Employing children in your business or organisation
Child employment licence holders must assess and manage the potential risks to children they employ and comply with Child Safe Standards.
Consider the child's age and attributes when identifying and managing risks. Workplace risks for children may be different to those for adult employees.
Complete a risk assessment
Identify potential hazards
List all the possible risks to children from the work, including potential risks to their mental health. This may include doing a walk-through of the actual workplace with others to identify hazards and speaking to staff.
Assess risks
The likelihood and consequence of harm occurring to a child will be different in each workplace. This means there may be different management controls.
A risk matrix and risk control plan can help identify, analyse and manage risks. Further information about risk assessment is available from WorkSafe. Employers can choose the way they document and communicate risks in their business.
Control risks
Make a list of controls and undertake associated actions to prevent and manage risks. Include who in the workplace is responsible. Develop an ongoing plan for continued risk management.
The plan may include tasks for different staff, but the child employment licence holder has overall responsibility for the child’s safety and wellbeing.
Review
Develop a process for checking existing hazards are being managed and new ones can be identified. Best practice controls should be implemented where possible.
Light work
Children can only complete ‘light work’, meaning work that is not likely to be harmful to their health or wellbeing. This also applies to children working in their family's business.
Unless risks are effectively managed, the following are examples of what is not considered light work:
- Repetitive bending, twisting or lifting
- Manually lifting heavy items
- Working with or near hot cooking equipment or food/ liquid
- Working with or near dangerous equipment like knives, blades or power tools or broken glass or crockery
- Working near moving vehicles
- Working at heights
- Working with or near uncontrolled animals
- Working in extreme weather conditions.
Light work is assessed case by case, as every child is different.
Example hazards and controls
This table lists potential hazards to children employed in food and hospitality. The controls listed are a guide only.
| Example hazard | Potential impacts to child | Potential controls (supervision in all situations) |
| Hot equipment, food and liquids | Burns Heat stress | Isolate children away from these areas/ equipment Training (in appropriate circumstances) |
| Sharp equipment such as knives and blades | Cuts and other injuries | Isolate children away from these areas |
| Unsteady work environments (such as uneven or slippery floors) | Slips, trips, falls, grazes, other injuries | Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Work area safety walk-throughs |
| Manual handling (lifting, bending etc) | Variety of injuries | Training, assisted tasks, signage |
| Exposure to chemicals | Chemical burns Breathing impacts Eye and skin irritations | Isolate children from products PPE Using diluted products (Material Safety Data Sheets followed) |
| Other unsafe work environments (e.g. poor lighting, non-compliant structures) | Variety of injuries | Buildings, fittings and on-site equipment are compliant and checked, maintained and serviced as required |
| Extreme conditions (including non-compliant working hours or insufficient breaks) | Fatigue, exhaustion, dehydration, exposure | Required rest breaks PPE Controlled environments (adequate heating and cooling) Access to hydration |
| Aggressive colleagues or customers | Mental health Intimidation and fear Personal safety | Process for handling internal and external unacceptable behaviour Security cameras Signage for staff and customers Shift debriefs Access to phone to call 000 |
| Uncontrolled/ aggressive animals | Bites and other injuries Fear | Adequate animal restraints and handlers Areas of restriction between animals and children Signage for those with animals |
Further information about hazards in these settings is available from WorkSafe.
Contact us
If you have further questions about child employment, call us on 1800 287 287.
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