http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/qualifications/b00223495/post-16-work-exp-enterprise-educ
Work experience
http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/workexperience/index.htm
Introducing students to the world of work can help them understand the work environment, choose future careers or prepare for employment. It can take the form of a short, or longer, placement with a placement provider (employer) where they will have the opportunity to observe and practice work tasks.
But work placement arrangements are too often seen as over-bureaucratic and burdensome, putting off potential employers. We must tackle this and stop over-interpretation of the law.
The effectiveness of the employer’s risk management arrangements is what matters. Employers should already be managing the risks in their workplaces and are best placed to assess whether or not they need to do anything additional for a new young person joining them.
Schools and colleges, or those organising placements, should simply ask sensible questions, in proportion to the level of risk, to satisfy themselves that those arrangements are in place.
They should not be second-guessing employers’ risk assessments or requiring additional paperwork.
An appreciation of risk and how to deal with it can be one of the biggest benefits offered by a placement. We need young people (those under 18) to be offered opportunities to develop new skills and gain experience across the world of work.
Judith Hackitt
Chair
Health and Safety Executive
Cutting through the bureaucracy
Taking on work experience students is easy.
Many employers have considerable experience of successfully employing young people or taking on work experience students.
If an employer has never employed a young person (under 18) before, there are just a few steps that they need to take[1].
Schools and colleges or others organising placements need to check the employer has risk management arrangements in place. Conversations between the placement organiser and the employer could simply be noted for reference.
If you are advised to do something contrary to, or that goes beyond, this guidance, you can question this by contacting HSE’s HSE’s Myth Buster Challenge Panel[2].
Taking on work experience students should be straightforward for placement providers (employers). It should not be about generating unnecessary paperwork. This guidance cuts through the bureaucracy that some say stops them offering young people this vital knowledge and experience.
These pages describe how to keep it simple.
Work experience responsibilities
· Are you a school or college[3]
· Are you the work experience organiser?[4]
· Are you the employer (placement provider)?[5]
· Are you a parent, carer or legal guardian?[6]
· Are you a student/learner?
Work experience organisers
Organisers include schools, colleges or those arranging placements for them, for example Education Business Partners (EBPs) or third-party independent organisations/businesses.
If you are advised that a particular placement is not possible due to health and safety, the person giving you that advice may well be wrong – there are very few work activities a student cannot do due to health and safety law. You can question their assertions by contacting HSE’s Myth Buster Challenge Panel[1]
How to keep a sense of proportion
Do:
· remember that the placement provider (employer) has primary responsibility for the health and safety of the student and should be managing any significant risks
· take reasonable steps to satisfy yourself that they are doing this. For employers who are new to taking students on work experience, talk through what the student will do and any relevant precautions. It might be helpful to make a note of your conversation
· rely on past experience, or pooled experience, for example within the local authority area. You do not need to do it all again for a new student where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the student’s needs are no different to those on past placements
· work with parents to ensure employers know in advance about students who might be at greater risk, for example due to health conditions or learning difficulties, so they can take these properly into account
· keep checks in proportion to the environment:
o for a low-risk environment, such as an office or shop, with everyday risks that will mostly be familiar to the student, simply speaking with any new employer to confirm this should be enough. This can be part of the wider conversation on placement arrangements
o for environments with less familiar risks (eg in light assembly or packing facilities), talk to the employer and confirm they have arrangements for managing risks. This will need to include induction, supervision, site familiarisation, and any protective equipment that might be needed
o for a placement in a higher-risk environment such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing:
§ discuss with the employer what work the student will be doing or observing, the risks involved and how these are managed. Remember that although the placement might be in a higher-risk environment, the work the student is doing and the surroundings they are working in may not be, for example it could be in a separate office area
§ satisfy yourself that the instruction, training and supervisory arrangements have been properly thought through
· check that the employer understands about the specific factors[2] relevant to employing young people
· check that students know how to raise any health and safety concerns
Don't
· repeat the process for a new student, or visit unnecessarily, where an employer is known to you and has a good track record, and the student’s needs are no different to those on past placements
· seek additional paperwork for assurance purposes, or seek to second-guess the employer’s risk assessment or their risk control measures:
o you are unlikely to have the knowledge to evaluate the assessment
o this could give the false impression that you have ‘approved’ it
o employers with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written assessment
· duplicate checks on employers. Schools and colleges using a third party to arrange placements should work with them to make sure employers are not requested to do things twice
Find out more about work experience responsibilities[3].
Find out more about the specific factors for young people[4].
What the law says about young people at work
Under health and safety law, every employer must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all their employees, irrespective of age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that need to be made for young people.
This section outlines the requirements in the law. Putting the requirements into practice should be straightforward and in most cases an employer should already have the necessary risk management arrangements in place.
