Employers urged to look out for young workers this holiday season

Employers hiring young people over the holiday season have been urged to ensure workers are properly trained and supervised in their new roles. Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said young workers have some of the highest injury rates of any workplace group and reminded employers that they have a duty of care to train and supervise young workers in proper safety procedures. “The message for employers is clear — young workers are keen to do a good job for their new bosses, but often lack experience in how to work safely. So give them the right tools and set them up for success,” Grace said.

Employers of young workers are required to have risk management strategies and their rights to a safe working environment explained to them. Young workers must be trained to identify and manage psychosocial hazards like bullying, harassment or work-related violence and aggression. They must also receive training on workplace safety communication and consultation processes, and the requirements for workplace training, supervision and incident reporting.

Minister Grace also reminded employers that young workers deserve to be paid a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work. “I expect that all Queensland employers pay their workers properly. And, for those who don’t, we have strong wage theft laws which make it a criminal offence to deliberately underpay workers,” Grace said.

Grace said the workers themselves had responsibilities, too, including following all reasonable instructions, policies and procedures, not knowingly putting themselves or their workmates at risk, and wearing personal protective equipment as required. “It is important to actively participate in the way that work health and safety is managed at your workplace. This means taking induction and training seriously,” Grace said.

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