UMM … is that safe? Helping young workers speak up

“UMM” – the tall, orange, furry star of WorkSafe’s newest safety campaign targeting young workers – knows just how that feels.

Named for the expression that comes to mind when we’re not sure what to say, UMM aims to teach young workers about their rights and encourage them to speak up about unsafe working conditions.

WorkSafe Executive Director Health and Safety Narelle Beer said UMM would speak directly to young workers about common but uncomfortable situations they might experience.

“Like many young workers UMM is eager to make a good impression, but can feel a little awkward about speaking up if something feels unsafe,” Dr Beer said.

“No worker should ever feel unsafe. We’ve all experienced that ‘umm’ feeling before, so we want to empower young people to better understand their rights and feel confident speaking up when something isn’t safe.”

Created by young people, for young people, the social media campaign represents a new approach for WorkSafe to communicate with this young audience. UMM will target 15 to 19-year-olds who might have started their first part-time job, as well as 20 to 24-year-olds starting their first professional roles.

UMM builds on WorkSafe’s ongoing ‘Unsafe is Always Unacceptable’ campaign, which successfully raised employer awareness about young workers’ vulnerability.

Last year, WorkSafe accepted 2431 claims from workers aged 24 or younger.

Dr Beer said the UMM campaign should help young workers identify unsafe working environments by highlighting a diverse range of workplaces and situations where workers’ safety is at risk.

“Safety is about more than just reducing the risks of physical injury,” Dr Beer said.

“This campaign will show that unsafe work practices can happen in a range of industries and situations – from unreasonable workloads, to comments about appearance or being asked to complete tasks without proper training or guidance.”

The campaign will run across social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

For more information about safety for young workers visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/umm

Young workers: information for employees
You have the right to a safe working environment. If you’re feeling unsure or uncomfortable at work, read below to find out about your rights, responsibilities and support services available to help you.

Know your rights

Under Victoria’s health and safety laws, employers must provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and free of risks to health, so far as is reasonably practicable.

As a part of this duty, employers must provide the necessary information, instruction, and training and supervision to enable you to do your job safely. An employer can be different roles, in different business. For example, it might a team leader, a manager, the business owner, CEO or even Human Resources (HR) – it’s anyone involved in the management of your role.

How to identify unsafe work conditions

Unsafe conditions are practices or hazards that can put you in danger both mentally and physically.

These may include

• not getting a job induction when you start work
• not being shown how to do a task, or not being properly supervised
• not being given suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) for the job
• not having the right falls protection systems when you’re working at height
• physical hazards such as slippery floors, falling objects, unguarded machinery, heavy lifting or work with repetitive actions
• exposure to bullying, sexual harassment, customer or colleague violence and aggression

If you find yourself working in unsafe conditions, it’s important that you speak up and report it.

Reporting unsafe work and work-related injuries

In the first instance, you should report unsafe working and work-related injuries to your manager, supervisor, employer of Health and Safety Representative (HSR) if you have one.

If you are having trouble reporting a problem at work, or are still concerned after raising the issue with your employer or HSR, there are a number of organisations who are ready and waiting to help you. Knowing who to call just depends on what issue you want to discuss.

• WorkSafe Advisory Service
• Fair Work Commission
• The Young Workers Centre (Victorian Trades Hall Council)

Workmates, parents, teachers and other third parties can also make a report on someone else’s behalf

umm young worker safety

Third parties can also make a report to the above organisations, but they must consult with the person affected and agree on next steps before they do so.

It is important that the person affected is in agreement with, and has control over actions the third party is taking on their behalf. This includes agreeing on any action taken to report an incident, as well as having oversight of the process, and being informed of the response to a report.

Both WorkSafe Victoria and the Fair Work Commission will need to make contact directly with the person affected in order to pursue the matter. Third parties can contact the above organisations to have a discussion about the process for reporting and responding to sexual harassment, without providing any details of the specific incident.

As an employee, you have health and safety responsibilities too

Your legal responsibilities as an employee include:

• take reasonable care for your own health and safety in the workplace, and for the health and safety of others who may be affected by your actions
• co-operate with your employer about any action they take to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 or Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017
• do not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse any equipment or tools provided at the workplace to support health, safety and welfare

Do you need immediate help?
Allegations of assault, damage to property, sexual assault and stalking should be referred to the police
If you, or someone else, is at immediate risk of harm to yourself or others, please contact emergency services on 000.

For 24-hour 7-day telephone mental health support call:

Lifeline – 13 11 14
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 4636
Suicide callback service – 1300 659 467
For 24-hour 7-day online mental health support

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