Welcoming new hires well to better protect them

Proper support for new arrivals in a company is a real workplace safety issue. The period following a shift is, in fact, particularly dangerous. Nearly 15% of serious and fatal accidents occur during the first three months after hiring and nearly a quarter of work accidents concern employees with less than a year in the company, according to health insurance . It is this observation that prompted the government, in the spring of 2022, to include the training of new hires in the recommendations of its plan to combat serious and fatal accidents.

This particular attention to safety training must, of course, primarily concern trainees and work-study trainees. When they arrive in a company, they often notice a discrepancy between the safety procedures they learned at vocational school or in an apprentice training center (CFA) and the actual work. « Initial training includes courses on the prevention of occupational risks, but these cannot exempt employers from their safety training obligations », emphasizes Olivier Macaire, training manager at the National Institute for Research and Safety ( INRS). “A trainee or a work-study student must have a tutor, the role of the latter is essential in transmitting safety practices. »

a tool for establishing a dialogue

INRS has developed a series of tools called Tuto prév’accueil that can be used by both teachers and tutors. In 12 sectors as different as car repair, hotel and catering, personal assistance, construction, logistics or office work, illustrated boards are used as a transmission medium. “From these sheets, which are mostly blank, it is possible to carry out an assessment to check whether the person identifies the risks and the means of protecting themselves from them,” explains Olivier Macaire. This not only makes it possible to verify knowledge but above all to establish a dialogue on prevention. »

These tools are not only intended for trainees or work-study trainees, they are useful for all new hires, the youngest but also the most experienced employees. “Despite their professional experience, they have no knowledge of the company’s specific environment, its procedures, its machines…” specifies Olivier Macaire. Temporary workers, these perpetual new recruits, should not be neglected. They are, in fact, particularly exposed to occupational risks. It remains to be seen who is in charge of this prevention reception. In large companies, prevention officers are hired, they are often the ones who welcome new hires in groups for a period of safety awareness. In the smallest companies, on the other hand, due to a lack of sufficient staff, the temptation to neglect this transmission time, which is nevertheless essential, is strong.