In 2023, the temporary work sector represented no less than 200.6 million hours of work, or the equivalent of 102,856 full-time people in Belgium. In total, 60% of the hours worked are manual work, while 40% of the tasks are intellectual. Like every year, Prévention et Intérim (the central prevention service for the temporary employment sector) has carried out an inventory of workplace accidents in the temporary employment sector. Good news: their frequency has reached an all-time low. Last year, 7,159 accidents involving temporary workers and resulting in incapacity for at least one day were recorded. The number of days of incapacity for work, on an annual basis, was 143,180 in 2023 compared to 195,624 in 2022. Not surprisingly, in 92% of cases, these accidents concerned manual jobs.
The frequency of accidents is also lower among student workers than among other temporary workers. “This is because students benefit from additional protectionsays Bruno Goeminne, responsible for monitoring workplace accidents at Prévention et Intérim. An example: a student cannot work alone, which may explain why the statistics for this group are better. There are also a number of tasks that these young people cannot perform.”
A reception too often sloppy
Concretely, the results are therefore rather encouraging. But for what reasons? “What we see is that temporary work has gradually regained color after the Covid crisisexplains our contact from Prévention et Interim. Prevention has always been important in this sector. But I would say that after the coronavirus, the focus has really been on raising awareness of users and temporary employment agencies.”
However, circumstantial reports after a serious accident in the workplace demonstrate that these accidents are unfortunately the result of a poor reception of the temporary worker, and a lack of information regarding him. However, this reception constitutes a compulsory procedure for any new worker, whether permanent or temporary. “An accident occurs when the person does not know the sector, when they work under stress, when there is a rush. Obviously, temporary workers do not necessarily know the sector and procedures as well as permanent workers. Reception therefore plays a vital role.” But it is clear that this procedure is sometimes botched by certain employers. “Temporary workers are sometimes only hired for a week, and must be quickly operational.”
In order to help temporary workers find their way around, and avoid these disappointments, Prévention et Intérim recently launched a website on which people can find explanations about work accident files, have information on the need to provide the insurer with appropriate medical certificates. The platform also discusses the way in which reception is organized in the workplace, and the characteristics of a job description.