Definitions of young people and children by age:
· A young person is anyone under 18 and
· A child is anyone who has not yet reached the official minimum school leaving age (MSLA). Pupils will reach the MSLA in the school year in which they turn 16.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
The FAQ page [1]provides further advice on making the necessary considerations contained within these Regulations.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, an employer has a responsibility to ensure that young people employed by them are not exposed to risk due to:
· lack of experience
· being unaware of existing or potential risks and/or
· lack of maturity
An employer must consider:
· the layout of the workplace
· the physical, biological and chemical agents they will be exposed to
· how they will handle work equipment
· how the work and processes are organised
· the extent of health and safety training needed
· risks from particular agents, processes and work
These considerations should be straightforward in a low-risk workplace, for example an office.
In higher- risk workplaces the risks are likely to be greater and will need more attention to ensure they’re properly controlled.
Employers need to consider whether the work the young person will do:
· is beyond their physical[2] or psychological[3] capacity
o This doesn’t have to be complicated, it could be as simple as checking a young person is capable of safely lifting weights and of remembering and following instructions.
· involves harmful exposure[4] to substances that are toxic, can cause cancer, can damage or harm an unborn child, or can chronically affect human health in any other way
o Be aware of substances a young person might come into contact with in their work, consider exposure levels and ensure legal limits are met.
· involves harmful exposure to radiation[5]
o Ensure a young person’s exposure to radiation is restricted and does not exceed the allowed dose limit.
· involves risk of accidents that cannot reasonably be recognised or avoided by young people due to their insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training[6]
o A young person might be unfamiliar with ‘obvious’ risks. An employer should consider the need for tailored training/closer supervision.
· has a risk to health from extreme cold, heat, noise or vibration[7]
o In most cases, young people will not be at any greater risk than adults and for workplaces that include these hazards it is likely there will already be control measures in place.
A child must never carry out such work involving these risks, whether they are permanently employed or under training such as work experience.
A young person, who is not a child, can carry out work involving these risks if:
· the work is necessary for their training
· the work is properly supervised by a competent person
· the risks are reduced to the lowest level, so far as reasonably practicable.
Providing supervision for young workers and monitoring their progress will help employers identify where additional adjustments may be needed.
Employers must let the parents or guardians of any child know the possible risks and the measures put in place to control them. This can be done in whatever way is simplest and suitable, including verbally.
An employer will already be familiar with the risks associated with their workplace and should be in a position to consider what is or is not appropriate.
Employers with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written risk assessment.
Other issues you need to consider
There are other agents, processes and work that should be taken into account when employing a young person. This is a non-exhaustive list and, if relevant, more information can be found through the links provided:
· biological agents[8]
· working with chemicals[9]
· working with lead and lead processes[10]
· asbestos[11]
· working with explosives, including fireworks[12]
· working with compressed air[13]
· construction, including demolition[14]
· electrical safety[15]
· agriculture[16]
· manufacturing[17]
Working hours and young workers
Working hours are not governed by health and safety law.
Young people and children have different employment rights from adult workers and are subject to protections in relation to the hours they can work.
More information can be found on the gov.uk website [18].
Other regulations
Children below the minimum school leaving age (MSLA) must not be employed in industrial workplaces such as factories, construction sites etc, except when on work experience.
Children under 13 are generally prohibited from any form of employment. Local authorities have powers to make bye-laws on the types of work, and hours of work, children aged between 13 and the MSLA can do.
What does so far as reasonably practicable mean?
This means balancing the level of risk against the measures needed to control the real risk in terms of money, time or trouble. However, you do not need to take action if it would be grossly disproportionate to the level of risk.
Placement providers (employers)
Under health and safety law, work experience students are your employees. You treat them no differently to other young people you employ.
If you are advised to do something that is contrary to, or goes beyond, this guidance you can question it by contacting HSE’s Myth Buster Challenge Panel[1]
Your existing employers' liability insurance policy[2] will cover work placements provided your insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers [3], so there is no need for you to obtain any additional employer’s liability insurance if you take on work experience students.
What you need to do:
· Simply use your existing arrangements for assessments and management of risks to young people
· if you have fewer than five employees you are not required to have a written risk assessment
· Avoid repeating your assessment of the risks if a new student is of a broadly similar level of maturity and understanding[4], and has no particular or additional needs (the organiser or parent should tell you if they have)
· if you do not currently employ a young person, have not done so in the last few years or are taking on a work experience student for the first time, or one with particular needs, review your risk assessment before they start
· discuss the placement in advance with organisers and take account of what they and the parents or carers tell you of the student’s physical and psychological capacity[5] and of any particular needs, for example due to any health conditions or learning difficulties
· keep any additional work in proportion to the environment:
o for placements in low-risk environments, such as offices or shops, with everyday risks that will mostly be familiar to the student, your existing arrangements for other employees should suffice
o for environments with risks less familiar to the student (eg in light assembly or packing facilities), you will need to make arrangements to manage the risks. This will need to include induction, supervision, site familiarisation, and any protective equipment needed
o for a placement in a higher-risk environment such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing you will need to:
§ consider what work the student will be doing or observing, the risks involved and how these are managed