Safety information for gig workers
Are you a gig worker (also known as an on-demand worker) in Victoria? Find out more about workplace safety hazards and risks you may need to consider while working.
What is gig work?
Gig work can be temporary jobs or tasks completed by individuals. It can be called other names, such as:
- sharing work
- collaborative work
- crowdsourcing
- independent work
- freelance work (in some cases)
Gig work is often arranged through a digital platform, such as a mobile application or website. The digital platform connects workers with a client requesting a service. The service may be a one-off task or a short-term contract. Gig workers are usually paid for completing a task or job.
Common types of gig work include:
- ride share, for example, Uber, Didi
- food delivery, for example, UberEats, DoorDash
- personal care, for example, ShiftCare, Hireup
- home services, for example, TaskRabbit, Airtasker, hipages, Service seeking
- hospitality work, for example, Sidekicker, Supp
- administration tasks or creative work, for example, Upwork
Who has health and safety duties?
In Victoria, employers, self-employed persons and employees all have duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (the Act) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017.
It is important to understand whether you are an employee or self-employed person so that you know which occupational health and safety (OHS) duties will apply to you.
Under the Act:
- an employee is someone who is working under a contract of employment or contract of training.
- an employer means a person who employs one or more other persons under contracts of employment or contracts of training
Note: If an organisation has no employees, they are not an employer.
Depending on the arrangement, many gig workers may be self-employed persons. However, WorkSafe encourages you to seek your own legal advice to determine this.
What are the general health and safety duties?
Under the Act, if you are a self-employed person, you have a duty to other people (for example, your customers, clients, members of the public). Self-employed persons must, so far as is reasonably practicable, ensure their business activities do not put the health and safety of other people at risk. See WorkSafe guidance for more information on duties:
See WorkSafe guidance for more information on duties:
Hazards and risk
When doing gig work, you or others may be exposed to hazards.
The steps below take you through the stages of identifying, assessing, and controlling risks associated with workplace hazards.
- Identify hazards – think about what could cause harm to you or others.
- Assess the risks – the likelihood that the hazard will cause harm.
- Control the risks – use the steps below to eliminate or reduce the risk so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Substituting the hazard or activity with a less hazardous activity.
- Isolating people from the hazard (remove people from the identified hazard).
- Using engineering controls to reduce the risk further, through engineering changes.
- Using administrative controls, such as instructions or health and safety procedures.
- Using personal protective equipment to further reduce the risk.
- Check that the controls to reduce the risk are in place and working as intended and revise if necessary.
For more information see WorkSafe guidance:
- Using a mobile application for gig work
Gig work often involves using a digital platform, usually a mobile application (app) to:
- accept jobs
- get directions to your destination
- contact customers
Apps can contribute to other health and safety risks arising, including:
- Distraction due to viewing requests or messages whilst working.
- Fatigue from missing or ignoring breaks or providing services across multiple apps.
- Not following safe practices, taking short cuts to complete tasks quicker.
- Using a vehicle for gig work
Gig work often involves using a vehicle, such as a car, motorbike, motorised scooter, or electric bicycle. The vehicle you operate needs to be in good condition, safe and well-maintained. In addition, you need to be capable and confident in operating the vehicle.
For vehicles that require a licence, you must have the right licence and the licence must be current to operate it.
Common hazards associated with using a vehicle include:
- poorly maintained vehicles, including safety equipment such as seat belts, brakes, lights, indicators etc
- speeding
- in-vehicle distractions, for example, the use of mobile devices, technology
- visibility, particularly for motorbikes, scooters and bicycles
- poor road or weather conditions
- other vehicles
- fatigue
- drugs and alcohol
Many of these hazards can increase the risk of being in a crash. If you are a motorcyclist, including scooter riders, or a cyclist, whether on an electric-bicycle or regular bicycle, you are at a greater risk of being involved in a crash. Ensure you follow the road rules and drive to the conditions.
For more information see WorkSafe guidance:
VicRoads also provides guidance on the road rules and how to keep safe while driving or riding. See the further information section for related guidance.
- Manual Handling
Manual handling is work that involves lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying or moving something or someone.
Manual handling is common in many tasks in gig work. For example, you may be providing personal care to a client in their home which requires the regular use of hoists to transfer the client from bed to chair. Or you may be carrying out maintenance tasks, using tools which require repetitive movements.
Manual handling becomes hazardous manual handling if it involves:
- repeated, sustained or high force
- sustained awkward posture
- repetitive movements
- exposure to sustained vibration
- handling people or animals
- loads that are unstable, unbalanced or hard to hold
Hazardous manual handling can cause musculoskeletal disorders, such as:
- sprains and strains
- back injuries
- soft-tissue injuries to wrists, arms, shoulders, neck or legs
- hernias
- chronic pain
For information see WorkSafe guidance:
- Fatigue
Fatigue can be a hazard for gig workers, particularly those who work across multiple digital platforms or as a secondary or additional source of income. For example, you may have already worked an entire workday before engaging in gig work. The physical and mental fatigue caused by long hours can increase your likelihood of being involved in an incident which poses health and safety risks.
It is important to take regular breaks, reconsider the need to work late at night and ensure adequate rest between shifts.
For more information see WorkSafe guidance:
- Work-related violence
Being exposed to work-related violence is never okay.
Work-related violence involves incidents in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. This definition covers a broad range of actions and behaviours that can create a risk to health and safety. It includes behaviour sometimes described as acting out, challenging behaviour and behaviours of concern.
These actions or behaviours can come from many different people, for example, clients, clients' families, members of the public, business owners, other workers or other road users.
It is important to be aware of actions and behaviours (warning signs) that can precede work-related violence and consider what actions you may take to reduce the risk, particularly if you are working alone.
If you experience work-related violence, there are a number of services available to support you.
- call WorkSafe Advisory Service on 1800 136 089
- call Victoria Police on 000
- call Lifeline on 13 11 14
- speak to your local GP
- speak with your digital platform provider
For more information see:
- Working outdoors
Gig work often requires workers to be outdoors for extended periods, creating a potential risk to your health and safety.
One of the most common hazards with working outdoors is exposure to the sun (ultraviolet radiation) and the heat. However, gig workers can also be exposed to other hazards and risks when working outdoors. These include exposure to:
- vermin and pests, for example snakes, feral animals, wasps etc
- extreme weather conditions such as high winds, heavy rain, severe thunderstorms, snow, flooding, bushfires etc
- sudden, unexpected events, for example, landslides, tree falls or branch drops, sinkholes
It is important to assess the conditions you are planning to work in and ensure that it is safe to do so.
For more information see WorkSafe guidance:
- Sun protection for outdoor workers
- Skin cancer and outdoor work: A guide for employers
- Bushfire response and recovery information
- Beware of hidden hazards in flood clean-up
