Young workers

They may be more at risk from individual factors such as inexperience and/or organisational factors, such as inadequate or lack of training, orientation and supervision, lack of awareness of workplace rights and responsibilities, or lack of preparation and understanding of their work environment.

IOSH advocates for organisations to ensure they manage the variable risks to the safety of young people at work and promote the importance of risk education, training and supervision for young people in work. We believe good working conditions throughout working lives benefits workers, businesses and society.

The facts

• The United Nations defines “youth” as anyone between the ages of 15 and 24. According to the ILO, globally 541 million young workers (between the ages of 15 and 24) account for 15 per cent of the world’s labour force. Please note, the definition of young workers differs across different countries. For example, in the UK, young workers are defined as under the age of 18.  

• The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work reported that young people in Europe are up to 40 per cent more likely to suffer a work-related injury than older workers.  

• Another EU-OSHA study found that a significant proportion of young workers are in temporary positions, working irregular hours or atypical employment forms, and part-time work is increasing among young workers. 

• Improving the safety and health of young workers can contribute to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, as well as Target 8.8 on ‘safe and secure working environments for all workers by 2030’, and Target 8.7 on ‘ending all forms of child labour by 2025’. 

Our position

There are many specific health and safety risks which are particular to young workers. It is crucial businesses manage them to protect not only such young workers, but their older colleagues and the sustainability of the organisation itself. 

Young workers are still developing physically, mentally, and emotionally. They are particularly vulnerable as they face unfamiliar risks in new surroundings and may not have reached their full physical capability. They may yet need to develop the psychological capability to understand and manage – or even gain awareness of – risk. 

They may be more at risk due to either individual factors and/or organisational factors and many young workers are part of temporary working arrangements. It is the informality, instability and non-standard forms of such work which increases the vulnerability of young workers. 

IOSH advocates for organisations to ensure they manage the specific health and safety risks posed to young workers and the promote of risk education, training and supervision for young people in work. Employers need to be part of this process by recognising the additional protection(s) those young workers might require, particularly in relation to their physical and psychological capacity.  

We believe good working conditions throughout working lives benefit workers, businesses and society.  

IOSH believes that younger workers can be a key asset contributing towards the innovation, improvement and sustainability of business policies and practices in designing and improving work tasks and working environments. In this scenario, health and safety professionals can act as facilitators by communicating, training and educating occupational safety and health effectively. This means they can reach and engage with increasing numbers of younger workers, regardless of their competence, education or cultural background.