Labour Hire Worker Safety Policy and Procedure

Suits any business that uses labour hire workers, and agencies that place them. It sets out who does what, what information to exchange before placement, how to induct and supervise labour hire workers as your own, and how to handle an incident when two businesses share the duty. It cites no labour hire licensing sections.

What Is Included In Our Labour Hire Worker Safety Policy and Procedure?

• Policy and procedure with an approval sign-off
• Shared duties: not transferable, concurrent, consult and coordinate (WHS Act ss 14, 16 and 46)
• Host and agency arrangement: what to agree in writing
• Information to give the agency before a worker starts
• Licence and ticket checks before work
• Personal protective equipment: who provides it (WHS Regulation s 44)
• Induction, training, supervision and consultation
• Incidents: first aid, keeping the site, who notifies the regulator
• Workers’ compensation: agency reports, host cooperates
• Records, training and review

Legislation and Codes of Practice Referenced

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld): s 5 (person conducting a business or undertaking), s 7(1)(d) (labour hire workers), s 14 (duties not transferable), s 15 (more than one duty), s 16 (more than one person can have a duty), s 19 (primary duty of care), s 28 (duties of workers), ss 35 to 39 (notifiable incidents), ss 46 to 49 (consultation), ss 84 to 87 (right to cease unsafe work)
• Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld): ss 32 to 38 (managing risks), s 39 (information, training and instruction), s 42 (first aid), s 43 (emergency plans), s 44 (personal protective equipment), s 48 (remote or isolated work)
• Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): s 30 and schedule 3 item 2 (labour hire agency is the employer), s 133 (employer’s duty to report injury), s 228 (employer’s rehabilitation obligation), s 229A (person to whom a labour hire worker is supplied), schedule 2 part 1 item 5. The copy checked for this document may not be the latest version, so check the current Act
• Work Health and Safety Consultation, Cooperation and Coordination Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): section 4.4 and the worked case ‘Sharing the same workers’
• How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): section 1.1, the shared duty with the business that supplies labour hire workers
• First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice 2021 (Qld): section 1.1, shared first aid arrangements for labour hire workers
• Labour Hire Licensing Act 2017 (Qld): named for information only. It was not checked for this document, so no sections are cited
• The Act does not say whether the host or the agency notifies the regulator for a labour hire worker, so this document tells the reader to agree it in writing and ask the regulator if unsure
• This document is general information for Queensland workplaces and is not legal advice

What You Get

• An editable Microsoft Word document (6 pages), A4 portrait
• Business details and document control typed once and filled in on every page, plus a space for your logo
• Purpose, scope and a policy statement with an approval sign-off
• Definitions, and responsibilities for each role
• A step-by-step procedure that says who does what
• Records, training, monitoring and review, related documents and a revision history

Review it and adjust it to suit your business, your sites and the way your team works, and talk it through with your workers. If you have any trouble downloading this template, you can contact us at any time. Please make sure you read our Disclaimer before downloading.