Person conducting a business or undertaking responsibilities

Managing health and safety issues for workers who are new to jobs and tasks should be considered within the context of health and safety management for all workers. As a person conducting a business or undertaking you have a general duty to provide and maintain, as far as practical, a working environment where workers are not exposed to hazards. This includes:

providing and maintaining safe work environment, plant and systems of work so they do not expose workers to hazards
providing information, instruction, induction, training and supervision so workers can perform their work safely
consulting and cooperating with health and safety representatives (if any) and other workers regarding health and safety at the workplace.

Provide a safe and healthy workplace

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you must ensure the work environment and the way workers carry out their work is safe, regardless of the type and terms of their employment. This includes protecting them from both physical and psychological workplace hazards including:

slippery and uneven floors and other trip hazards
lifting heavy objects and other hazardous manual tasks
high levels of noise
electrical risks
working at heights
faulty or unguarded machinery and equipment
working with hazardous substances
bullying
work related stress
client aggression and violence
fatigue.

Provide training and supervision

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you must ensure workers have enough information, training and supervision to enable them to work safely. This is especially relevant in the case of new workers. This training should:

ensure worker awareness of work health and safety policies and procedures
show workers how to do their job safely and how to recognise hazards on the job
provide and show workers how to safely use the necessary machinery and equipment
provide and show workers how to use any personal protective equipment, such as gloves, safety footwear and goggles
show workers how to report any safety concerns or hazards
be tailored to specific cultural, literacy and learning needs so workers receive the right message in a form they understand
help workers know their immediate supervisor, health and safety representative, workmates and the workplace layout
make it easy for new workers to ask questions - don't assume they will ask
check for understanding of how to work safely before work is undertaken.

Consulting and discussing health and safety

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you are responsible for consulting workers about workplace health and safety matters including:

asking for worker input when looking at any workplace hazards and ways to control those hazards
discussing new machinery and equipment when it is introduced into the work area
discussing at team or toolbox meetings where the health and safety concerns can be raised
discussing matters with health and safety representatives.

Know your workforce, workers abilities and their needs

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you must ensure the health and safety of workers you engage or whose activities you influence or direct. An important consideration in achieving this for new or young workers is to match job-task demands with an individual's abilities and skill sets.

This can be achieved through various processes including:

identifying workplace hazards and conducting risk assessments, taking into account the experience, language and cultural needs of the workforce
pre-placement discussions
ongoing consultation and communication
liaison with health and safety representatives
monitoring and reviewing workplace practices.

Consider the tasks you give to new and inexperienced workers, given their skills, abilities and experience and consider the training and supervision required to enable them to work safely.

Specific issues regarding young workers

Young workers are more at risk of harm for a variety of reasons. They may:

lack experience and maturity, lack awareness of risks, and may still be developing their skills and competencies
be unaware of their rights and employer duties regarding health and safety
be reluctant to ask questions or speak out about problems
be keen to please their new employer
be still physically developing.

Young workers need to be placed in safe and suitable jobs that are matched to their skills, mental and physical abilities and be given adequate training and supervision.

A person conducting a business or undertaking should always consider:

their physical capacity and emotional maturity
their work experience and training
their confidence to raise problems with their supervisors
their ability to make mature judgments about their own safety and the safety of others
their ability to cope with unexpected and stressful situations
other characteristics that mean young workers are more likely to be affected than adults in the same situation.

Specific issues regarding migrant and visa workers

Issues to consider for migrant workers may include:

language barriers
cultural or religious differences
literacy difficulties
limited knowledge of local legislation and safety standards
reluctance to engage with authority figures.

As a person conducting a business or undertaking, you may need to:

consider how to convey information about safety to those with a limited knowledge of English
consider accessing English language support for workers
arrange for any necessary support to be provided by others within the workplace
encourage supervisors to be understanding and approachable.

If language is a barrier:

demonstrate skills thoroughly rather than giving verbal instructions
use pictures rather than words as reminder prompts.

Strategies to implement health and safety practices in the workplace

Strategies may include:

spending ample time training and supervising young and new workers
providing job specific safety training and ensuring employees can demonstrate competence before any work is assigned
teaching emergency procedures before any work is assigned
pairing up workers inexperienced to the area with experienced safety conscious workers
regularly checking to ensure that everyone follows the safety rules
acknowledging and giving feedback to workers who make workplace health and safety a priority
instructing workers on how to report unsafe conditions or health concerns
explaining why it is important to report a hazard or injury immediately
leading by example by wearing protective equipment and demonstrating safe work habits.