Health and safety induction is designed to help new employees get up to speed on health and safety regulations in their workplace, as well as educate them on the hazards they may encounter during their tenure at the company. This course should be compulsory and taken by all employees new to the firm, not just those who are in high-risk roles like manufacturing or construction. Here’s how to structure your own Health And Safety Induction course!
A Guide to Effective Health and Safety Induction For New Employees
Health and safety induction training for new employees is a vital part of any company’s induction process. This one-to-one session is used to inform new employees about the company’s policies and procedures about health and safety. It is also an opportunity for staff to get their questions answered, identify potential hazards in the workplace, and learn what they can do to stay safe.
Although it may seem like a simple process, Health and safety induction training for new employees can take up to 3 hours, depending on what area of work they will be in. Those working on-site might need more information than those in an office setting. It is therefore important that you consider not just what they will be doing when they start but also how their role may change as time goes on. This way you can make sure that your Health and safety induction training for new employees prepares them for all eventualities.
Why is Health and Safety Induction Important
All organizations must educate our employees on the importance of their health and safety. Health and Safety Induction is an important part of this process because it ensures that all new employees understand the risks they are exposed to in the workplace and how to minimize them.
The Health and Safety of your employees is a key part of our business, so you should do everything in your power to ensure that they remain safe while they’re at work. You should ensure that all employees feel completely comfortable reporting anything they find that might compromise their safety—or could compromise that of someone else. That’s why it’s important to know what steps you should take if you suspect any potential hazards at work which is also covered during the Health and Safety Induction Training.
How Health and Safety Induction Is Done
It’s typically made up of a series of steps around performing a job role safely by properly going through safety training, a site tour, hazards in the workplace to be aware of, organization organogram, collecting important licenses and certifications as evidence of training, and being tested on their competency. Common topics to include in a safety induction range from Fire Extinguishers, Hand hand-held power Tools, Injury Management, Infection Control, Personal Protective Equipment, Safety Awareness, and Working at Heights.
In Australia, Health and safety induction is required by law under State and Territory Occupational Health & Safety laws. These laws specify that employees must be given an induction before they begin work in a new job or workplace. When workers start new jobs, they often lack experience in their new roles and are not familiar with occupational health and safety hazards associated with those roles. A health and safety induction aims to enable them to perform safely.
READ: 10 Tips For Maintaining Health And Safety In A Construction Site
Employers should conduct these inductions as soon after employment commences as possible and should involve all staff, including management. As well as outlining what is expected of staff in terms of general behavior (such as taking reasonable care of your safety) it should also address any specific risks present in the workplace such as hazardous materials or working at heights.
Who Carries out Health and Safety Induction?
Most companies will have a Health and Safety induction for new employees. This is often done by the Employee Relations Manager or a member of the HR team, although in smaller companies it can be done by the supervisor or manager. It is important to note that this is not just a ‘tick-box’ exercise, and should be carried out as an interactive session with all staff being encouraged to participate.
At each induction session, employees will be given a copy of their full induction pack. The pack should include an introduction to Health and Safety in your workplace, as well as details of your company policy on safety issues such as bullying and harassment. It will also explain any security or fire safety measures that need to be observed by staff. In larger organizations, it is a legal requirement for all employees to receive such an induction before commencing work.
However, in some organizations, the aspect of the Health and Safety induction is carried out by a Health and Safety representative.
Effective Safety Induction Tips
All employees must be informed of the company’s health and safety procedures. Here are some tips to make it more effective.
- Identify what kind of induction training is appropriate for your organization. One-time or continual? Targeted to a specific audience, such as new hires, general workforce, etc.?
- Make sure you have a clear plan before starting your induction training. Who is responsible for what? How long will it take? Who needs to attend? Make sure everyone is aware of their responsibilities during this process.
- Make sure your induction program is engaging and easy to follow. It shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes for new hires, and it should cover your organization’s health and safety policies in a fun way that doesn’t bore them. For example, discuss safety signs with employees so they know what each means. Use videos, animations, and role-play scenarios to engage people with the topic at hand.
What Should a Health and Safety Induction Cover
A Health and Safety Induction should cover a variety of topics, such as how to report workplace accidents, what to do in the event of a fire or medical emergency, and how to safely use equipment. It is also important for new employees to be aware of any safety hazards in their department.
First Aid training for Health and Safety induction, particularly for first aiders, is also vital.
Health and Safety training should also cover risk assessment – it is important to know what hazards are present in each area of a workplace and how to control them. It is also vital that employees understand how to report work-related accidents and injuries, so procedures for handling incidents as they happen should be part of an induction. As well as giving health and safety training for new employees, all workers need regular training on health and safety policies to keep themselves safe at work.
Workplace inductions should also include information on company policies, such as diversity and equal opportunities policies, occupational health and safety policies, and work-life balance policies. These are important for all employees to know about, but are particularly crucial for new workers who may not have had much exposure to them previously.
New employees must have a full understanding of their terms and conditions, which should be covered in a Health and Safety induction. In addition to discussing pay, bonus schemes, training opportunities, and progression opportunities (if applicable), workers also need to know about any contractual clauses or policies that affect their working hours or pay.
How In-depth Should Health And Safety Induction Training Be
New employees must have training in Health and Safety. All businesses need to carry out a health and safety induction for new staff, regardless of the size or type of company. The induction should be tailored to your needs and should be completed in one day. It should cover all the basics that your staff will need to know about Health and Safety, including what to do in an emergency.
However, a proportionate approach should be taken when determining what level of information, instruction, and training is required. For example, low-risk businesses won’t need to provide lengthy technical training; simple information and clear instructions are likely to be enough.
READ: 55 Power Tools Safety Tips You Can’t Afford to Ignore
Some employers may find that it’s necessary to ensure health and safety induction is provided on an ongoing basis. More details are included in your occupational health policy and you should ensure that all staff receive a copy of that too. Keeping everyone up-to-date is essential as new people join and existing members of staff learn new skills.
Companies should review their training every six months to make sure they are current, realistic, and relevant to your workplace.
Common Safety Induction Topics
A common set of safety induction topics includes:
- Working in confined spaces
- Understanding and awareness of specific hazards
- Working at heights
- Electrical safety
- Fire safety
- Emergency procedures
- Medical kit locations
- Evacuation locations
- Bullying and harassment policies
- Code of conduct
- How to report an incident or hazard
- Local hospital contacts
- Local emergency services contacts
See Health and Safety Induction For New Employees Document – Here
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