07 Feb, 2022/ by National Accident Helpline /News
With research showing that construction professionals are less likely to consider the risks while working on site at a young age, we're shining a light on apprentices in the construction industry and their rights.
While the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 requires the protection of young people and apprentices, the construction industry is the third highest sector for injuries sustained in the workplace.
We recently commissioned a focus group and participants were asked whether they think construction accidents are more likely to happen at a younger age.
One respondent answered:
When you're young and naïve, you think you're indestructible. I'm lucky to be alive with some of the things I've done, and how stupid I was. But there was a culture of fear, so you just had to get on with it.
Many employees suffer work-related accidents and illnesses, which are often caused by employers failing to follow health and safety rules. Our research identified that, despite working in what are often high-risk environments, many construction workers fear that making a compensation claim could result in them experiencing negative repercussions at work.
Employers can access IOSH's face-to-face Safety, Health and Environment for Construction Workers course, which provides essential and core knowledge for workers to stay safe. It also provides the understanding and techniques to keep others safe too - reducing the number of accidents sustained on site.
It's imperative that every construction apprentice has an understanding of their health and safety responsibilities, as reports show that sadly, in 2020/21 there were 39 fatalities in the construction industry. Workers' safety is paramount and anything that can be done to prevent workplace accidents, of any severity, should be done.
To address concerns within the industry, we recently launched our ‘Rights on Site' campaign to tackle work-related rights within the construction industry.
Having helped thousands of people get their lives back on track after an injury in the workplace, we believe that more needs to be done to support construction workers.
We launched our ‘Rights on Site' campaign with this mind, which supports employees of all ages, and now we want to take the opportunity to raise awareness for young people looking to pursue a career in the industry.
We want to champion apprentices to achieve their potential and help break the stigma and misconceptions around claiming, without the fear of repercussions, should an accident occur on site.