The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been highlighting its advice and guidance for protecting the health, safety and welfare of young people at work.
As the academic year draws to a close and many young people finish secondary or further education, they may be looking to enter the workplace for the first time in job roles or work-based training.
Statistics show that workers are as likely to experience an accident at work during the first 6 months at a new workplace as they are during the whole of the rest of their working life. In addition, young people are especially at risk as they are likely to be less experienced and less aware of risks.
It is for this reason that the HSE provides specific guidance for protecting young people at work.
Britain’s health and safety watchdog points out that employers have the same responsibilities towards people they employ who are under the age of 18 as they do for all other workers. They therefore must do all that is reasonably practicable to protect their health, safety and welfare while they are at work.
This applies whether the young person is an employee, apprentice or on work experience.
Young people at work may be more vulnerable to health and safety risks
The HSE guidance covers the types of risks that young people many be exposed to at work, training and supervision, work experience, and apprentices. They also provide tailored advice and guidance for young workers themselves, as well as parents, carers, schools, colleges and work experience organisers.
Young people may often be more vulnerable to health and safety risks at work because they:
- May lack experience or maturity
- May not have reached physical maturity and could lack strength
- May be eager to impress or please the people they work with or for
- May be unaware of how to raise concerns, or may lack confidence in doing so
Within their guidance, the HSE clearly states that young workers “need clear and sufficient instruction, training and supervision so they understand the importance of health and safety and can work without putting themselves and other people at risk.”
The level of training provided to young people new to the workplace should be proportionate to the risks involved in their job role or work experience tasks and the workplace environment. Employers must check that young people have understood the training and are aware of the hazards and risks in their workplace and the health and safety measures in place to protect them from these.
The health and safety watchdog also suggests that young people may need more supervision than older workers.
Protecting young people at work
They advise that workplace health and safety representatives or champions can play a vital role in helping to protect younger workers early on in their careers, by:
- Providing them with a thorough introduction to the workplace
- Helping with their ongoing training and development
- Sharing advice with parents and carers
- Working with schools, colleges and work experience organisers, where relevant
The HSE also sets out 6 steps to protect the health, safety and welfare and younger workers and new starters:
- Assess their capability. This includes their literacy and numeracy levels, general health, physical capability to do the work, relevant work experience and familiarity with the work environment. Employers should also consider cultural differences and language barriers
- Provide a thorough, well-planned induction which uses plain, simple language and uses photos of workplace hazards where possible. Walkaround the workplace with new starters
- Ensure control measures are up to date, suitable and sufficient for the risks present in the workplace and that they take into account specific risks to new starters or younger workers. Check measures are being properly used by existing employees.
- Provide relevant information, instruction and training about health and safety risks and control measures
- Provide adequate supervision of new starters and ensure they know how to raise any concerns
- Check that new starters have understood the information and training and that they are putting this into practice. Check they know how to raise concerns, who to speak to and any emergency procedures
You can find out more, including more advice and guidance, at the HSE’s website.
Training to protect health, safety and welfare at work
First Response Training (FRT) is one of the UK’s largest and leading national training providers.
They deliver a wide and diverse range of training for businesses and organisations across all industry sectors and throughout the UK. Their course range includes training in the fields of health and safety, first aid, fire safety, manual handling, mental health, food safety, health and social care and more.
Their health and safety training is mapped to UK standards and legislation and follows HSE guidelines. The portfolio includes courses such as Health and Safety, Managing Health and Safety, Risk Assessment, Accident and Incident Investigation, Working at Height, Asbestos Awareness and many more.
A trainer from FRT says:
“We believe in creating safer working environments with people who care. This is our vision and central to our services. It means providing training that helps to protect people’s physical and mental health, safety and welfare.
“This is essential for all workers of all ages and stages of their career, but can be particularly important for young workers who are just starting out in the workplace and may be inexperienced and unsure. Everyone should experience a positive start to working life, where they are supported to remain healthy and safe while doing their job and gaining much-needed experience.
“The HSE carries out vital work to help protect workers across Britain. It’s equally important that all organisations across all industry sectors continue to ensure that they regularly undergo essential training in health, safety and welfare to protect staff and the general public.”
FRT offers a guide to promoting positive mental health at work, a guide to creating a happy and inclusive work environment and lots of other free guides and resources.
For more information on the training that FRT can provide, please call them today on freephone 0800 310 2300 or send an e-mail to info@firstresponsetraining.com.