Risk assessments young persons

Employers have an absolute duty to make suitable and sufficient assessment of health and safety risks, including risks from fire. They must take into account employees and others who may be affected by their work activities. The purpose of the risk assessment is for the employer to be able to ascertain what they have to do to comply with their legal obligations. Particular attention has to be given to assess risks where young persons (that is, people under 18 years of age) may be at risk. This regulation also requires employers to record the results of risk assessments and to review risk assessments. 

There are several groups of persons who require an additional risk assessment due to their being more at risk than other groups. Three such groups will be considered - young persons, expectant and nursing mothers and disabled workers. 

Sub-contractors must advise the site manager of any employees under the age of 18 and provide a copy of their assessment of the risks specific to young persons. 

Any persons who supervise the use of work equipment should also receive information, instruction and training. The training of young persons is especially important with the need for special risk assessments under the Management Regulations. 

They state that an employer who employs a young person shall, in carrying out a risk assessment take particular accoimt of the following factors ... 

An employer will therefore be required to complete a full assessment of risks prior to young persons undertaking work. 

The Order also identifies requirements relating to assessing the risks arising from the presence of dangerous substances (see Chapter 14) and risks in relation to young persons. 

The assessment must take account of the particular risks to the health and safety of young persons and to new or expectant mothers or their babies. 

When considering employing a young person the responsible person must include particular aspects in his risk assessment [9(5)] such as their inexperience and lack of maturity, the type and extent of training, degree of exposure to risk, the activities and premises that they may be undertaking their work in [Schedule 1 Part ]. 

The approach to measure quality of life has been developed by questionnaire to measure what the subject perceives as personal health. The assessments are being refined to provide improved assessment of the benefits and risks of medicines to the individual and to society. The challenge is to ensure that these are sufficiently robust to make resource allocation decisions between, for example the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, the old and the young, as well as between groups of patients having very different diseases. Plainly, quality of life is a major aspect of what is called outcomes research. 

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