As a staffing agency, it is important to have the proper safety training program set up for the candidates that come in. Does your staffing agency have a safety training set up before they start at their new job? Regardless of if they permanent or temporary staffing employees, they all need the proper training before taking on the job.

OSHA has recently released new guidelines that address temporary workers in regards to workplace safety. The new guidelines not only effect the temporary employers, but the staffing agencies that employed them as well. OSHA made some changes to the guidelines that can now hold staffing companies responsible if they violate anything in the OSH Act.

It is important that staffing companies are up to date on these changes so that there are no threats to their business. Things such as a lack of training can be seen as neglect on the staffing company’s part and result in a violation. OSHA is encouraging staffing agencies and employers to work together to ensure that all employees are properly trained on safety rules regardless of if they are a temporary employee or not.

According to Program Business, OSHA is stressing these points:

• Staffing agencies have a duty to inquire into the conditions of their workers’ assigned workplaces and must ensure they are sending workers to a safe workplace.
• Ignorance of hazards at a workplace is not a defense for the staffing agency.
• The staffing agency must determine what conditions exist at their client’s facility, what hazards the temporary employee may encounter and how best to ensure protection for the temporary employees.
• The staffing agency has the duty to inquire and verify that the host employer has fulfilled its responsibilities for a safe workplace.
• The host employer has a duty to provide training and safety and health protections to temporary employees which are identical to those provided to their permanent employees.

Temporary staffing agencies should definitely take this time to look into their employee safety practices in light of the OSHA changes. It is encouraged that staffing companies look into their agreements with their clients and make sure that joint liability for safety training is made clear. Generally, these agreements are already in place. Staffing agencies give a general run over of safety parameters, while the employer will deep dive into the safety that applies specifically to the job they will be doing.

The New Year is the perfect time to make any needed changes to your agreements and make sure that the candidates that come through your firm are properly trained. Hiring a safety training specialist might even be the perfect solution to ensure that training is done properly. If your staffing company needs extra working capital for your new training projects in the New Year, we can help. We have relationships with factoring companies that specialize in funding staffing agencies just like you. Payroll funding as well as back office support are just some of the things you can get with a staffing factoring company.