If you are one of the Employees in Food Production, working at height is part of the job - and so is the legal duty that comes with it. Here is what Employees in Irish Food Production need to know, and how a Working at Heights Course keeps you covered.
The responsibilities of Employees
You also have legal duties: to take care of yourself and others, and to use the training and equipment provided. In day-to-day Food Production work that means you should:
- Follow the safe system of work
- Wear and check PPE provided
- Report defects and unsafe conditions
- Never take shortcuts at height
The Food Production hazards Employees must control
In Food Production, the falls that Employees most often have to prevent involve roof and plant maintenance, ladder use around processing lines and access to overhead services in wet, hygienic areas. Wet, hygienic environments add slip risk to height work, so anti-slip access and clear scheduling are essential.
The Working at Heights Course makes compliance simple
The practical fix is straightforward. Our Working at Heights Course is delivered fully online, takes about 45 minutes, and issues a downloadable certificate the same day. It is CPD certified, RoSPA approved and QQI aligned, and it is written specifically for Employees in Food Production.
The Working at Heights Training covers the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy, ladder and stepladder safety, MEWPs and scaffolds, harnesses and anchor points, and how to carry out a proper risk assessment. Every learner finishes with a recognised Working at Heights Certificate that stands up to HSA inspection and supports your insurance position.
Training that goes beyond the tick-box
The cheapest control is always to avoid the work at height in the first place. For Employees in Food Production, that can mean long-handled tools, lowering the task to ground level, or designing the job so no one needs to climb. Where that is impossible, collective protection such as guardrails and platforms beats personal protection every time.
Young and new workers are over-represented in fall statistics, and Employees in Food Production is no exception. Setting good habits from the very first day - never climbing on furniture, never overreaching, always inspecting equipment - is far easier than unlearning bad ones later. Early certification with a Working at Heights Course pays back for an entire career.
Frequently asked questions
Do Employees in Food Production need their own height training?
Yes. Whatever your role, if you plan, supervise or carry out work at height you need a Working at Heights Certificate.
What course suits Employees best?
The Working at Heights Course covers the duties of Employees and all other roles in one accredited, online programme.
How long does it take?
About 45 minutes online, with a same-day certificate, so Employees in Food Production stay compliant without losing a work day.
More on staying safe at height
Supervision is the quiet control that holds everything together. Even a perfectly trained worker drifts under time pressure, so someone on site needs the knowledge and the authority to stop unsafe work involving employees in food production before it becomes an incident. That only happens when supervisors are trained too.
The most expensive mistake employers make with employees in food production is treating training as a box-ticking exercise. The Health and Safety Authority does not just want a certificate on file; it wants evidence that the worker understood the avoid-prevent-minimise hierarchy and applied it on the day. A genuine Working at Heights Course builds that understanding, which is exactly why our online programme uses real scenarios rather than slides.
Get certified today
Do not wait for an HSA inspection or a near miss to act. Employees in Food Production can complete the Working at Heights Course online in 45 minutes and download a certificate the same day. For 10 or more learners, see our team training rates, or contact our team for a tailored quote.
Start the online Working at Heights Training now and put a recognised certificate in every worker's file before the next job at height begins.
