Industry sectors subject to high numbers of staff injuries such as waste and logistics are starting to be hit with higher premiums because their temps do not take out personal accident or life insurance.
A survey undertaken by temp recruitment consultancy de Poel revealed that a huge 95% of agency workers across all industries have no insurance policy in place to cover them in the event of accident or injury, however. This situation is causing problems for employers in the shape of higher insurance premiums and other costs, it warned.
Matthew Sanders, de Peol’s chief executive, said: “It is shocking to hear about the number of temporary agency workers that are leaving themselves vulnerable because of the lack of insurance. Workers should be made aware about the pitfalls of not having insurance and be given information about the options available to them.”
He cited statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive, which showed that workers in the waste sector were four times as likely as any other to experience an accident, with 416 taking place for every 100,000 employees. Staff in the logistics sector, meanwhile, experienced 3,095 major injuries and 13 fatalities last year.
The news came after an Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register was set up in order to provide employers with the details of more than 1,600 approved consultants who can offer general advice on how to manage health and safety risks.
Each consultant on the Register is an accredited member of a professional body, has a degree-level education, at least two years’ experience and able to show evidence of continuing professional development.
The web site was set up with support from the HSE, British Occupational Hygiene Society, the British Safety Council and the British Safety Industry Federation among others in response to a government-commissioned report entitled ‘Common Sense Common Safety’, which called for improved levels of advice to be made available.
