Summary
Employers in Great Britain have the same general responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of workers under 18 as they do for other workers, but additional factors must be considered. Young people may have less experience, limited awareness of workplace risks and lower physical or psychological maturity, so assessment, training and supervision should reflect the individual and the work they will perform.
Who Counts as a Young Person at Work?
For health and safety purposes, a young person is anyone under 18. The term includes employees, apprentices and people on work experience. A child is someone who has not yet reached the official minimum school leaving age.
Employers should distinguish between health and safety duties and the separate employment rules affecting children and young workers. Children below the minimum school leaving age are generally prohibited from employment in industrial workplaces, including factories and construction sites, except where they are on work experience. Local authority requirements can also affect the employment of school-age children.
Assess Risks Before the Young Person Starts
Employers must make sure young people are not exposed to risks arising from their lack of experience, lack of awareness of existing or potential risks, or lack of maturity.
Where an organisation is employing a young person for the first time, or taking on somebody with particular needs, the existing risk assessment should be reviewed before work starts. A separate assessment is not automatically required if the existing assessment already deals properly with the factors affecting young people.
The review should consider the person's capability as well as the technical hazards of the job. Young workers may be unfamiliar with risks that experienced employees regard as obvious. Physical development can also affect whether particular manual tasks are suitable. Health conditions, disabilities or learning difficulties may require further consideration.
Higher-risk workplaces require closer attention to the work the young person will perform or observe. HSE guidance identifies construction, agriculture and manufacturing as examples where employers should examine whether instruction, training and supervisory arrangements have been properly planned and work in practice.
Match Tasks and Equipment to Capability
The fact that a person is under 18 does not mean that every higher-risk activity is prohibited. Employers should assess the activity, the young person's capabilities and the controls available.
Particular attention may be required where work involves radiation, noise and vibration, toxic substances or extreme temperatures. There can also be legal age restrictions affecting certain equipment and machinery, including some lift trucks and woodworking machinery.
Managers should therefore avoid allocating tasks simply because an older or more experienced employee performs them routinely. The decision should take account of the young person's development, understanding, training and level of supervision.
Provide Training That the Young Person Understands
Young people need clear and sufficient instruction and training. The amount should reflect the risk and, for work experience placements, should be tailored to the tasks the student will actually undertake.
Giving instructions is only part of the process. Employers should check that the young person has understood the workplace hazards, precautions and expected behaviour.
Training should also explain how to raise a health and safety concern. Young people may be reluctant or unsure about speaking up, particularly when they are new to the workplace or eager to make a good impression.
Set an Appropriate Level of Supervision
Young people are likely to require more supervision than experienced adult workers. Supervision allows the employer to assess capability, monitor progress and check whether training is being applied correctly.
The level can change as competence develops. Regular review gives managers an opportunity to identify where closer supervision, different training or adjustments to the work are needed.
Common Compliance Gaps
Problems can arise when an employer assumes that an existing induction programme is sufficient for every new young worker. Other weaknesses include allocating tasks before capability has been considered, relying on instructions without checking understanding, and reducing supervision before competence has been established.
Work experience can also be mishandled where responsibility is assumed to sit with the school or college. HSE guidance states that the employer taking the student on placement has the main responsibility for workplace health and safety.
Manager Checklist
- Identify every employee, apprentice or work experience student under 18.
- Review the relevant risk assessment before a new young worker starts where required.
- Consider experience, maturity, physical capability and any particular individual needs.
- Verify that assigned work and equipment are suitable for the young person's capabilities.
- Provide task-specific instruction and check that it has been understood.
- Set supervision according to the work, risk and person's experience.
- Make sure young workers know how to report hazards and raise concerns.
- Review progress and adjust training, supervision or work where necessary.
FAQ
Does every young worker need a separate risk assessment?
No. A separate document is not automatically required. Existing assessments may be sufficient if they already address the factors relevant to young people and the individual has no particular needs requiring further consideration.
Are work experience students treated as employees for health and safety purposes?
Yes. HSE guidance states that work experience students are treated as employees for health and safety purposes, with the employer providing the placement having the main responsibility for their workplace safety.
Can a young person use workplace machinery?
Age alone does not prohibit all machinery use, but some equipment is subject to age restrictions. Employers must also assess the person's capability, training and supervision before allocating work.
Do parents need information about workplace risks?
For children below the minimum school leaving age, employers should explain significant risks and the measures used to control them to parents or carers. This can often be done through the school or college arranging the placement.