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Take
care with young people on work experience |
Date Published:
20th March 2007
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Many companies take on youngsters on work experience. The company’s liability
insurance policies normally automatically extend to provide cover
for any injury caused to the person on work experience or any injury or
damage which he or she may cause to a member of the public. However, the
employer’s responsibility to these persons is not restricted to merely ensuring
that the appropriate Liability insurance is in place.
Employers need to exercise particular care when it comes to health and safety
of young people on work experience. After all, it is most likely that their
inexperience puts them at greater risk in the first place. This makes it
essential that written risk assessments are completed in order to identify
the hazards to which they are exposed. It is also essential that they are
closely supervised.
According to IOSH (The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health), 14,500
teenagers have been seriously injured at work and 66 killed over the past
ten years.
There have been recent high profile cases of work place accidents involving
school children aged between 14 and 16 years of age.
- A 14 year old boy on work experience at a motor
vehicle repair garage lost his sight in one eye, after attempting to
repair a hammer
- A 16 year old girl was mauled by a dog whilst
on work experience at an animal rescue centre.
- In February, 2007, a construction company
was fined by the Health and Safety Executive after a 15 year old work
experience boy fell from scaffolding. Whilst the Company had completed
a young person’s risk assessment, this had not been forwarded to the
Site Manager, who was unaware of the youngster being on site and had
not therefore been inducted into Health and Safety procedures.
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