If you are employed by a labour hire company or recruitment agency and you are injured onsite, you may have an entitlement to bring a claim under the Return to Work Act 2014.

You may also be able to bring an action under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012 and/or common law.

The recruitment company is likely your direct employer and in South Australia you are not able to bring an action directly against them.

Rather, you may have a claim for various entitlements under the Return to Work Act 2014.

The person conducting the business on the worksite is likely your host employer, and you may be able to bring an action against them under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012.

This Act exists to protect you by guarding against unhealthy and unsafe practices and requires employers to provide a safe environment.

Broadly speaking, this means they have a duty to ensure that you work in a safe environment and you’re not exposed to a foreseeable risk of injury.

Furthermore, the courts have found it is important that employers not only ensure a safe system exists, but they also take steps to ensure those systems are properly implemented in the workplace.

For example, a host employer may still have failed to meet their obligations if:

• you are not adequately instructed or trained on how to safely use equipment
• there is no expectation that you use or follow the system
• you are unable to follow the system due to conflicting expectations from your employer

If you feel you have been injured at work due to unsafe practices, contact one of DBH Lawyers’ experienced personal injury lawyers for a no obligation first interview now.

Call 1800 324 324 or send us a message to get in touch.