Translating safety
June 1st 2008

There are currently two million migrant workers in the UK, of whom more than 700,000 are from Eastern Europe, according to the Labour Force Survey. Equivalent to one in 14 of the working population, the skills migrant workers bring make a huge contribution to the UK economy, yet they can be at great risk of fatalities and injury at work because of their lack of access to health and safety training, often compounded by poor understanding of English, explains Safety Media

The TUC's new report, Hard work, hidden lives, from its Commission on Vulnerable Employment, called for new regulations to protect migrant workers in the UK. The report states that: "Vulnerable workers have little knowledge of their rights and find it hard to get advice." The Morecambe Bay tragedy, in which 21 migrant cockle pickers drowned in February 2004, emphasised the need for safety training in workers' native languages. Indeed, employers who do not provide their employees with appropriate safety training to enable them to perform their jobs without risk of injury or illness are breaking the law, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA).

Although the government is currently mooting an extension of the points-based system under which migrant workers must show they can speak proficient English before being entitled to a work permit, there is no guarantee that the communication of safety standards would be part of the desired level of achievement.

Employers may also be forced to pay for immigrant workers' English lessons.

Although some migrant workers may already have a basic understanding of safety training, it may not meet UK standards. There are also the needs of co-workers and migrant workers to take into consideration, whether they feel comfortable working alongside people who cannot speak the same language. Migrant workers should receive the same working rights and safety provision as British workers.

Challenges

So what are the challenges faced by UK organisations when training migrant workers? Questions employers should ask themselves include:

Which languages are spoken?

What is the outcome you want your training to have?

What is the message you want to put across?

Who needs the training and how many people?

What timeline are you aiming for?

The regulations and facts surrounding migrant worker training need to be understood by employers. According to the TUC, in its book Hazards at Work, "Thorough, but easy-to-understand training is vital if workers are to stay healthy and safe at work." The HSE states that employers have a duty to provide information, instruction, training and supervision and make sure all their workers can understand it.

Delivery

Employers should consider the most appropriate method of delivery of training. Although traditional training may still be the appropriate route for some training courses, a more modern option is e-learning, or online training, which has developed hugely in recent years ,now incorporating many interactive features and deliverable in any number of different languages. E-learning is now widely regarded as a mainstream training method, incorporated into the training strategy of an increasing number of organisations. Its benefits include:

Speed, efficiency, and monitoring

Easier and more efficient access to language and translation

Low cost – from as little as £2 per employee

Convenient access

DVDs, particularly multi-lingual DVDs, remain useful training tools that can be used interactively by the viewer selecting the sections that interest them, so offering flexibility and fun, as well as imparting vital information on keeping safe in the workplace. Using this delivery mechanism, workers can be given sound practical advice, coupled with graphic illustrations of workplace hazards and how to avoid them. Related multilingual posters, booklets and assessment forms can be handed out as part of the DVD training session to reinforce the message.

Recent reports have shown that many migrant workers are starting to return to their countries of origin.This could have a major detrimental effect on companies and the UK economy, so they should be made to feel safe here and given the right training to ensure retention.

Employers and health and safety managers need to take into account the training needs of non-English speaking workers quickly and cost effectively and invest in multilingual resources if they are to retain a valuable but highly transferable workforce, and maintain safety.

On a sobering note, a company owner was recently sent to prison for six months after a migrant Slovakian worker employed by him suffered life-threatening injuries after falling from scaffolding on a construction site in Bradford.

He was also ordered to pay £90,000 in compensation to the worker. Employers beware.

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