Dangers to young workers highlighted

As National Apprenticeship Week gets underway, the British Safety Council is urging businesses to ensure that young workers are aware of the dangers they may face. According to recent statistics, the number of young people starting apprenticeships rose last year to a record 239,900.

Statisticsshow that a young person is seriously injured in a UK workplace every 40 minutes and 66 under-19s have been killed at work in the last ten years.

In a drive to protect young workers, the British Safety Council is offering all 14-19 year olds at school, college or on work placements the opportunity to gain a free accredited qualification in health and safety. To date, over 50,000 young people have taken the courses.

The Council says taking on young people who have gained this qualification should reduce the risk of accidents in the workplace and could mitigate insurance claims or prosecutions for employers.

Julie Nerney, British Safety Council chief executive said: “As one of the UK’s leading authority on health and safety, we are determined to help reduce the dangers faced by young people as they enter the workplace. The National Apprenticeships Scheme has been hugely successful in providing opportunities for the new generation of workers in this country but we all have a responsibility to ensure their safety in the workplace.

“We urge every school and college across the country to take up our offer of these free qualifications and help keep young people safe.”

Workplace Law Network’s Young Persons factsheet advises that very employer should ensure that young persons employed by him are protected at work from any risks to their health or safety which are a consequence of:

• their lack of experience;
• their absence of awareness of existing or potential risk; or
• the fact that young persons have not yet fully matured.

Failure to do so may result in civil liability for a breach of statutory duty on the part of the employer.

An employer should not employ a young person unless he has carried out a risk assessment to ensure that all relevant hazards and consequent risks have been identified.

In particular, an employer should consider:

• if the work is beyond the young person's physical or psychological capacity;
• if there is harmful exposure to radiation or agents which could be toxic or carcinogenic; or
• if there is a risk to health from extreme cold or heat, noise or vibration.

Young workers are entitled to a break of at least 12 consecutive hours in any 24-hour period.