• Educating and inducting workers on interacting with labour hire personnel.
• Ensure that contract terms and all safety documentation are understood by all parties.
• Select Labour Hire organisations with a strong safety record and those who have appropriate systems in place.
• Act on any risk or safety issues raised by workers or the Labour Hire company.
• Act with transparency, visibility and integrity in all dealing, including in the unfortunate case of incident investigation.

For more information on harmonised safety laws and Labour Hire, refer to the Safe Work Australia Fact Sheet.

Also, make sure to visit the WorkCover Queensland Labour Hire Micro-site.

As always, stay safe,

Team Donesafe.