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Don’t get caught out: this is the compliance training you need for every employee

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Compliance training may not currently be the top priority on your HR to-do list, but it’s one of the most important things to account for in your business.

Ensuring your compliance training is up to date and relevant to the specifics of your business helps protect you from any legal issues that may arise and ensures a safer, fairer workplace.

What is compliance training in the first place? Compliance training refers to the process of training employees on the laws, regulations and company policies that are applicable to their day-to-day employment. Australian employers are required by law to take all “reasonably practicable” steps to ensure the health and safety of their employees.

This includes providing information, training or supervision required to protect employees from risks to their health and safety in the workplace. Out of these three options, compliance training is the most practical and effective way for you to meet your requirement to take all “reasonably practicable” steps, and therefore avoid costly legal issues.

Compliance training helps employees to understand their rights and responsibilities, and helps them to stay safe and be accountable. Bullying, harassment and unsafe or inappropriate conduct all pose a significant risk – and therefore cost – to businesses. Safe Work Australia estimates that work-related stress and bullying costs Australian employers $693 million every year. Add in the fact that the maximum penalty for breaching the Work Health and Safety Act is $3 million and it’s clear that providing compliance training is a simple and effective way to mitigate your risk as a business owner.

What compliance training do I need?

Compliance training encompasses areas like:

  • Workplace Health and Safety
  • Bullying and Harassment
  • Social Media and Electronic Communications
  • Equal Opportunity in the Workplace

Beyond this training, you may also decide to provide further training modules for your employees, such as manual handling, product training, customer service, or professional conduct. You might have many modules or just a couple – it really depends what industry you operate in and what training your employees require to work safely and effectively.

Compliance training can be included as part of your employee onboarding process, with regular refresher training for existing staff as required by their role, or as relevant laws change.

What happens if I don’t provide compliance training to my employees?

You’ve probably heard of Australian bootmaker RM Williams before. But you might not know they were recently fined $90,000 for breaching the Work Health and Safety Act after an employee was seriously injured whilst operating machinery. The Magistrate who heard the case noted the injury had occurred partly due to a lack of appropriate safety training, and SafeWork SA executive director Marie Boland commented on the importance of managing the risk of injury through the “provision of training and supervision”.

It’s clear that businesses who don’t provide appropriate training and supervision to employees run the risk of hefty fines if an incident occurs. Although RM Williams was only fined $90,000, they could have been fined up to $1.5 million, which is a crippling amount for most small businesses. Setting aside a small amount of time and budget to provide appropriate training to your new and existing employees is well-worth it to reduce the risk to your business.

How can I keep my training up to date and relevant to my business?

First, identify which topics you need to train your employees in to meet your legal obligation to ensure their health and safety at work. Have a look at the suggestions in this article, as well as doing your own research.

Next, decide how you’re going to deliver the training. Many businesses opt to do this in face to face training sessions, but many more are moving to delivering this training online. Training your employees online can save you time and money – up to 25% on your annual training costs.

It’s also becoming more accessible for smaller businesses, with online platforms like CourseGenius designed for organisations that are new to online training.

At the end of the day, compliance training is the most effective way to fulfil your legal obligations as a business whilst showing your employees you value them, because you’re investing in their wellbeing. When you cover both these bases, you mitigate your business risk and build a great company culture.

Sarah Mateljan is the co-founder of CourseGenius, the world’s simplest online training platform. CourseGenius allows small to medium enterprises to easily author and deliver their own custom training programs. CourseGenius have recently launched a suite of online compliance courses for SMEs, including Work Health & Safety, Bullying & Harassment, and Social Media.