Training is important in preventing accidents in the workplace. When it comes to general health and safety – such as using equipment, lifting and carrying, using protective equipment, or working at heights – training can be the difference between safety and danger.
As an agency worker you still need to be trained in how to do something safely to prevent an accident. So what if you weren’t?
Many agency workers will be posted around various places of employment. This means working in a whole host of places where you may need to work in different ways, use different equipment, and work in different environments. But just because you are not a full time employee doesn’t mean that you are exempt from being able to claim if something goes wrong.
The employer, as in the business you are working for at the time, has the same duty to you as they do to their full time employees. You need to be trained and instructed to ensure you are not injured in the workplace. Training is a key element in most of the primary workplace health and safety regulations we rely upon when pursuing a case.
For example, we have:
- The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations – which covers general workplace health and safety such as slips, trips, and falls
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations – which covers any equipment used in the workplace and can range from industrial machinery to trolleys or desks in an office
- The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations – for the use of protective equipment like gloves, helmets, overalls, goggles, ear defenders etc
- The Manual Handling Operations Regulations – for lifting and carrying in the workplace
All of these mention training and instruction. If you do not know how to use certain equipment safely in a workplace or you cannot safely lift and manoeuvre certain items in another, you’re in danger. The duty to provide that training and ensure that you are confident and capable in carrying out the task with the minimum risk to you is on the employer.
So if you are not trained or instructed correctly in a new place of work you are at, you may have a claim for personal injury compensation if you are injured.
Know Your Rights!
People often worry about making a claim for workplace compensation. But know this:
- You cannot be dismissed or treated differently for making a claim
- You are covered by your employers insurance – it’s there to claim from
- Most employers are happy for you to claim because the insurance is there to cover them. It’s nothing personal – you’re simply claiming for damages and loss from insurance that indemnifies you for it
In most cases making a workplace compensation claim is a quick and easy thing to do – so contact us on 0800 634 75 75 for help and advice today.
