Employing young workers - what do you need to know?

Written By Sherry White

A “young person” is someone between the minimum school leaving age (usually 16 years) and 18 years. A “child” is defined as someone who is below the minimum school leaving age, ie usually under 16 years of age.

Knowing that is the first step to getting employment right.

Working Time

A young person can work:

A maximum of 8 hours a day/40 hours a week. Check that they do not have more than one employer as this is the total across ALL employers.

They cannot work between 10pm and 6am (there are some minor adjustments to this but its’ complicated).

They must have a rest period of 12 hours in every 24 period.

They must have a continuous break of 48 hours in every 7 day period.

Again there are some adjustments that can be made to this, but they can be complicated.

They are entitled to a 30 minute break per 4.5 hours worked so 30 minutes would be required for an 8 hour shift.

Safety obligations

Young workers are at higher risk because they will have less experience than others.

You must ensure:

You assess risks to them before they start work

You need to consider if additional information, training and supervision should be in place for some activities

You must protect them from risks related to their inexperience, awareness of risks, and their physical or psychological immaturity

Remember that an organisation may be held responsible for the actions of a young person during their employment that lead to an unsafe environment or accident

Check with your insurance company whether there are stipulations for insuring young persons

Check your risk register for the implications of specified risks and ensure you consider:

  • exposure to toxic and carcinogenic agents

  • work with ionising and non-ionising radiation

  • work with fireworks and other explosives

  • work with poisonous or dangerous animals

  • working in extreme temperatures (hot or cold)

  • working with gas and electrical hazards

  • noise or vibration

    The findings of the risk assessment must be used to determine whether the young person should be prohibited from certain work (unless specific legislation already prohibits such work); the risk assessment must also specify the work that the young person should not be allowed to perform.

    The MHSWR (Management of health and safety at work regulations) also require employers to give information to the parent/guardian or person having legal authority over a child they intend to employ. In addition, they reserve the right of civil action for breach of a legal duty.

    The risk assessment need not be overly burdensome or bureaucratic.

If you are unsure about your responsibilities or certain areas of risk relating to the employment of young persons, please get in touch.

Sherry White

Sherry, Founder of NEuRDiverse—

a passionate advocate for holistic neurodivergent support, with lived experience of AuDHD and a deep understanding of co-occurring conditions.

As both a neurodivergent individual and a parent to three neurodivergent children, Sherry brings a personal and professional perspective to the challenges faced by the community.

Through NEuRDiverse, she works to create safe spaces, push for systemic change, and provide resources that reflect the real-life complexities of neurodivergence.

Sherry also holds various volunteer positions for great organisations like Response, Broken Spoke and CIPD as well as running her own business management, HR and safety consultancy company.

https://oxfordpeoplesolutions.co.uk
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