I have been working in the racing industry for more than 20 years as a Safety Practitioner and Expert Witness. What follows is based on my experience and advice to clients during that time.

I once dealt with a life changing workplace accident involving a 17-year-old worker who had been left alone by her employer for the day. At the trail it was shown that the employer had failed to provide a safe place of work. The court found that the employer had not considered the worker as a young person and therefore found the employer, in all respects, liable.

In most jurisdictions, a young person is, for reasons of safety, someone working or receiving work experience in the workplace and who has not yet reached their 18^th Birthday. This includes part time work or a so called ‘Saturday job’.

The employer’s primary responsibility is for the health and safety of those at work. In most jurisdictions there is separate legislation aimed at protecting young people. The legislation recognises that young people do not have the same level of physical or mental maturity expected of an ‘adult’. Employers are required to account for these factors in risk assessment and safe systems of work.

Those who accept young people for work experience must make provision for safety and should have clear parameters on what the work experience will consist of.

Employers must always be mindful that the liability for employing young people and for accepting them on work experience ultimately rests with them. Therefore, they must ensure that employment and work experience for young people is covered by their employer’s liability insurance.

Employers should provide suitable induction, training, and a higher level of supervision.

Safe systems must be appropriate, employers should consider, for example, the following as part of their safety management process:

• Avoiding work with horses which are known to be difficult, or which require expert handling
• Avoid manual handling beyond the young person’s individual capacity
• Avoiding excessively noisy work or work which creates excessive vibration (yard blowers for example)
• Avoiding exposure to X-Rays
• Avoiding contact with hazardous chemicals (equine pharmaceuticals, pesticides, high levels of dust)
• Avoid driving vehicles or operating powered machinery

There is a recognition that some young people are more mature than others. It is possible, in some circumstances, for the employer to give the young person greater responsibility, however when this occurs the added responsibility should be formally rationalised and recorded. Employing young people in our ‘high risk’ industry can be complex and fraught with pitfalls, employers may therefore be wise to seek professional advice before employing young people for the first time.