No - but it would be a good idea to try and learn simple key health and safety words and phrases that others around you might use in an emergency, such as 'Fire!' and 'Stop!'.
Although health and safety law doesn't generally require you to be able to speak English, learning English reduces communication difficulties and will help you feel more confident and at ease, both at work and elsewhere.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses are available if you need to improve your English.
Qualifications designed to teach you the essential English you might need in the workplace, including for health and safety, are also available. You may have to pay something towards a course, but if you are able to speak and read / write English, you will probably find it easier to work safely and healthily, fit in and make progress, both at work and in everyday life.
Your employer cannot charge you or require a refundable deposit from you when you start work for any protective clothing and equipment required to protect your health and safety at work. Charges for accommodation are limited by national and agricultural minimum wage regulations.
When HSE looks into a complaint it does not release the identity of the person who has complained. It will not tell the employer that there has been a complaint without the permission of the person who has complained.
Yes - your employer must identify and assess the risks to your health and safety and then tell you about what to do to avoid them. Your employer should also provide you with any necessary information, instruction and training that you need to carry out your job safely and without any risk to your health.
The responsibility for your health and safety will probably be shared between the agency and the company whose site you are working at. In many cases, most of the responsibility will be with the company whose site you’re at, rather than the agency - particularly where the company controls and directs your work. The agency and the company should have a written agreement in place which sets out their particular roles and responsibilities to ensure your health and safety.
Generally, British health and safety law does not recognise overseas qualifications or tests of competence, unless it’s a formal, national-level qualification. If it is, then your employer may be able to get its equivalence certificated by the UK competent authority, the UK National Recognition Information Centre (UK NARIC). If not, you will probably have to undergo a test, and possibly retraining, if you are doing a job where you need specific skills (such as driving a fork-lift truck, or using a chainsaw). This is because your employer has a legal duty to make sure you are competent for the work you do.
In the construction industry, the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card is recognised as a way of showing proof of a worker's skills. The organisation responsible for overseeing skills and training in the industry is Construction Skills.
You can call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 to get confidential help and advice on government-enforced employment rights. It provides information on National Minimum Wage rights, Agricultural Minimum Wage rights, and the right not to have to work more than 48 hours a week against your will. You can also phone the helpline for information about the employment rights that apply if you are paid by an employment agency or gangmaster.
If you need to know more about your rights in these areas, or think your employer is not respecting those rights, call the helpline for advice. This helpline is a government funded advice service.
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