A new employee's first day is the highest-risk point in their employment. They don't know the layout, they don't know the hazards, and they're unlikely to ask questions that might make them look unprepared. If something goes wrong, the question WorkSafe NZ will ask is: what did you tell them, and when?
A health and safety induction isn't just good practice — under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, employers have a duty to ensure workers have the information, training, instruction, and supervision they need to work safely. That starts on day one.
What a health and safety induction must cover
The specific content will vary by role and site, but these are the non-negotiables:
Emergency procedures
- Location of all emergency exits and assembly points
- Fire evacuation procedure and who the wardens are
- What to do in a medical emergency (first aid kits, first aiders, calling 111)
- Any site-specific emergency protocols (chemical spill, equipment failure, etc.)
Hazard awareness
- Known hazards in the employee's work area
- How to identify and report new hazards
- Restricted areas or equipment they're not yet cleared to use
Incident reporting
- How to report a near miss, incident, or injury
- Who to report to and what the process involves
- The importance of reporting even minor incidents
Equipment and PPE
- What personal protective equipment is required for their role
- How to use, store, and maintain it correctly
- Consequences of not using required PPE
Health and safety policies
- Drug and alcohol policy
- Manual handling procedures (if relevant)
- Fatigue management (especially for shift workers or drivers)
Who owns each part
The most common reason inductions fail is nobody owns them. The HR team thinks the manager handled the safety walkthrough. The manager assumes the employee read the handbook. Nobody checked.
Set it up clearly:
| Item | Owner |
|---|---|
| Hazard walkthrough | Direct manager or team lead |
| Emergency procedures | Health & safety officer or site manager |
| PPE issue and training | Department head |
| Policy sign-off | HR |
| LMS module completion | Employee (with manager tracking) |
Documenting completion
Documentation matters for two reasons: legal defensibility and follow-up. If WorkSafe investigates an incident and you can't show the employee was inducted on the relevant hazard, that's a problem.
At minimum, you want a signed acknowledgement that induction was completed, the date, and the name of the person who delivered it. Ideally, this is backed up by an LMS record that shows which modules were completed and when.
WorkSafe NZ's guidance on worker engagement and participation has practical advice on building safety systems that actually involve workers, not just tick boxes.
Practical checklist
Use this as your starting point. Adjust for your industry, site, and role type.
Before first shift:
- [ ] Emergency exits and assembly points shown
- [ ] Fire evacuation procedure explained
- [ ] First aid kit location identified
- [ ] First aiders introduced or listed
- [ ] Hazards in work area explained
- [ ] Incident reporting process covered
- [ ] PPE issued and demonstrated
- [ ] Restricted areas identified
Within first week:
- [ ] Health and safety policy signed
- [ ] Manual handling training completed (if applicable)
- [ ] Site-specific hazard training completed
- [ ] LMS induction modules completed
- [ ] Manager check-in scheduled for end of week
Documentation:
- [ ] Induction sign-off form signed and filed
- [ ] LMS completion recorded
- [ ] Any outstanding items flagged and scheduled
Making it consistent
The biggest problem with paper-based inductions is consistency. Different managers deliver different things. Someone forgets the PPE section. A new starter's induction record gets lost.
WyzAZ lets you build your induction as a structured learning path — employees work through it in order, managers can see exactly where each person is up to, and completion is automatically recorded. For what to include in the privacy and compliance parts of induction, see our Privacy Act training guide. Start for free and build your first induction checklist today.