More questions to ask your recruitment company

Posted by Andrew on March 31, 2014

Last week we introduced a series of blogs covering the sort of questions to ask a recruitment or labour hire firm before partnering them with your business. In the first blog I touched on the merits of RCSA membership and the protection and standards it affords the client. 

This week, I want to talk about the role of Health and Safety for Labour Hire / Temporary Staff providers. 

One of the first questions to ask of any labour hire / temporary staff provider is whether they "understand and comply with Health and safety responsibilities and obligations and how with the H&S relationship work between the labour hire provider, the staff members and the client"?

Statutory Health and safety obligations such as providing a safe workplace, are owed to all employees, including those employed or contracted by a labour hire firm such as Superior Personnel. These obligations are being strengthened in the wake of the Pike River disaster and are now overseen by Worksafe NZ, a new organisation responsible for overseeing workplace safety in New Zealand. There are, and will be, significant penalties for non-compliance for both the labour hire firm and the host client. 

If a labour hire firm skims over Health and Safety responsibilities when they talk with you, cannot provide relevant and up to date H&S documentation or cannot provide evidence of H&S processes and systems, they do not have a solid understanding of their H&S obligations.

How does Superior Personnel respond to it's Health and Safety requirements and ensure staff safety?

Superior Personnel is accredited to the ACC Workplace Safety Management Program (WSMP) which ensures continuous improvement of all our H&S systems and performance and provides for employee participation in the H&S process. Our vision is "Great People Building Great Businesses" and we take the responsibility of ensuring Our People are safe at work.

To that end, our trained staff conduct pre-placement assessments of client workplaces to assess the H&S management systems, hazard identification and work environment. as well as regular assessments with existing clients to ensure we remain aware of the workplace H&S protocols.

Should a worker be injured, we have an approved "Return to Work and Rehabilitation Plan" to get staff back to work as soon as practicably possible, including the opportunity for "light duties" where applicable.

Next week we will discuss employment contracts for labour hire / temporary staff.