First-Year Employees at High Risk for On-the-Job Accidents
New employees are the largest group at risk for work-related accidents, as about 30 percent of serious events happen in the first year on the job, a Labor Inspectorate study found.
"That is more than double the number in the second year on the job," said chief specialist for occupational safety Indrek Avi, who analyzed severe occupational accidents reported in Estonia from 2006 to 2010.
In the review of the incidents, inspectors found in two of three cases that a reason was inadequate training and supervision.
Sixty percent of all employees 18-24 years of age who were injured on the job had their accident in the first year.
Avi stressed that employers were responsible for organizing mentoring and training for new employees before they started work.
Over one-half of the accidents took place in the following fields: construction, metal and electrical equipment production, wholesale and retail trade, automotive repair, timber processing and wood product manufacturing.
Limbs were the most frequently injured part of the body, each case involving an average of 67 days of incapacity for work.
The Inspectorate says it will continue to take a hard look at failure on the part of employers to provide sufficient training and instruction to employees. Sole proprietors currently face a fine of up to 1,200 euros for such an infraction; the fine is up to 2,600 euros for companies.
Kristopher Rikken