Young People on Site

A young person is defined in UK law as anyone under 18 years of age working on a construction site.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require specific risk assessments for young workers.
Young workers lack experience, physical maturity, and hazard awareness compared to adult colleagues.
Certain activities are prohibited for under-18s including operating specific plant and working with some chemicals.
The employer must inform the young person's parent or guardian of the risks and controls in place.
Young workers must be closely supervised by a competent adult at all times during their work placement.
Apprentices, work experience students, and trainees all fall under the young persons' regulations.
Working hours for under-18s are restricted — they cannot work more than 8 hours per day or 40 per week.
Night work between 10pm and 6am is prohibited for young workers under the Working Time Regulations 1998.
Employers must consider the young person's psychological maturity, not just their physical capability.

Legal protection	MHSWR 1999 requires specific risk assessments for young workers — additional duties apply beyond standard requirements.
Lack of experience	Young workers cannot recognise hazards that experienced workers spot instinctively — close supervision prevents harm.
Parental notification	Employers must inform parents or guardians of the risks and controls before a young person starts work.
Restricted activities	Certain high-risk activities including some plant operations are legally prohibited for workers under 18.

Do

Don't

Complete a specific young persons' risk assessment before they start any work on site.
Assign a competent adult supervisor to the young worker for the entire duration.
Brief the young worker on all site hazards at an appropriate level of understanding.
Restrict tasks to those appropriate for their age, training, and physical capability.
Notify the parent or guardian in writing of the identified risks and controls.
Monitor the young worker's hours to ensure compliance with working time limits.
Provide additional training and induction tailored to their level of experience.
Check the young worker understands instructions before allowing them to proceed.
Encourage questions and create a supportive environment where they feel safe to ask.
Review the young person's risk assessment regularly as their tasks or skills change.

DON'T allow a young worker to operate plant, cranes, or lifting equipment on site.
DON'T leave a young worker unsupervised in any active construction work area.
DON'T assign tasks involving hazardous substances without a specific young person's assessment.
DON'T expect young workers to recognise hazards the way experienced adults do.
DON'T allow young workers to carry out night work between 10pm and 6am.
DON'T exceed 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week for under-18 workers.
DON'T use young workers as cheap labour for high-risk tasks that need experience.
DON'T assume school leavers understand construction site rules and culture automatically.
DON'T put a young worker under peer pressure to take risks or skip safety steps.
DON'T forget to update the risk assessment when the young worker moves to new tasks.

See also: Site Induction Requirements | Personal Competence

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