Labour Hire
Labour hire workers, also known as “on-hired workers” or “temps” are paid by their employer, but work at another organisation (called the “host employer”).
The use of labour hire arrangements increased significantly in the 1990s and continues to increase. The labour hire agency and the host employer have shared responsibilities to protect the health and safety of labour hire workers.
WorkSafe’s publication Case studies in labour hire - examples and learnings outlines good practices being implemented in the industry and opportunities for the organisations to enhance their OHS management systems.
A range of other publications and tools including worksheets and assessments are available on this website to assist labour hire agencies and host employers in indentifying and meeting their responsibilities.
- Free Independent OHS Advice
- Download worksheets and assessments
- Claims and risks
- Parliamentary inquiry into Labour Hire
- Labour Hire research report
- New Premium classification system for Labour Hire agencies
- Publications
- Popular Forms & Publications
Free Independent Occupational Health and Safety Advice
WorkSafe Victoria, through its Small Business Program, has provided funding to the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA) to provide free and independent OHS advice to small and medium sized labour hire companies.
The RCSA has engaged SRM Risk to deliver the 3-hour free consultancy service to those labour hire/on-hire firms with a remuneration less than $2 million or with less than 50 EFT employees.
Since December 2005, SRM Risk have provided this service to over 120 labour hire firms in Victoria, which has been favourably received by these companies as testified by the following recipient.
“Value Added Personnel actively promote good practice in relation to Occupational Health and Safety both internally and with the clients we supply. We used SRM Risk through the WorkSafe sponsored RCSA Small Business On-Hire OHS Consulting Program to review our existing OHS management system and general working practices. SRM Risk was able to identify areas for improvement within our systems and suggest practical recommendations aligned with Victorian OHS legislation and best practice. The initiative was well received by Value Added Personnel and we would certainly recommend it to fellow companies within the industry.”
Ms Charlotte Tabatabai - Managing Director of Value Added Personnel Pty Ltd
Further funding has been made available to RCSA to provide this 3-hour free consultancy service until June 2009. For further information or to register your company, download the registration form, email victas_region@rcsa.com.au or contact the RCSA on (03) 9662 2152.
Labour hire and host companies can also apply directly to WorkSafe Victoria for a 3-hour free OHS consultancy. For further information please refer to the WorkSafe Small Business Webpage for further details.
Download WorkSheets and Assessments
- Agreed actions record
- Assessment of host employer's system for managing OHS
- Employee induction assessment sheet
- First contact checklist - host employer
- Hazard register
- Hazard/incident/accident report form
- Host employer induction checklist
- Job and training record
- Job Safety Assessment
- Labour Hire Agency induction checklist
- Labour Hire Agency health and safety health check
- Monitoring Inspection Record
- Training register for permanent staff
- Training register for temporary staff
Having issues with documents? Email elizabeth_ kilduff@worksafe.vic.gov.au
Claims and Risks
The on-hire industry is experiencing growth both in the number of workers employed and the number of claims being received. The number of claims has increased faster than the increase in industry size, and the claims rate is not following the decreasing pattern displayed by all other employers.
To identify OHS issues concerning on-hired workers, WorkSafe Victoria commissioned a report reviewing local and international OHS guidance material and WorkSafe claims data. Some of the international findings from the report are that in many circumstances on-hire workers are particularly vulnerable to health and safety risks because they are:
- less experienced due to younger age
- exposed to greater work intensification pressures
- exposed to greater risks, generally
- less able to have discretion in the way tasks are performed
- less represented at workplaces
- more frequently exposed to unfamiliar workplaces
- less likely to receive workplace specific training and induction
- less qualified
Further research may help determine if some of these factors are relevant to Victorian workplaces.The report also found that on-hired workers are restricted from doing particularly dangerous work in five European countries. This work includes construction, mining, graphical and textiles industry work, work in explosive atmospheres, off-shore rigs, and work involving exposure to carcinogens and biological agents. Page 26 of the report includes further information on this issue.
A second report by the same author compares WorkSafe claims made by New Apprentices (apprentices and trainees) employed directly by companies with those employed by Group Training Companies. Group Training Companies on-hire New Apprentices to host workplaces.
View the apprentice and trainee workers' comp claim report
Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire
The Economic Development Committee presented an Interim and Final Report on the Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire Employment in Victoria.
- Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire in Victoria - Interim Report
- Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire in Victoria - Final Report
- Government response to the Parliamentary Enquiry into Labour Hire
For further information on the Parliamentary Inquiry refer to its website at www.parliament.vic.gov.au/edevc/inquiries/Labour_Hire.
For further labour hire health and safety information contact Penny Drew on (03) 9091 4163 or email elizabeth_ kilduff@worksafe.vic.gov.au
For labour hire premium/workplace injury insurance queries, see below, or contact the Advisory Service.
In response to the 2005 Parliamentary Inquiry into Labour Hire Employment in Victoria, Monash University Australian Centre for Research in Employment and Work (ACREW) was commissioned by WorkSafe to conduct a qualitative research report on OHS in the labour hire industry.
In the report ACREW draws on interviews with stakeholders, practitioners, trainers, union officials and workers to produce case studies that illustrate progress towards best practice OHS management in the labour hire sector. The case studies demonstrate:
- a commonality of understanding about OHS;
- how a commitment to OHS management can enhance business value, including community, social, environmental and ethical goals;
- how progress towards best practice is achievable within available resources, across small to large agencies and host organisations, and metropolitan and regional firms.
Click here to download a copy of the report
New Premium Classification System For Labour Hire Agencies
WorkSafe will reclassify labour hire/on-hire activities from the 1 January 2006. The change is part of the broader 'new premium system', designed to improve Victoria's workplace insurance system. The new classification for labour hire agencies will better reflect the industry into which labour hire workers are placed, rather than the former broader "white or blue collar" industry classifications that are currently in place. This reclassification will better reflect the workplace risk and make the system more equitable across labour hire agencies, group training companies and recruitment companies.
More information on the reclassification for premium
The labour hire agencies publication provides an overview of the OHS responsibilities of labour hire agencies and contains the more detailed 96 page "Placing workers in safe workplaces: Safety management systems guide for labour hire agencies" publication.
- Labour hire agencies: Managing the safety of on-hired workers
- Labour Hire Workers: OHS Rights and Responsibilities
- Host Employers: Managing the safety of labour hire workers
- Placing Workers in Safe Workplaces
- Case studies in labour hire - examples and learnings
- Casual workers - Managing their health and safety
- Labour hire agencies: Managing the safety of on-hired workers
- Host Employers: Managing the safety of labour hire workers
- Outworkers - Health and Safety at work
