Careers | Catholic Life | DofE|| ​ Extra Curricular Clubs | National Citizen Service | PSHE | RSHE | Trips & Visits ​​​​​​​​​

Work Experience Information

---

 
Placement provider information (employers)

Taking on work experience students should be straightforward; It should not be about generating unnecessary paperwork.
Many employers have considerable experience of successfully employing young people or taking on work experience students.
Your existing employers' liability insurance policy will cover work placements provided your insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers, or Lloyds, so there is no need for you to obtain any additional employer's liability insurance if you take on work experience students. The ABI website confirms this.
In accordance to the guidance provided by the Government Health and Safety Executive and under health and safety law, work experience students are your employees. As such, they need treating no differently to other young people you employ. If an employer has never employed a young person (under 18) before, there are just a few steps that they need to take.

What you need to do:

• Complete the ‘Placement Provider Agreement Form’. This should have been provided by the student as either a link to our online Microsoft Form or as a hard copy. If completing a paper version of the form, this can be returned to the student who will then deliver it to the school.
• For most employers simply using your existing arrangements for assessments and management of risks to young people will be sufficient. However, we have provided some more detailed information on the next page to ensure that potential employers feel confident in providing such a valuable opportunity for our students. Please read the information to help complete the ’Placement Provider Agreement Form’.

 
Placement provider detailed information

• If you have fewer than five employees you are not required to have a written risk assessment.
• Avoid repeating your assessment of the risks if a new student is of a broadly similar level of maturity and understanding, and has no particular or additional needs (the organiser or parent should tell you if they have).
• If you do not currently employ a young person, have not done so in the last few years or are taking on a work experience student for the first time, or one with particular needs, review your risk assessment before they start.
• If in any doubt, discuss the placement in advance with All Hallows and take account of what they and the parents or carers tell you of the student's physical and psychological capacity and of any particular needs, for example due to any health conditions or learning difficulties. Please feel free to contact Luke Carney (at [email protected]) at All Hallows if you have any questions.
• Keep any additional paperwork in proportion to the environment:
  • for placements in low-risk environments, such as offices or shops, with everyday risks that will mostly be familiar to the student, your existing arrangements for other employees should suffice
  • for environments with risks less familiar to the student (eg in light assembly or packing facilities), you will need to make arrangements to manage the risks. This will need to include induction, supervision, site familiarisation, and any protective equipment needed
  • for a placement in a higher-risk environment such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing you will need to:
    • consider what work the student will be doing or observing, the risks involved and how these are managed
    • satisfy yourself that the instruction, training and supervisory arrangements have been properly thought through and that they work in practice
• You may, in particular for higher-risk environments, need to consider specific factors that must be managed for young people, including exposure to radiation, noise and vibration, toxic substances, or extreme temperatures. Where these specific factors exist in your workplace, you should already have control measures in place. This will also apply to legally required age limits on the use of some equipment and machinery (e.g. forklift trucks and some woodworking machinery). Consider whether you need to do anything further to control the risks to young people
• Explain to parents/carers of children what the significant risks are and what has been done to control them. This can be done in whatever way is simplest and suitable, including verbally, and is very often done via the school or college
• When you induct students, explain the risks and how they are controlled, checking that they understand what they have been told
• Check that students know how to raise health and safety concerns

More information about managing risks is available in Health and safety made simple.
Find out more about work experience responsibilities.
 
 
What the law says about young people at work
Under health and safety law, every employer must ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all their employees, irrespective of age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that need to be made for young people.
Abiding by the following guidance means those involved in employing young people for work or work experience will be doing what the law requires.

Definitions of young people and children by age:

• A young person is anyone under 18 and
• A child is anyone who has not yet reached the official minimum school leaving age (MSLA). Pupils will reach the MSLA in the school year in which they turn 16.

Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations
The Protection of young people provides further advice on making the necessary considerations contained within these Regulations.
Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, an employer has a responsibility to ensure that young people employed by them are not exposed to risk due to:

• lack of experience
• being unaware of existing or potential risks and/or
• lack of maturity

 
An employer must consider:

• the layout of the workplace
• the physical, biological and chemical agents they will be exposed to
• how they will handle work equipment
• how the work and processes are organised
• the extent of health and safety training needed
• risks from particular agents, processes and work

 
These considerations should be straightforward in a low-risk workplace, for example an office.
In higher- risk workplaces the risks are likely to be greater and will need more attention to ensure they're properly controlled.
Employers need to consider whether the work the young person will do:

• is beyond their physical or psychological capacity
  • This doesn't have to be complicated, it could be as simple as checking a young person is capable of safely lifting weights and of remembering and following instructions.
• involves harmful exposure to substances that are toxic, can cause cancer, can damage or harm an unborn child, or can chronically affect human health in any other way
  • Be aware of substances a young person might come into contact with in their work, consider exposure levels and ensure legal limits are met.
• involves harmful exposure to radiation
  • Ensure a young person's exposure to radiation is restricted and does not exceed the allowed dose limit.
• involves risk of accidents that cannot reasonably be recognised or avoided by young people due to their insufficient attention to safety or lack of experience or training
  • A young person might be unfamiliar with 'obvious' risks. An employer should consider the need for tailored training/closer supervision.
• has a risk to health from extreme cold, heat, noise or vibration
  • In most cases, young people will not be at any greater risk than adults and for workplaces that include these hazards it is likely there will already be control measures in place.

A child must never carry out such work involving these risks, whether they are permanently employed or under training such as work experience.
A young person (under 18), who is not a child (under 16), can carry out work involving these risks if:

• the work is necessary for their training
• the work is properly supervised by a competent person
• the risks are reduced to the lowest level, so far as reasonably practicable.

 
Providing supervision for young workers and monitoring their progress will help employers identify where additional adjustments may be needed.
Employers must let the parents or guardians of any child know the possible risks and the measures put in place to control them. This can be done in whatever way is simplest and suitable, including verbally.
An employer will already be familiar with the risks associated with their workplace and should be in a position to consider what is or is not appropriate.
Employers with fewer than five employees are not required to have a written risk assessment.
​
Other issues you need to consider
There are other agents, processes and work that should be taken into account when employing a young person. This is a non-exhaustive list and, if relevant, more information can be found through the links provided:

• biological agents
• working with chemicals
• working with lead and lead processes
• asbestos
• working with explosives, including fireworks

 
Working hours and young workers
Work Experience students should work a maximum of 8 hours a day.
More information can be found on the gov.uk website.
 

Quick Links

Alumni
St Josephs Careers Newsletters​
​Events & Opportunities
Labour Market Information
Post-16 Options
Post-18 Options
Work Experience Information​