Warehouse operations present a range of occupational safety and health (OSH) risks that are closely linked to subcontracting, precarious employment and lone working. The ITF Warehousing Principles highlight that fragmented contracting models can obscure responsibility for safety standards, leading to inconsistent implementation of OSH measures across sites and supply chains. Workers employed through agencies or short-term contracts may receive less training, supervision or access to protective equipment, increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.
Precarious employment can also discourage workers from reporting hazards or refusing unsafe work, particularly where job security is limited or performance targets are tightly enforced. This can contribute to unsafe practices, including excessive work intensity, poor manual handling and increased exposure to machinery-related risks.
Lone working and highly individualised tasks—often driven by digital monitoring systems—can further heighten risks by reducing immediate access to assistance in case of incidents. Together, these factors can undermine effective safety management, making it more difficult to prevent harm and ensure safe, healthy working environments.
