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Today’s temporary workers could be tomorrow’s leaders, warns AmTrust’s Matt Zender
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Seasonal hiring can be a lifeline for businesses facing their busiest periods of the year. However, bringing large numbers of inexperienced workers into an operation at speed can also create a significant and underestimated safety risk. And younger workers appear particularly exposed to workplace injuries.
Matt Zender, senior vice president, workers’ compensation strategy at AmTrust Financial, told Insurance Business that the biggest risk businesses face when hiring students or seasonal workers is often the most overlooked – length of tenure.
“Newer employees are more likely to have claims,” said Zender. “That transcends across state lines, industries, and age segments. This lack of familiarity also tends to be compounded because they are often hired during extremely busy periods, with seasonal surges, meaning that supervisors often have less time to provide proper coaching.”
One area that is often overlooked with seasonal or student workers here, according to Zender, is their relative lack of familiarity with work in general – and workers’ compensation specifically.
AmTrust Financial Services is a leading specialty insurer recognized for its innovative solutions and commitment to service, serving more than 60 countries worldwide. Founded in 1998 to provide workers’ compensation insurance to small businesses in the United States, the company now operates in three segments around the globe: Small Commercial Business Insurance, Specialty Risk and Extended Warranty, and Specialty Middle-Market Property and Casualty Program Insurance.
“Any new employee should start on the lightest end of the spectrum and earn their way up that ladder, often literally speaking”
Matt Zender,
AmTrust Financial
“These workers do not usually understand how the process works and the importance of reporting a claim in a timely manner, and they may over-index their body’s ability to recover,” he told IB. “And these delays can lead to suboptimal claim outcomes, as medical options available immediately after a claim may not be available once the injury has matured.”
Training new hires: the ‘why behind the what’ This is where the power of onboarding comes in. When it comes to seasonal workers, employers may be inclined to “hold off” on any intensive training as the contract is deemed to be short-term. This, as Zender told IB, could be a costly mistake.
Published Sep 21, 2026
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“If you treat these temporary employees like new employees, and not just seasonal ones, you will create an environment where all employees thrive”
Matt Zender,
AmTrust Financial
“It’s important to provide a balanced approach when it comes to training temp workers. Often a business will focus their initial training on the aspects of the job that are customer-facing. This is important, but not generally where the exposures exist. New employees want to understand the ‘why behind the what,’ and the better they understand what helps make that business unique and valuable, the easier they can orient their approach around those priorities.
“This baseline also helps those new employees to quickly understand business needs that are broader, such as safety protocols. Balancing the first-day orientation between
customer-facing priorities and the core values that separate the business allows for the conversation to move towards safety orientation more naturally.
“Additionally, seasonal employees may not feel comfortable asking questions, so emphasizing that the culture supports asking questions, reporting hazards, and highlighting safety concerns is encouraged, not frowned upon, is paramount.”
The higher the risk, the greater the precaution When businesses look to reap the rewards of seasonal workers, they often opt to hire a lot of people in a short amount of time. However, this, once again, can have an impact on a company’s legal health and safety obligations – especially if vital training is missed or sped up. As Zender told IB, it’s something of a balancing act.
“This can be complex,” he prefaced. “Because often a business is dealing with several newer employees all at once. Each employee has their own unique way of learning. Some aspects of the training are necessary and generic, such as safety videos, but may not help an employee understand the exact tasks that they’ll be performing or the injuries that may occur. Adding job-specific training helps with that, as does assigning a buddy or mentor to help balance the training load.”
But not all industries are on an equal footing here, with sectors such as hospitality, retail, leisure, and logistics often carrying much higher risks when it comes to student or seasonal staff. According to OSHA, 36 percent of workplace incidents involving 16- to 19-year-olds occurred in the retail sector, compared with 17 percent of incidents across workers overall.
“On average, businesses that involve higher risks should take extra precautions,” agreed Zender. “Any new employee should start on the lightest end of the spectrum and earn their way up that ladder, often literally speaking. Retail stores, for example, should restrict ladder usage, material handling, and stockroom safety until that employee has demonstrated familiarity with the company’s safety protocols.
“Any contracting work should remain cautious around falls from elevation and tool injuries, just to name a couple. Agriculture is a higher-hazard industry, on average, and has unique exposures around heat-related illnesses and equipment or chemical hazards. Warehousing can involve repetitive motion and forklift interactions; hint, hint – the forklifts always win.”
It may sound like a health and safety minefield, but in reality it’s rather simple for employers – just ensure that you’re adhering to best practices in onboarding and development with all new hires, not just the long-term ones.
Treat employees equally: short-time hires turn into long-term leaders “It can be natural to assume that a temporary or seasonal relationship will be short-lived,” explained Zender. “If you treat these temporary employees like new employees, and not just seasonal ones, you will create an environment where all employees thrive. Longer-tenured employees will appreciate the effort because the contributions allow them to focus on the keys to success.
“Managers, supervisors, and mentors will benefit from the skills they gain, and every successive batch will become easier to manoeuvre into the operation. The new employees
will appreciate the chance to succeed and learn new skills. Also, you never know how ‘temporary’ an employee is.”
For example, McDonald’s estimates that one in eight Americans have worked in their restaurants – with many who might initially have been thought of as ‘temporary’ going on to positions of leadership.
As the seasonal hiring binge begins in earnest this month, heading into the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas periods, employers should act quickly but carefully when selecting their seasonal staff. Importantly, train them well, treat them fairly, and always keep risk front and center of mind.
“The greatest risk is that the employees are unfamiliar with the job, the hazards, and the expectations,” Zender warned. “Meaning targeted safety orientation, task-specific training, close 30-day supervision, along with clear injury reporting, can significantly reduce workers’ compensation claims and lead to more productive employees.”
Analysis of nearly 130,000 restaurant workers’ comp claims
For cuts, punctures, and scrapes, the most common restaurant injury
$1,798
Source: AmTrust
For burns and scalds
$4,326
For muscle strains
$10,672
Typical paid claim for serious disc, vertebrae, and spinal cord injuries
$60,000–$85,000
Work-related incidents
Incidents reported among workers aged 16–19
22,033
Source: OSHA, 2024 Work-related Injury and Illness Summary
Incidents involving young workers in retail, versus 17% of incidents across workers overall
36%
Incidents involving young workers that were injuries
64%
94%
Resulted in days away from work or days of job transfer/restriction
19%
Were treated in an emergency room
Seasonal hiring surge? Don’t skimp on safety training
Average claim costs