Operations

How to leverage training to reduce workplace risk

From cuts and burns to fatigue and inexperienced employees, pizzeria operators face a range of workplace risks. One expert shares how better training, early reporting and return-to-work programs can help reduce claims and control costs.

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August 25, 2026 by Valerie Gritton

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When it comes to workers' compensation, some of the biggest risks facing pizzeria operators are also among the most familiar: cuts, burns, slips and falls, strains and injuries caused by repetitive tasks. But the risks don't stop there. High employee turnover, inexperienced workers, fatigue and rushed decision-making can all increase the likelihood of an injury. Ultimately driving up workers' compensation costs.

As costs continue to rise, and consumers become more discerning about where to spend their dining dollars, pizzeria operators can't afford to cut corners on workers' compensation in an effort to protect their profits. What they can do, however, is ensure their employees and businesses are protected. We asked Katherine Antonello, president and chief executive officer of Employers, about the biggest worker's compensation risks and what operators can do to reduce claims and control premiums. Employers is a provider of workers' compensation insurance solutions for small and mid-sized businesses. The trick, says Antonello, is early reporting and new-hire safety training.

Read on to learn more.

Q. What are you seeing as the biggest workers' compensation risks facing restaurants and hospitality businesses right now?

Antonello: The biggest risks we're seeing are tied to high employee turnover, a growing share of inexperienced workers and the fast pace of restaurant operations. New employees are at higher risk of injury, and when a shift is short-staffed, it often leads to fatigue, rushed decisions and inconsistent safety practices.

Q. What types of injuries are most common in the industry, and are you seeing any emerging trends?

Antonello:The most common injuries fall into a few clear categories: slips and falls from wet or greasy floors, burns from hot equipment and oil and cuts from knives and slicers. The industry also sees a steady share of strain and sprain injuries tied to lifting and repetitive material handling. What's newer is the increased attention on ergonomic and cumulative trauma injuries, along with fatigue from extended work hours.

Q. What are the biggest factors driving workers' comp costs for restaurant operators today?

Antonello:Higher medical costs, increased claim severity, high turnover and delayed injury reporting are the major cost drivers the industry has been reporting. Operators without strong return-to- work programs also tend to see longer claim durations, which means employees are out of work longer and claims cost more, even when claim frequency hasn't changed.

Q. What are some practical things restaurant owners can do to reduce claims and control premiums?

Antonello:The operators who control costs best treat injury reporting and return-to-work as part of their overall claims strategy, not an afterthought. Early reporting is what gets an employee appropriate care quickly and lets a claim be managed correctly from day one instead of escalating. Pair that with solid new-hire safety training and a structured return-to-work program, and that combination is consistently where we see frequency and severity come down together.

Q. How are staffing shortages, turnover, and the increasing number of newer or less-experienced employees affecting workers' comp risk?

Antonello:A meaningful share of claims involve employees who are fairly new to the job, so when turnover is high, that exposure just gets multiplied across more of the workforce at once. It's less about any one employee and more about how many people on a shift fall into that higher-risk window at the same time. That's part of why we encourage employers to track injury patterns by tenure, not just by location or job type.

Q. For restaurant groups with multiple locations, what are some of the biggest challenges in creating a consistent safety and workers' comp strategy?

Antonello:This is a common challenge for multi-location operators. The ownership group often has strong safety policies in writing, but claims experience can vary widely from one location to the next because this can depend on day-to-day management at each location. The employers who close that gap are the ones who centralize injury reporting and measure safety performance location by location, not just at the ownership level.

Q. Looking ahead, what risks do you think restaurant and hospitality operators aren't paying enough attention to?

Antonello:Cumulative trauma and fatigue-related injuries tend to build up gradually rather than occurring in a single incident. That makes them difficult to recognize until they turn into a larger claim. It's important to mitigate these claims early. We'd also point to frontline supervisor training as an area of opportunity across the industry. Our sense is that better observation on the floor could help catch some of these issues before they escalate.