Responsibility is shared, not transferred. The hiring business holds day to day responsibility for a temporary worker’s health and safety because it directs the work and usually controls the premises. The recruitment agency must satisfy itself that those arrangements are adequate before placing anyone, and must pass on relevant risk information. Neither party can assume the other has covered it.
Why does this question cause so much confusion?
Because the worker’s contract sits with one organisation while the physical risk sits with another. That split feels unusual, and it creates a gap that people fall into if nobody addresses it directly. The gap is not a legal loophole, it is simply a coordination problem, and HSE guidance is clear that it must be closed by communication between the two parties.
The practical failure mode is predictable. The agency assumes the hirer will induct the worker properly. The hirer assumes the agency has already briefed and screened them. The worker arrives on site with neither having happened, and starts a task they have not been prepared for. Getting this right is not complicated, but it does require both sides to be explicit.
Key takeaways
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The hirer holds day to day responsibility because it directs the work and controls the site
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The agency must not place a worker unless satisfied their safety will be protected
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Both parties must liaise before the assignment starts to identify hazards
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Risk information must reach the worker in writing along with assignment details
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Agreeing who does what in advance is the single most effective control
What is the hiring business responsible for?
HSE guidance is direct on this. Day to day responsibility during the assignment lies with the end user business, because that business directs the work and may also control the premises where it takes place. It is therefore in the best position to manage the health and safety of the worker and of anyone else who could be affected by their work.
In practice that covers the things you would expect of any employer towards its own staff. Site induction, task specific instruction, supervision appropriate to experience, provision of protective equipment where the risk assessment calls for it, and safe systems of work. The fact that someone is on a two week assignment rather than a permanent contract does not reduce any of it.
What is the recruitment agency responsible for?
The agency’s duties sit earlier in the process and are mostly about information and judgement. HSE guidance states that the supplier must liaise with the end user business before work starts to identify anything that could cause injury or illness in their workplace or business operations. Crucially, a supplier should never send a worker to a job unless satisfied that their health and safety will be protected.
That is a meaningful obligation. It means an agency cannot simply take a booking and fill it. It has to understand the working environment well enough to judge whether the placement is appropriate, and whether the individual has the training and experience the role requires. Our approach across construction recruitment and other higher risk sectors is built around that assessment rather than around speed alone.
|
Stage |
Agency |
Hiring business |
|
Before the assignment |
Establish the hazards, confirm arrangements are adequate, check competence |
Share the risk assessment and confirm what the role involves |
|
At the point of offer |
Provide written risk information with the assignment details |
Confirm shift pattern, supervision and any equipment required |
|
On arrival |
Confirm the worker attended and understands the arrangements |
Run the site induction and cover emergency procedures |
|
During the work |
Stay contactable, respond to concerns raised by the worker |
Supervise appropriately and manage day to day risk |
|
If something goes wrong |
Support reporting, review whether the placement remains suitable |
Record and report the incident through the agreed route |
What must the worker be told, and when?
This is where the two duties meet a hard legal requirement. Acas sets out that when an agency offers an assignment, it must provide details including the name of the hiring organisation, the start date and likely duration, the position and type of work, the location, the working hours, the rate of pay, and any risks to health and safety along with how the hiring organisation will protect the worker from them.
Those details must be given in writing either when the assignment is offered, or within three working days if the worker was told verbally to begin with. The health and safety element is not an optional extra tucked into that list. It sits alongside pay and location as core information a worker needs before deciding whether to accept.
Step by step
1. Share the risk assessment early
The agency cannot brief a worker on hazards it has never seen.
2. Match competence to the task
Confirm relevant training, tickets and experience before the placement is confirmed.
3. Put the risk information in writing
Verbal briefings are permitted initially but must be followed up within three working days.
4. Run a proper site induction
Site specific hazards, emergency arrangements and reporting routes on day one.
5. Agree the reporting route
Both parties should know who records and reports an incident.
Who reports an accident if one happens?
This needs settling before it is needed rather than in the middle of an incident. HSE publishes specific guidance on accident reporting for agency and temporary workers, and the sensible operational answer is to agree the route in advance and write it into your arrangement with the agency.
The wider principle from HSE is worth repeating because it applies to every part of this topic. It is important to agree and be clear on who does what, and never to assume someone else will take responsibility for workplace safety. Most failures in this area are not failures of intent, they are failures of assumption.
Practical checks for employers using temporary staff
Employers who want to discuss how we handle this across manufacturing, warehousing and engineering placements can reach our team through our employers page.
If you bring in temporary workers regularly, a short set of standing checks removes most of the risk. None of these are onerous, and they protect your permanent team as much as the agency staff.
Quick checklist
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Has the agency seen the relevant risk assessment for the role?
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Have you confirmed what training or certification the role requires?
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Is a site induction scheduled for the worker’s first day?
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Does the worker know who supervises them and who to raise concerns with?
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Has protective equipment been arranged where the risk assessment requires it?
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Is the accident reporting route agreed in writing between you and the agency?
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Is supervision level matched to the worker’s familiarity with the site?
Frequently asked questions
Does the agency or the hirer carry health and safety responsibility?
Both, at different stages. HSE guidance places day to day responsibility during the assignment with the hiring business, because it directs the work and usually controls the premises. The agency must satisfy itself before placing anyone that the arrangements are adequate, and must pass on relevant risk information to the worker.
Can an agency refuse to fill a booking on safety grounds?
Yes, and it should. HSE guidance states that a supplier should never send a worker to a job unless satisfied their health and safety will be protected. If an agency cannot establish what the hazards are, or the arrangements look inadequate, declining the booking is the correct response rather than an unhelpful one.
What safety information must a worker receive before starting?
Any risks to health and safety and how the hiring organisation will protect them from those risks, provided alongside the other assignment details. Acas confirms this must be in writing either when the assignment is offered or within three working days if the worker was told verbally first.
Do temporary workers need the same induction as permanent staff?
For site specific hazards, yes. A temporary worker is unfamiliar with the layout, the equipment and the emergency arrangements, which arguably makes induction more important rather than less. The length of the assignment does not reduce the hirer’s duty to manage risk on its own premises.
Who provides personal protective equipment?
This should be agreed explicitly between the agency and the hirer before the assignment starts, and recorded rather than assumed. Because the hirer controls the premises and directs the work, it is usually best placed to supply site specific equipment. The important thing is that it is settled in advance.
Who reports an accident involving an agency worker?
Agree this before an incident occurs. HSE publishes specific guidance on accident reporting for agency and temporary workers, and the practical approach is to write the reporting route into the arrangement between the agency and the hirer so nobody is working it out under pressure.
Does a short assignment reduce these duties?
No. Duration does not change the legal position. A worker on a two day assignment faces the same site hazards as a worker on a two year contract, and the hirer’s responsibility for managing risk on its premises is unchanged. If anything, unfamiliarity makes clear briefing more important.
Closing the gap before the worker arrives
Almost every problem in this area comes from one party assuming the other has handled it. A short conversation before the assignment starts, covering hazards, competence, induction and reporting, removes most of that risk. We build that conversation into how we place workers across our higher risk sectors, and employers are welcome to talk it through with our consultants.
Connecting Talent with Opportunity
National Temping Recruitment
0333 772 9824
info@nationaltemps.co.uk
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