Employers

Your responsibilities as an employer.

Young people are more likely than their older colleagues to get hurt in the workplace. It could happen to one of your employees, even on their first day at work.

By law, as an employer you have a responsibility to protect the young people who work for you. You must carry out risk assessments and act on their results. You need to give young people the training and supervision that they need, provide them with protective equipment and safeguards, and give them work that is appropriate for them.

By law, every workplace should have a good health and safety management system, which protects everyone. But as an employer you have to pay particular attention to the needs of young workers. Steps to keep young people safe will help to protect all of your employees, and good health and safety protection will help you develop a reputation as a good employer.

It is your responsibility to:

• carry out a risk assessment before young people start work (including casual workers, as well as young people on vocational training or work experience placements)
• put in place arrangements for keeping young people safe, based on the risk assessment
• make sure that young workers have the supervision they need
• decide whether young people need to be prevented from doing certain kinds of work, or entering certain areas 
• provide information on the risks that young people face in their jobs, and the steps you have taken to deal with them
• give young workers the training that they need to do their jobs safely (including training in spotting and dealing with risks, and what to do in an emergency)
• make sure that vulnerable groups, such as young workers with special needs, are protected
• consult with young workers and their representatives on health and safety issues, including the arrangements you have made for young people.
  

Special rules apply for workers who are under 18 years of age.

The information on this site will help you to understand your responsibilities in more detail, and help you provide the right kind of protection for the young people who work for you.

To find out more about your legal obligations as an employer, see the Council Directive 94/33/EC on the protection of young people at work. This Directive sets minimum legal standards across the EU - it is important also to check the national laws that apply to you.

Where you can get help

There are a number of other sources of advice on keeping young workers safe. Your national health and safety authorities, trade unions and trade associations can all help you protect the young people in your care.