Educational guides for employers on organising workplace training — identifying needs, planning, delivering, recording and reviewing. Connected to workplace training, training records and workplace safety. Informational only — not legal advice, not certified training and not a substitute for legally required instruction; employers remain responsible for compliance.
What this guide covers
This guide explains how employers usually run an induction: preparing it, covering orientation and safety essentials, giving role instruction and signing it off.
It is an educational outline, not certified training and not legal advice. An induction introduces the workplace; it does not by itself make you compliant or replace required training.
Why induction matters
- New starters are unfamiliar with the site, its hazards and its rules.
- It is where essential safety information is first explained.
- A structured start reduces early incidents and mistakes.
- It establishes how to raise concerns and what to do in an emergency.
Before you start: preparation
- Confirm the role, tasks and any equipment involved.
- Prepare PPE, a workspace and the first-day plan.
- Decide who delivers the induction and over what period.
- Gather the induction checklist and records to complete.
Step 1: Site orientation and essentials
- Layout: entrances, exits, walkways and restricted areas.
- Welfare facilities and where to find supervisors and first aiders.
- Key hazards and the PPE required.
- How to report hazards, defects and near misses.
Step 2: Rules, policies and emergency procedures
- Conduct, attendance and any site-specific rules.
- Alarm, evacuation routes and the assembly point.
- First-aid provision and how to raise the alarm.
- Keeping exits and escape routes clear.
Step 3: Role-specific instruction and sign-off
- The specific tasks and the safe method for each.
- What the worker is authorised to use and what they must not.
- Where equipment requires it, the separate training and authorisation needed.
- Sign-off confirming the induction was covered and understood.
Involving supervisors and competent persons
Supervisors often deliver the role-specific part of an induction and follow up in the first days to confirm the new starter has understood the essentials.
For specialist tasks, a competent person should provide the instruction. Confirming competence and authorising tasks remains the employer’s judgement.
Documentation and sign-off
- An induction checklist confirming each topic was covered.
- The worker’s acknowledgement that they understood the essentials.
- Records of any task or equipment instruction given.
- These can be completed and shared as PDFs; a record documents the induction, not competence.
How to review and improve your induction
- Ask new starters whether anything was unclear or missing.
- Check the induction matches the current site and hazards.
- Re-brief when the site, rules or risks change.
- Make sure agency and short-term starters are inducted too.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Letting someone start work before being inducted.
- Treating a generic checklist as site-specific instruction.
- Recording induction as done without confirming understanding.
- Skipping induction for agency or temporary workers.
Who is responsible and your legal duties
The employer decides what the induction must cover, delivers it, judges readiness, authorises tasks and keeps the records. This guide is an educational outline to help you run it.
It does not make your workplace compliant, does not satisfy any legal requirement and is not legal advice. Confirm what your roles require against the applicable law.
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