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Do You Take These Key Precautions Before Hiring Young People?
Some straight H&S talk about young people in the workplace
A recent court case involving the death of a 17 year old youth has raised awareness of the issues involved when you employ young persons.
What happened?
The HSE has reported that the employer, Christopher Pridmore of Nottinghamshire, was fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,500 following the incident involving an apprentice in his joinery workshops. The apprentice suffered serious head injuries when a stack of MDF boards fell on top of him.
Clearly the way that the MDF boards were being stored was not suitable and the accident could have happened to any member of staff.
So why should you take special precautions when you have young persons employed?
The simple answer is that there are factors that affect young people that should not affect those who have been in the workplace for a longer period:
- They may not think so, but young people lack experience
- They are unlikely to want to cause a fuss in the first few months of working
- They will be eager to impress and may not take the time to consider the risks
- Even where they have concerns they are not always sure of the best way to raise them, without getting themselves into trouble
As an employer what do I need to do to avoid such accidents?
You must carry out a risk assessment that looks specifically at
- Layout
- Any chemicals that may be used
- The type and use of work equipment
- What risks are associated with the process
- What training and supervision will be needed
You must do all of this before you employ a young person. The assessment must be done to take account of all the factors previously listed
In law, what is a "young person"?
A "young person" under Health & Safety law is anyone under 18 years of age. A "child" is different, and can be considered to be anyone who is still of compulsory schooling age.
Which Health & Safety laws relate to young persons?
Frankly, all of them in some way shape or form. Even fire safety legislation has additional requirements when young persons are employed
What can Ark do to help?
If you are considering employing a young person for the first time, or if you already do so but were not aware of the particular issues you need to consider, you can contact Ark for assistance.
Optimal Risk Management With Ark
Top brand clients work with Ark Workplace Risk to optimise their control and management of risk.
You can work with Ark to review your risk assessments and risk management to take account of young persons in the workplace.
To explore how you can optimise your Health & Safety and Risk management systems, just use the easy form below or call us on
+44 (0)
20 7397 1450
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