WorkSafe Victoria has recently released three new publications to assist employers manage the occupational health and safety of young workers. WorkSafe Victoria Executive Director John Merritt said that young Victorian workers aged between 15 and 25 have the highest proportion of work-related injury than any other age group.
The new publications consist of:
- A ‘Work experience induction checklist' which sets out a number of matters which should be considered when bringing a secondary school student into the workplace for work experience;
- A ‘Training checklist for young workers' which sets out a number of items which should be shown and explained to young workers upon commencement of employment and whenever new tasks are introduced; and
- A guide to ‘Safety tips for young workers' which is aimed towards young workers themselves outlining the rights and responsibiities in terms of health and safety in the workplace.
It is important to note that these tools by themselves will not be sufficient to satisfy employer obligations in relation their occupational health and safety duties towards young employees. They are, however, useful tools for drawing attention to some of the risks more commonly encountered with young workers.
These publications are available on the WorkSafe Victoria website at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au or for more information on OHS risks commonly encountered with young workers contact ARA Employee Relations.
