Agency Worker Induction

Agency workers are supplied by labour agencies and may arrive on site with limited knowledge of the project.
They have the same legal right to a safe workplace and the same duties under HSWA 1974 as direct employees.
The site induction must cover all hazards, rules, emergency procedures, and welfare arrangements for the project.
Agency workers may have varying competence levels; their qualifications and training must be verified on arrival.
Language barriers are common with agency workers; inductions must be delivered in a way they can understand.
CSCS or equivalent skills cards should be checked before agency workers are granted site access.
The principal contractor retains responsibility for agency worker safety once they are working on site.
Agency workers are often unfamiliar with the site layout, plant movements, and specific hazard locations.
A buddy system pairing new agency workers with experienced site operatives improves their initial safety.
CDM 2015 and the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 both place duties on the hirer regarding safety.

Higher incident rate	Agency workers suffer more injuries than permanent staff due to unfamiliarity with the site and its hazards.
Legal duty	CDM 2015 requires the principal contractor to ensure all workers, including agency staff, are competent and inducted.
Competence gaps	Agency workers may not have the specific skills or site knowledge needed for the tasks they are assigned.

Do

Don't

Verify CSCS cards and relevant qualifications before granting agency workers site access.
Deliver a full site induction covering all hazards, rules, and emergency procedures.
Use visual aids and translation where language barriers exist during the induction.
Pair new agency workers with experienced operatives using a buddy system.
Confirm the agency worker understands the induction; do not just ask them to sign.
Brief the supervising foreman on the agency workers joining the team and their skills.
Check that PPE provided meets site standards before the agency worker starts work.
Monitor agency workers more closely during their first days on the project.
Ensure the labour agency has provided health and safety information before arrival.
Include agency workers in toolbox talks and safety briefings from their first day.

DON'T allow agency workers onto site without a full induction and card check.
DON'T assume agency workers have the same site knowledge as the existing team.
DON'T assign agency workers to high-risk tasks on their first day without supervision.
DON'T treat an agency worker signing a form as proof they understood the induction.
DON'T exclude agency workers from toolbox talks and safety briefings.
DON'T accept agency workers without checking their qualifications match the task.
DON'T assume the labour agency has fully briefed the worker before they arrive.
DON'T leave agency workers unsupervised when they are unfamiliar with the site.
DON'T discriminate against agency workers; they deserve the same safety standards.
DON'T blame the agency for incidents caused by inadequate site-level induction.

See also: Site Induction Requirements | Foreign Language Worker Communication

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