The Night Shift Handover at the Riverside Hotel
You are the duty manager at a 180-room hotel on a busy Saturday night. At 9:40 pm, a housekeeping supervisor reports that a cleaner slipped on a wet bathroom floor on level 4 and has a suspected wrist fracture. The cleaner is 17 years old, in her third week, and was working alone because the regular buddy called in sick. The wet floor sign was stored in a cupboard on level 2. Meanwhile, a guest has complained that the corridor smells of bleach. The kitchen has 14 orders pending, and the front desk has one staff member who is also training a new hire. Your shift handover is due at 10:00 pm.
1. Identify the immediate WHS actions you must take in the first 15 minutes and explain the order of priority, referring to the hierarchy of control and duty of care.
Read the worked answer
First, provide first aid and call an ambulance if the injury is serious; the injured worker's welfare comes before paperwork. Keep her accompanied, do not move her unnecessarily, and record what happened. Second, make the area safe: isolate the bathroom, use a sign or barrier, and clean the spill so no one else is exposed. Third, notify the supervisor and the person conducting the business or undertaking (PCBU) so the incident is logged and, if it is a notifiable incident, reported to the regulator. The hierarchy of control explains why the sign in a level 2 cupboard is not an adequate control: signage is an administrative control at the bottom of the hierarchy, while eliminating the hazard through better supervision, buddy systems, and non-slip surfaces sits higher. Duty of care requires reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, and a lone 17-year-old with no signage is foreseeable. The bleach smell and kitchen backlog are secondary because they do not present an immediate risk of serious injury.
2. The cleaner was a minor working alone. Explain the compliance issues and what you would change in the roster and induction process.
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A 17-year-old is a young worker and must not be placed in a situation where supervision is inadequate. Working alone on a wet floor, without a sign, in the third week of employment, suggests the induction and supervision were not adequate. Under WHS law, the PCBU must provide information, training, instruction, and supervision, and young workers are a higher-risk group because of inexperience. The roster should ensure a buddy or supervisor is present for new workers, and the sick call should have triggered a replacement rather than leaving her alone. The induction should include practical hazard identification, the location of signage and equipment, and a check that she can demonstrate safe work. I would also record the risk assessment, review the cleaning schedule, and consult the worker and her supervisor about controls.
3. Draft the key points you would include in the 10:00 pm handover to the incoming duty manager.
Read the worked answer
The handover should be brief, factual, and prioritised. Include the incident: time, location, worker's name and age, injury, first aid given, ambulance called or not, area isolated, incident report started, and who has been notified. Include the guest complaint and what was done. Include the operational status: kitchen backlog, front desk staffing, and any rooms out of service. Include follow-up actions: complete the incident report, check CCTV if available, contact the worker's emergency contact, arrange replacement supervision, and review the wet floor sign placement. End with a clear list of what the incoming manager must do and by when, and ask them to repeat back the critical points to confirm understanding.