How do you instruct employees who don't speak the language?

In many UK factories, warehouses, building sites and cleaning teams, English is not everyone's first language. A safety instruction that a worker only half understands is a risk to them and to the people around them. It also means your training has not done its job.

This guide explains how to give safety training to non-English speakers. It covers your legal duties, how many languages to offer, the pros and cons of translation options, why pictograms alone are not enough, how to reach workers with low literacy, and how to check that the message has landed.

What UK law expects

UK law does not list the languages you must use. It does require that information and training actually work for the person receiving them.

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, section 2: you must provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed to ensure your employees' health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable.
• MHSWR 1999, reg. 10: information to employees must be comprehensible and relevant.
• MHSWR 1999, reg. 13: you must take employees' capabilities into account when giving them tasks, and provide adequate training when they start and when risks change.

The HSE's guidance on migrant workers makes the same point in practical terms: check that workers understand the training and instructions, and do not assume that nodding means understanding. If a worker cannot understand English well enough, you need to find another way to get the message across, whether that is translation, an interpreter, visual material or a colleague who speaks their language.

ISO 45001 (clause 7.4) also asks organisations to take diversity aspects such as language, culture and literacy into account in their communication.

Why language barriers cause accidents

Misunderstanding a safety instruction is rarely obvious. Workers who are new to the country or the language often say "yes" to avoid embarrassment or to keep their job.

• Instructions are skipped. A dense English text is not read.
• Words are misread. "Do not" turns into "do", or a technical term is guessed.
• Questions are not asked. People are reluctant to admit they did not understand.
• Warnings are missed. A shouted warning on site only helps if people know what it means.

The consequences fall hardest on high-risk work such as machinery, vehicles, chemicals and work at height.

How many languages should you offer?

There is no fixed number. Start from your workforce, not from a standard list.

1. Map the languages: ask new starters and agencies which language each worker reads best. Do this per site and per shift.
2. Prioritise by risk: start with the teams doing the most dangerous work.
3. Include contractors and agency staff: they are often the most linguistically diverse group.
4. Review regularly: the mix changes with seasons, new agencies and new projects.

In England and Wales, Polish and Romanian are the most common main languages after English, according to the 2021 Census. In UK manufacturing, food production and logistics you will also often see Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Urdu and many others. A digital approach where each worker simply receives content in their own language avoids having to choose a short list at all.

Translation options compared

Translating every instruction professionally into every language is expensive and slow, especially when content changes often. Machine translation is fast but needs care. Most organisations end up with a mix.

Option	Speed	Cost	Best for
Professional translator	Days	Charged per word and per language, highest for technical safety content	Legal documents, high-risk procedures that rarely change
Bilingual colleague	Fast, if available	Their time	Explaining in person, checking understanding
Raw machine translation	Instant	Very low	Not suitable for safety content without checks
Built-in translation in a training platform	Instant	Included	Toolbox talks, updates and instructions that change often

Risks of poor translation

A bad translation can be worse than none, because it gives false confidence. Watch out for:

• technical terms translated literally, such as names of machine parts or PPE;
• negations and conditions that change meaning ("only when", "never without");
• units, numbers and abbreviations;
• tone: an instruction that sounds like a suggestion.

Keep the source text short and plain, use one term per thing, and have a native speaker review the most critical content. Short sentences translate far better than long ones.

Why pictograms alone are not enough

Safety signs and pictograms are valuable. They are standardised, recognised in many countries and readable at a glance. But they have limits.

• A pictogram says what, but not why or how.
• Not every sign is universally understood, especially less common ones.
• Procedures with several steps cannot be shown in one symbol.
• They do not tell you whether the worker understood.

Use pictograms as a reinforcement, not as the whole instruction. Combine them with photos of your own workplace, short video and a few words in the worker's own language.

Workers with low literacy and different education levels

Language is not the only barrier. Some workers, including native English speakers, find long texts difficult to read. Others have very different levels of education or training.

• Write at a basic reading level: short sentences, common words, active voice.
• Show, don't describe: a 30-second video of the right way to lift says more than a paragraph.
• Use audio: a spoken explanation helps those who struggle to read.
• One idea per screen: break instructions into small steps.
• Avoid jargon and acronyms: or explain them the first time.
• Practise in person: for hands-on tasks, follow up with a demonstration.

Never single people out. Making all material easy to understand helps everyone and avoids stigma.

Multilingual video instructions

Video is one of the strongest tools for mixed-language teams, because much of the message comes across without words. To make video work in several languages:

• film in your own workplace, with your own equipment;
• keep clips short, ideally under two minutes;
• use subtitles in the worker's language rather than dubbing;
• add on-screen arrows or highlights for the critical moments;
• end with one or two questions to check the key point.

Checking understanding

Signing a form in English proves attendance, not understanding. Build checks into every instruction.

• Ask two or three short questions in the worker's own language after each instruction.
• Use photo questions: "Which picture shows the correct set-up?"
• Ask people to show you, not just tell you, for practical tasks.
• Look at the results: if many people get the same question wrong, the instruction is unclear.
• Follow up personally with anyone who struggles.

This approach also works for onboarding. See how to set up an onboarding programme for employees who don't speak the local language.

Practical checklist

• Record the preferred language of every worker, including agency and contractor staff.
• Keep source texts short and plain before translating.
• Combine text with photos, video and pictograms from your own workplace.
• Check understanding with questions, not just signatures.
• Pair new workers with a buddy who speaks their language where possible.
• Make sure emergency procedures are understood by everyone on day one.
• Review your materials when the language mix changes.

Frequently asked questions

Is it a legal requirement to translate safety training in the UK?

There is no rule that names specific languages, but under MHSWR reg. 10 information must be comprehensible. If a worker does not understand English well enough, you must find another way, such as translation, an interpreter or visual material, so that they do understand.

What should I do if a new starter cannot understand the training material?

Do not let them start risky work until they have understood the key safety points. Provide the content in their language, use a bilingual colleague or interpreter, and check understanding with questions or a practical demonstration.

Can I use machine translation for safety instructions?

Raw machine translation on its own is risky for safety content. Built-in translation in a training platform, applied to short and plain source texts and combined with images and comprehension questions, works well for most toolbox talks and updates. Have critical procedures reviewed by a native speaker.

How do I know whether a non-English speaker has understood an instruction?

Ask short questions in their own language, use photo-based questions and ask them to demonstrate practical tasks. A signature on an English form is not evidence of understanding.

Do toolbox talks have to be in every language spoken on site?

Aim to provide them in every language your workers need to understand them. A digital toolbox talk that each worker receives in their own language makes this realistic without running separate sessions.

How E-lia helps

E-lia delivers toolbox talks, instructions and onboarding via WhatsApp in each worker's own language. There is no app and no login. Workers read or watch a short instruction, answer a few questions in their own language, and the results are recorded in your dashboard, so you can see who understood and who needs follow-up. Start from our ready-made toolbox talks or have your own material imported and made multilingual for you. Learn more about toolbox talks via WhatsApp.