The government is relaxing the health & safety regulations businesses have to follow to take on people doing work experience.
Plans to cut through “crazy cornucopia” of work-experience rules
Ministers have outlined plans to make it easier for employers to take on work-experience students, with new guidance issued by both the HSE and Ofsted on the health and safety responsibilities of education providers and employers providing student placements.
The Government recognises that work-placement arrangements are too often seen as bureaucratic and burdensome, and ultimately deter potential employers from taking young people on.
In an effort to encourage more work-experience placements, the Government has published an open letter to employers, in which five ministers – including Business Secretary Vince Cable MP and Employment minister Mark Hoban MP – pledged to bring to an end to this kind of health and safety bureaucracy.
The HSE has issued revised guidance on employers' obligations in relation to risk assessments. The advice makes it clear that if workplace risk has already been assessed with young people in mind, a business does not need to repeat this for each new student.
Ofsted points out that while it is not a health and safety authority, its inspectors have a duty to take prompt and proportionate action and to report significant health and safety risks affecting learners when these are identified. In particular, Ofsted inspectors will consider the attention that is paid to the quality and safety of learning resources, and the health and safety arrangements to protect staff and learners.
Insurers have also committed to treat work-experience students as employees for the purposes of insurance against bodily injury, and confirmed that the provision of work-experience opportunities for students will not, in itself, impact on premiums.
John Wastnage, head of employment and skills at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Employers are willing to invest time and resources in educating young people about the workplace, but many such opportunities are currently blocked owing to risk-averse attitudes on all sides.
SHP
Plans to cut through “crazy cornucopia” of work-experience rules
Ministers have outlined plans to make it easier for employers to take on work-experience students, with new guidance issued by both the HSE and Ofsted on the health and safety responsibilities of education providers and employers providing student placements.
The Government recognises that work-placement arrangements are too often seen as bureaucratic and burdensome, and ultimately deter potential employers from taking young people on.
In an effort to encourage more work-experience placements, the Government has published an open letter to employers, in which five ministers – including Business Secretary Vince Cable MP and Employment minister Mark Hoban MP – pledged to bring to an end to this kind of health and safety bureaucracy.
The HSE has issued revised guidance on employers' obligations in relation to risk assessments. The advice makes it clear that if workplace risk has already been assessed with young people in mind, a business does not need to repeat this for each new student.
Ofsted points out that while it is not a health and safety authority, its inspectors have a duty to take prompt and proportionate action and to report significant health and safety risks affecting learners when these are identified. In particular, Ofsted inspectors will consider the attention that is paid to the quality and safety of learning resources, and the health and safety arrangements to protect staff and learners.
Insurers have also committed to treat work-experience students as employees for the purposes of insurance against bodily injury, and confirmed that the provision of work-experience opportunities for students will not, in itself, impact on premiums.
John Wastnage, head of employment and skills at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Employers are willing to invest time and resources in educating young people about the workplace, but many such opportunities are currently blocked owing to risk-averse attitudes on all sides.
SHP
