Young Workers and Health & Safety: What UK Employers Must Do

Why Young Workers Need Special Consideration

Taking on a school leaver, apprentice or part-time student can be a great move for your business. But if you employ anyone under the age of 18, you have legal duties that go beyond your standard health and safety obligations. Young workers are statistically more likely to be involved in workplace accidents, and the reasons are well understood: limited work experience, a tendency to take risks, unfamiliarity with machinery and equipment, and a reluctance to speak up when something feels wrong.

The good news is that the requirements are straightforward once you understand them. This article sets out exactly what the law expects, where businesses commonly fall short, and the practical steps you can take to protect young people in your workplace.

What the Law Says

The key legislation covering young workers sits across several regulations. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 is the main starting point. Regulation 16 requires employers to carry out a specific risk assessment before a young person starts work, taking into account factors particular to their age and inexperience. This is a separate requirement from your general risk assessment, and it applies to anyone under 18.

The Working Time Regulations 1998 also impose specific restrictions on young workers, limiting their working hours and rest periods. Workers aged 16 or 17 must not ordinarily work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week, and they are entitled to a 30-minute rest break if they work more than four and a half hours continuously. Night work restrictions also apply.

Beyond these, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all employees, and that duty applies equally to young workers. Sector-specific regulations around machinery, hazardous substances, manual handling and noise all apply in full.

The Young Person Risk Assessment: What It Must Cover

The risk assessment you carry out before a young person begins work must consider a specific set of factors set out in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. These include:

• The young person's lack of experience, immaturity and limited awareness of risk
• The layout and nature of the workstation and workplace
• Exposure to physical, biological and chemical agents
• Work involving harmful radiation, extremes of temperature, noise or vibration
• Processes and work activities that could pose a risk to young people specifically
• The extent and supervision of any training provided

This is not simply a tick-box exercise. You need to genuinely think about the tasks a young person will carry out, the hazards they will encounter, and whether your existing controls are sufficient given their age and experience. In many cases, additional controls will be needed, whether that means closer supervision, restricted access to certain equipment, or more structured induction and training.

Prohibited Work for Young Workers

Certain types of work are prohibited entirely for young workers under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, unless they are over school-leaving age and the work is necessary for their training, carried out under the supervision of a competent person, and any risks are reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable.

Prohibited work categories include tasks involving harmful exposure to agents that cause cancer, are toxic to reproduction, or cause chronic damage to health; work involving harmful radiation; work with extremes of heat, noise or vibration beyond what a young person can reasonably tolerate; and work that is beyond the young person's physical or psychological capacity.

If you are unsure whether a task falls into a restricted category, that uncertainty itself is a signal to get proper advice before the young person starts.

Supervision, Induction and Training

Supervision is one of the most effective controls you can put in place for young workers. A young person who is well supervised is far less likely to improvise, take shortcuts or place themselves in danger. Supervision does not mean standing over someone all day, but it does mean regular check-ins, clear lines of communication, and an experienced colleague who takes genuine responsibility for the young person's safety during their early weeks.

Induction training should cover more than just fire exits and the location of the first aid kit. Young workers need to understand the specific hazards in their working environment, what personal protective equipment is required and why, how to report concerns, and who to speak to if they are unsure about a task. Make sure the induction is delivered at a pace the young person can absorb, and check their understanding rather than simply handing over a policy document to sign.

Depending on your sector, formal training courses may be appropriate. Manual handling awareness training, COSHH awareness training and fire awareness training can all be delivered at a level that is accessible to young workers and gives them a solid foundation for working safely.

Telling Parents and Guardians

If you are employing a child of compulsory school age on work experience, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require you to inform the child's parent or guardian of the key findings of your risk assessment and the main control measures in place before the placement begins. This is a legal requirement, not simply good practice, and it is one that many employers are unaware of.

Common Mistakes Employers Make

Several patterns of non-compliance appear regularly when businesses take on young workers for the first time. These include:

• Failing to carry out a separate young person risk assessment, relying instead on the existing general assessment
• Allowing young workers access to machinery or substances that are restricted or prohibited without proper supervision and training
• Providing induction training that is too fast, too technical or too reliant on written materials
• Not reviewing the risk assessment as the young person's role develops or changes
• Overlooking the working time restrictions that apply specifically to workers under 18

None of these failures are the result of deliberate neglect. They tend to happen because employers simply do not know what the law requires. Getting proper advice before a young person starts is far easier than dealing with the consequences of an incident after the fact.

Getting the Foundations Right

If your business regularly takes on apprentices, work experience students or part-time younger staff, it is worth reviewing your overall approach to young worker safety as a standing procedure rather than something you think about each time a new person arrives. A documented process, a template risk assessment that is then tailored to the individual, and a clear supervision plan will give you a consistent and defensible approach.

At Integral Safety, we support businesses across Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands in getting these foundations right. Whether you need help reviewing your risk assessments, advice on your legal obligations, or access to practical training for your team, our health and safety consultancy service is designed to give you straightforward, practical support. To find out how we can help your business, contact us today.