As part of their onboarding and induction process, all new employees should receive a thorough introduction to your company’s health and safety policies and procedures.
In this post we will outline what you should include in your health and safety induction for new employees, so you can cover all bases and stay compliant with the relevant health and safety legislation.
Why Health and Safety Inductions Matter
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) makes it clear that employers have a legal responsibility to ensure that the workplace is safe and healthy for everyone.
One of your responsibilities under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is to take action to eliminate workplace hazards, or to control the risks.
Health and safety inductions are an essential component of this risk management process. Through introducing new employees to your various health and safety policies and procedures, you can equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to keep themselves and others safe.
You can also ensure that, in the event of an emergency, everyone knows what to do, where to go, and to whom they should report.
What to Include in Your Health and Safety Induction Checklist for New Employees
These are the key elements that all workplaces should include in their health and safety induction checklists:
- An introduction to the job, including instructions on how to carry out the role safely, and details of all necessary training requirements, welfare provisions, and emergency contacts.
- Emergency arrangements, including the fire evacuation procedure, accident and incident reporting procedures, and details of the first aid provisions.
- Manual handling procedures, including assessments (is the object too heavy to lift?) and the use of lifting aids.
- Hazard awareness: What sort of risks should the employee look out for, and how should they report any risks they spot?
- Housekeeping: What role can the employee play in helping to keep the working environment safe, clean, and free of clutter?
Industry Specific Requirements for New Employee Inductions
Beyond the key elements, you may have to introduce additional elements to your health and safety induction checklist depending on the specific risks in your workplace:
- Equipment, tools, and machinery: Safe use, training requirements, and awareness of health and safety risks.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) policies, including the correct use and storage, and the procedure for reporting faults.
- Hazardous substance policies: Including risk assessments, and instructions on safe storage, handling, and disposal. Depending on the industry you work in, you may also require your new employees to receive certain vaccines before they can work with the hazardous materials you manage.
Health and Safety Induction Checklist Template
You can download a free health and safety induction checklist template from the Government’s website.
This particular checklist includes a box to tick to confirm that you have booked the new employee’s mandatory health, safety, and wellbeing awareness training. It also includes some useful guidance notes to explain various aspects of the checklist items.
You can also read our guide to writing a health and safety checklist for the office, and our guide to writing a health and safety checklist for warehouses.
Health and Safety Should be an Ongoing Priority
Running through a health and safety induction checklist will literally be a box-ticking exercise for both the employer and the employee. But this does not mean that you should treat it as a mindless “one-and-done” task.
You have an ongoing duty of care to all of your employees, and health and safety awareness and training should not stop at induction:
- Make your health and safety policy easily accessible to all employees. This means writing it in clear language, and storing it in a place where any employee can reference it at any time, such as on the company intranet.
- Provide routine refresher training, so that employees never lose sight of the essentials. Ongoing health and safety training can also help you to protect your employees and your business against new and evolving threats, such as the growing risk of cybercrime.
- Place signage around the workplace to highlight key risks (such as steps, edges, and loading areas), and to remind employees of their responsibilities.
- Thoroughly investigate any incidents to help you identify measures that could help prevent future risks.
Get The Right Cover For Your Business
If your business employs staff, Employers Liability Insurance is typically a legal requirement. This can provide protection for your employees against injury or illness claims that might take place in the workplace. Beyond this, you may want to consider insurance protection for third party liabilities, property damage, business interruption theft, and cybercrime depending on your circumstances.
James Hallam is an independent Lloyd’s broker with a dedicated team of insurance professionals who care about protecting your business. We can help you access insurance cover designed against a range of workplace risks you may face.