Employer Responsibilities for Temporary Workers

- by Darlene Muise and Tanya Ducharme
Workplace Safety and Health Division
Manitoba Dept of Labour and Immigration

A casual labourer was recently injured when a portion of the structure he was working on gave way and fell on him. The worker was performing a task that he received insufficient training or instruction on how to do safely.

The worker was assigned by a temporary placement agency to work at a construction site. The agency provided the worker with personal protective equipment and general instructions on the type of work to be done, however there were no clear guidelines to inform the worker of the type of work he should or should not do.

In many cases, temporary placement agencies rely on the employer at the job site to provide the workers with workplace orientation - verify they have the appropriate skills to perform the job(s) - and provide them with job-specific training, including safety and health training. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.

Communication breakdown is frequently an issue, whether between the placement agency and employer at the workplace or when there is more than one employer at the work site (for example, a prime contractor and sub-contractor). In addition, not all employers invest the time to ensure a short-term worker has the necessary skills and knowledge to do the job – and do it safely.

Under workplace safety and health law in Manitoba, a placement worker has two employers - the temporary placement agency, and the employer at the job site. As a result temporary placement agencies are required to:

• Provide a safety and health orientation to their workers so they can identify hazards in the workplace. As an example, workers performing demolition work should be able to identify mould and asbestos.
• Ensure workers are aware of their responsibility to follow the workplace safety and health rules and safe work procedures at each job site.
• Ensure workers understand the work they are sent to perform, their right to ask questions about the work they are assigned to do, and their right to refuse work they believe is unsafe.
• Ensure workers understand that they must receive appropriate training for all tasks.
• Ensure the company (where the workers will be placed) provides workplace orientation and job specific training to the workers.
• Ensure workers are capable of the job. For instance, a worker with lifting restrictions due to a medical condition should not be tasked to move or lift heavy items.

Companies that hire casual labourers are required to:

• Provide the workers with a workplace orientation, including: location of emergency exits, first aid kits, eye wash equipment, a review of emergency fire and evacuation plans, and a review of workplace rules.
• Provide task specific training to the workers, including safe work procedures, and job hazard information.
• Ensure workers are provided with the appropriate tools and personal protective equipment to perform the job safely.
• Ensure workers receive competent supervision.
• Ensure workers understand the work they are assigned to perform, and the work they are not to perform. As an example, casual workers at ABC Company are not to operate equipment or machinery.
• Ensure workers do not operate powered lift equipment (forklifts and powerjacks) unless certified by the workplace. Certificates are not transferable. Each company must train the worker on their equipment, hazards and safe operating procedures before the worker is allowed to operate that equipment.

Employers bear the greatest responsibility for ensuring the safety and health of all workers at their workplace.

Work shouldnt hurt!

This article appears in the Winter 2006 edition of SAFE Work, Vol 1 No. 6, a publication of the Workplace Safety and Health Division. Special thanks to authors Darlene Muise and Tanya Ducharme.