Services for employers
Legislation
Age discrimination and the workplace
Time off for study or training
Health and Safety
When employing a young person it is possible that you will be their first employer and it is reasonable to expect that their awareness of health and safety issues in the workplace will be limited or non- existent. Therefore it is vital that you introduce the importance of health and safety at work to them from the start of their employment.
When recruiting a 16 or 17-year-old you are required by law to carry out a risk assessment of the job and workplace in which they will be working. This is done to identify any problem areas that could harm a young person.
For further information:
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Practical advice for businesses from Business Link
Information from RoSPA about employing young workers
This is the minimum amount you are required to pay an employee by law depending on age and whether or not the employee is on a recognised training programme such as an Apprenticeship.
There are three levels of minimum wage:
| £3.53 per hour |
aged 16 and 17 |
| £4.77 per hour (£4.60 from Oct 2007) |
aged 18 -21 |
£5.73 per hour |
aged 22 and over |
Employers are required to ensure full-time employed apprentices receive at least £80 per week on starting work based learning. It is strongly recommended apprentices receive incremental rises based on achievement of qualification and productivity to the organisation.
You can find information about the minimum wage on Direct Gov or by calling the national minimum wage helpline on 0845 6000 678.
Additional information can be found at:
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Equal Pay - Information from ACAS
Age discrimination and the workplace
From October 1 2006 the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations will make it unlawful to discriminate against workers, employees, job seekers and trainees because of their age.
The regulations: key points
Treating people differently on the grounds of age will only be lawful in limited circumstances. These are:
- Genuine occupational requirement. For example, a person has to be age 18 or over to serve alcohol, or an actor is required to play a character or a certain age.
- Objective justification. This allows employers to set requirements that are directly age discriminatory. You will need to provide real evidence to support any claim of objective justification. For example, fixing the minimum age for a vacancy.
- The regulations cover employment and vocational training, Apprenticeships and e2e programmes for example. This includes access to help and guidance, recruitment, promotion, development, termination, benefits and pay. The regulations cover people of all ages, old and young.
Implications for vocational training
All forms or training at further, higher and education institutions are covered.
Vocational training also includes vocational guidance, practical work experience and all types of training that would help fit the person for employment.The regulations apply to all providers across statutory, private and voluntary sectors regardless of whether they receive public funding.
Implications for employers
Recruitment, training, medical advice, pay, benefits and pensions, redundancy policy, performance appraisal.
For more information about age discrimination and the law surrounding it, visit www.acas.org.uk where you can order the useful free resource titled ”Age and the workplace; putting the employment equality (age) regulations 2006 into practice.
Giving young workers time off for study or training
Current legislation gives young people aged 16 to 17 the right to time off for study or training. This allows young workers to upgrade their qualifications to NVQ level 2, which in turn will improve their skills and help your business to be more competitive.
What does this legislation mean for employers?
Any of your employees aged 16 to 17 yet to achieve the standard of an NVQ level 2, can take reasonable paid time off work to continue their studies.
Level 2 qualifications include:
- GCSEs at grades A*-C
- an NVQ Level 2
- certain other qualifications, such as a BTEC First Diploma
TfST entitles young people to reasonable paid time off during normal working hours to study or train for an approved qualification. This must be a Level 2 qualification that will help improve their future employment prospects.
They can study in the workplace, through open learning or distance learning. However, it is most likely to be at a college or with a recognised training provider. You may be able to claim support to cover the costs of training through the Learning and Skills Council at Business Link.
Page updated: Friday September 25, 2009 10:19 AM
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