As much as you try to make sure that everything is in order, something can still happen and cause a disruption in your workplace. It becomes worse when the disturbance puts an employee or employees at risk. In case of medical emergencies or accidents, having an emergency contact form can come in handy.
An employee emergency contact form provides the information you need if an unexpected accident happens and involves the health or safety of a worker. Human resource officers, supervisors, business owners, and the workers themselves can significantly benefit from having emergency forms in their records.
What Is an Employee Emergency Contact Form ?
An employee emergency contact form, same as new employee forms and time off request forms, is standard paperwork that lists down the names and numbers of an employee’s emergency contact person. Sometimes, it also contains other relevant information such as blood type, allergies, and physician’s name and contact details. This document is usually prepared and kept by the HR department or the business owners of SMEs.
The emergency contact information is crucial in case of an accident or medical emergency, so it must be updated from time to time.
There are many types of employee emergency contact forms, depending on the degree of information that the company wants to obtain, including the basic employee emergency contact form, employee address and emergency contact form, or the employee next of kin emergency contact sheet form.
What to Include in an Employee Emergency Contact Form ?
You can make your emergency contact form as comprehensive or as simple as you like. What’s important is that you obtain key information regarding the employee’s emergency contact. Here are the details to include when drafting your emergency contacts form templates.
- Personal details of the employee
The employee emergency contact form should include the employee’s name, position or job title, and the department to which he belongs. You may also include the personal information of the employee, such as his/her home address, email address, mobile and phone number.
- Details of the contact person
Here the employee writes down the name, address, and home and work phone number of his/her emergency contact person, and even indicates his/her relationship to the contact. You might want to make the employees write two or three emergency contact persons.
- Medical contact information
Include this part to make sure you can contact the employee’s doctor in case of a medical emergency. The employee’s doctor likely knows the employee’s medical history and can give immediate advice on how to deal with the employee’s situation.
In this part, have the employee write down the doctor’s name and phone number and dentist’s name and phone number. You may also ask for information about the blood type, health care provider, and allergies of the employee.
- Employee’s consent and signature
Include a part where the employee attests that he voluntarily provided the information written on the emergency contact sheet, allowing the company to contact such persons and numbers in case of an emergency.
Importance of an Employee Emergency Contact Form
With an emergency contact form, the company can contact the employee’s contact person immediately in case of a traumatic event. The employee may have become physically injured, sick, or worse, dead, while at work.
When this happens, the company has a legal and moral obligation to immediately inform that employee’s emergency contact about the emergency, be it his/her spouse, next-of-kin, or guardian.
An employee contact information form can also come in handy when an employee does not show up for work for a few days without giving notice to the company or filing for leave. It’s prudent for the organization to contact the emergency contact form if the employee does not respond to their supervisor or HR’s calls.
Having your employees sign an emergency contact form right at the start of their career benefits both the workers and the company. It’s also best practice to ask them to update their employment emergency contact form regularly, knowing fully well that phone numbers and addresses, and even relationships may change.
Tips for Using an Employee Emergency Contact Form
These tips can help you in customizing and making use of your employee emergency contact form.
- Require the employee to accomplish the employee emergency contact form before they even start working.
Have your employees sign the emergency contact form as they are hired. In some way, this could also get them settled.
- Make it simple.
A simpler emergency contact sheet is easier to fill up. Stick with the basic font type, size, and color.
- Include a space for special instructions.
Your employee might want to include special instructions when contacting their emergency contacts. They may also have conditions that they already know how to deal with. The space for special instructions can give the HR tips on how to provide the employee with first aid in case of incidents like a seizure, fainting, or recurring injuries.
- Use the employee emergency contact form as needed.
Don’t be afraid to use the emergency contact sheet when needed. The company does not become liable just because it calls the emergency contact person named by the employee. Generally, it’s not an admission of guilt or an invasion of privacy. So, you can and should use it as needed.
- Make sure to secure the emergency contact forms safely.
Only the human resource department and authorized individuals can access the emergency contact forms of employees. These records shall be off-limits to other workers or third-parties who have no right to access and use them.
Conclusion
Having an in case of emergency form indicates that your company cares for your employees and their wellbeing. Employees will definitely appreciate knowing that their organization is looking after them. Make sure to have your new hires accomplish your emergency contact sheet before they start working.
CocoSign has numerous emergency contact forms in PDF that you can download and customize as you see fit. Check out our sample employee form templates today.