Health and Safety - Young People at Work

Policy

The Board of Directors and the Chief Executive of the Society recognise its duty to protect the health & safety of young workers employed or on work experience within the business. In order to discharge that legal obligation, they have adopted the following procedure.

General

The law requires an employer to assess risks to all colleagues, including young workers and to do what is reasonably practicable to control those risks. Young workers are seen as a particular risk, therefore children between 13 and the minimum school leaving age (MSLA) are prohibited from being employed in industrial undertakings such as factories, construction sites, etc. except when on work experience schemes approved by the local education authority. The site manager will be responsible for ensuring that a Young Person’s Risk Assessment is carried out and the information is then passed on to the legal parent or guardian who will then sign and return the form prior to work commencing - Located on Colleague Connect. Children on work experience are designated as colleagues for the purpose of health & safety legislation.

Risk Assessment

A competent person will make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to the health & safety of young workers under 18 years old before they start work. Such assessments will take into account the inexperience, lack of awareness of existing or potential risks and immaturity of young persons.

Where a significant risk remains after best efforts to do what is reasonably practicable to control harmful exposure to substances at work or significant risks to young workers undertaking particular work, young workers will not be employed to do this work.

Training & Supervision

Young Workers will undertake such training under proper supervision by a competent person until such times, as the young worker is deemed safe in the workplace. This must be recorded as having taken place and the information stored on site with any other training records.

Information for Parents or Guardians

Parents or guardians of young workers under MSLA will be informed of the significant findings of the risk assessment and the control measures taken. This information will be provided to parents or guardians before employment or work experience commences.

Further Control Measures

Each young person that is employed or on work experience will have a risk assessment carried out on the job / task they are undertaking. The risk assessment will make particular reference to:

• Dangerous machinery.

• Manual handling.

• Chemicals and substances.

• Housekeeping.

• Personal safety at work.

• Vehicles in motion.

• Shared pedestrian / traffic routes.

• Stacking and storage of goods.

• Access to goods (retrieving stacked / stored items).

• Work at height / use of ladders.

Where young persons is working in the following areas, further controls and training may be required:

• Retail – Warehouse duties (other than general CSA storing / retrieving stock)