Those who are over compulsory school age, and are 16 or 17, the law refers to as young workers. (Compulsory school age is up to the end of the academic year of their 16th birthday).
Those aged 18 or over, get the same work rights as adults.
Note; Children can work from the age of 13 years old, however it must be “light work”, they can’t do any job that may affect their health and safety or interfere with their education, for example they may do a paper round. Whilst, there is more scope for job type, there are also restrictions for those aged 14 up to school leaving age such as how long they can work and at what times of the day. These continue until they reach school leaving age and become Young Workers.
This article will focus primarily on those termed Young Workers.
Firstly, do you have the practicalities and the patience to safely and ‘properly’ employ and train a young worker?
As a young worker, there is a likelihood that you maybe their first employer / Manager and indeed it may well be their first job. This in itself presents additional general challenges in ensuring they are ‘work ready’. They may require more support than other workers and may be unfamiliar with the workplace setting / environment / culture. Some of the most successful young worker schemes involve a Buddy or Mentor type relationship which allows for further support if required. Although, many young workers adapt well to their first roles, it would be remiss to automatically hold them to the same standards as other new employees.
Secondly, are there any insurance implications? Even if you are compliant in terms of legislation relating to employing young workers, you may be subject to additional requirements or restrictions either relating to your industry, the type of work or just as part of your existing insurance policy. Therefore, it is always best to check with your insurance provider before employing a young worker.
Thirdly, even if you have the practicalities and the patience, as well as permission from your insurance provider, you must ensure you have the Controls in place to ensure you remain compliant with the specific requirements of employing a young worker. We will talk about this a little more in Question 4.
Young workers aged 16 to 17 are entitled to at least £6.40 per hour from April 1st 2024. This is a rise of 21% from £5.28 in 2023.
If you’re a registered employer, you’ll need to record and report their pay as part of running payroll. If they earn more than £123 a week, you’ll also need to do other regular PAYE tasks like making deductions.
Note: Children under 16, that is school-aged children, are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage. Children under 16 do not pay National Insurance, so you only need to include them on your payroll if their total income is over their Personal Allowance.
Whilst every workplace should have good health and safety management arrangements which protect everyone, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 (“The Management Regulations”) give employers specific responsibilities to take into consideration the vulnerability of young workers and new starters.
These are on top of the above references to the special provisions for young people in the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 (“The Working Time Amendment Regulations”), which give all workers above the minimum school leaving age rights and protections in respect of their hours of work, night work, rest from work and paid annual leave.
Under The Management Regulations, you have specific responsibilities towards young people to:
The completion of a Risk Assessment will consider aspects such as; the layout of the workplace and their specific work area; the nature, degree and duration of their exposure to physical, chemical and biological agents; the type of work equipment you want them to use; the organisation of their work; and the level of training and instruction to be given to the young person.
Your risk assessment may show that these factors together with the inexperience, immaturity and lack of awareness of the young person means that the work could not be carried out without significant risk. In such cases the young person should be prohibited from carrying out that work.
In addition, the employment of young people is strictly prohibited for work which: is beyond their physical or psychological capacity; involves harmful exposure to toxic or carcinogenic substances; causes genetic damage or harm to the unborn child; involves harmful exposure to radiation; involves the risk of accidents which it may be reasonably assumed cannot be recognised or avoided by a young person owing to their insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training; Or where there is a risk to health from: Extreme cold or heat; Noise; or Vibration.
Note; The requirement to prohibit young people from certain types of work does not apply to those who are over compulsory school leaving age and are doing work necessary for training, provided the work is carried out under supervision by a competent person and where the risk has been reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable. This is likely to be the case in many vocational training schemes such as NVQ, government training schemes and apprenticeships. Evidence of having conducted and acted upon a Risk Assessment can demonstrate that the risk has been reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
In relation to additional provisions for young workers under the Working Time Amendment Regulations,
Firstly, the total working time of a young worker is limited to: eight hours a day, or forty hours a week. These hours worked cannot be averaged out and there is no opt-out available.
However, there are limited circumstances where young workers may be able to work longer hours if they need to either:
and provided that:
Secondly, in respect of break and rest periods, young workers must receive;
Thirdly, in relation to Night Working, young workers can not ordinarily work between 10pm and 6am, but this can be changed by agreement to between 11.00 pm to 7.00 am. However, there are a few exceptions permitting night time working, such as if the work is in:
The laws around night working and night workers are very complicated, the additional requirements for Young Workers complicates his further. Similar to the above regarding total hours, young workers can work into the night if it’s crucial to their job, but only if they need to either:
Also if:
Note; Under the Working Time Regulations you are required to keep records which show whether the working time limits outlined above have been complied with for each worker that you employ. You must keep these records for two years from the date on which they were made. Where a young person works for more than one employer on a given day, his daily working time shall be determined by adding together the number of hours worked by him for each employer.
We close by again highlighting that this article focuses primarily on Young Workers (those of School leaving Age up to 18 years), although we draw attention to the differences which exist for those who have not yet reached compulsory school leaving age, whereby the regulations are further heightened and indeed more prohibitive. More information on this group can be found within the further reading section below.
Employing Young Workers is a vital tool within our economy, and provides our future pipeline of talent. Young Workers bring an alternative perspective, and fresh eyes into workplaces. Our role as employers is too build upon that, whilst ensuring a safe and positive experience for those coming through.
If you need any support with employing Young Workers, or if you have queries around your Young Worker compliance, do reach out to us.