Legal compliance for industry placements
When you get to the detailed preparations for industry placements, the school, college, or training provider you work with will support you on the practicalities of:
The content in this article is for information only and does not constitute advice. It’s your responsibility, supported by your school or college, to comply with any legal duties that you might have.
Health and safety
Employers are responsible for the health and safety of students while they are on an industry placement. You must provide a safe working environment, adequate induction and suitable training.
If, for example, your business is in agriculture, construction or manufacturing it may be considered a ‘high-risk environment’.
If you use heavy or dangerous machinery, you must check that the student is old enough to use it before giving them training.
If you are the lead employer and use the ‘Supply chain and employer networks’ approach, you are responsible for ensuring that your partners and/or subcontractors have the correct health and measures in place for students. Go to the delivery guidance for more information on this and other approaches mentioned in this document.
The ‘Skills hub and employer training centre approach’ helps to address specific health and safety concerns arising from having young and inexperienced people in the workplace e.g., where they may be a potential danger to themselves, other staff, or clients, or where there is a risk of damage to property, equipment, or reputation to the business.
Ask your school or college to check that:
your existing Health and Safety policies and procedures cover placement requirements the working environment is suitable for students whether the tasks you plan to ask students to do on placement are suitable
Risk assessment
You should always complete a risk assessment before a student starts on placement. This is particularly important if you work in a high-risk sector.
If you are the lead employer and use the ‘Supply chain and employer networks’ approach, you are responsible for carrying out due diligence checks on partners and subcontractors, including risk assessments where appropriate.
If you use the ‘Hybrid (remote) placements’ approach, you should assign the student a mentor or buddy who checks their wellbeing on a regular basis.
Ask your school or college to help you:
decide if you need a new risk assessment, even if you already have one in place carry one out, if any new risks appear later learn how to report any concerns.
More guidance
For more detailed information on health and safety, insurance and safeguarding in placements, the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Young people and work experience guidance covers employer responsibilities and is also relevant to industry placements.
Insurance
If the industry placement student is doing work that is normal business practice and you already have up-to-date Employer’s Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance, then you do not need additional cover.
If you are unsure whether the work the student is doing counts as ‘normal business practice’, then you should talk to your insurance company.
Because the student will be working for you for longer than 2 weeks, you will need to notify your insurer about the placement. The risks of taking on an industry placement student are the same as taking on any other employee.
If you are the lead employer and use the ‘Supply chain and employer networks’ approach, you are responsible for ensuring that partners and subcontractors have appropriate employers’ liability insurance for the time they are hosting students in their part of the placement.
Ask your school or college to help you:
decide if you need new insurance arrange suitable cover.
More guidance
If you are in any doubt, please talk to your own insurance company.
For more detail you can review answers from the Health and Safety Executive to frequently asked questions about providing placements or employment to young people.
Safeguarding
Schools and colleges are responsible for the safeguarding and welfare of students on industry placements – but they need your cooperation.
Your school or college will:
Check your business has policies and procedures in place to protect children from harm this may include a site visit
- be in regular contact with you and the student throughout the placement, to check that the student feels safe
- design the placement with you to avoid situations where adult staff members are on their own with placement students, in closed or isolated working environments
- advise you whether a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check or enhanced Disclosure and Barring Services check is needed on members of staff supervising students (includes freelance and sub-contracted staff).
A basic DBS check (for which there is a fee payable) is a criminal record check and will contain details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974
An enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information also shows details of spent convictions, certain information held by the police and details of whether the applicant is on the list of people barred from doing the role and can only be made when the individual is working in a regulated activity. This may include training in a workplace setting for children under 16 if (a) the person providing the training is unsupervised and (b) satisfies the frequency requirement.
It does not include training in a workplace setting for children who are aged 16 or over. help you arrange DBS checks – they may also be able to help with the costs.
An education provider may choose to ask a line manager or supervisor to undergo a basic DBS check if they feel this is necessary, in situations such as:
- where the student may be vulnerable (special needs, someone who is in care/has a care plan)
- where the student is likely to be regularly alone with the adult as part of their work
- where the placement has a residential component.
This is not a legal requirement, but can be requested at the discretion of the education provider.
Employers do not generally need to carry out an enhanced DBS with children’s barred list information on members of staff supervising young people aged 16 or 17.. However, where a student has a need for personal or health care due to a disability, the person providing that personal or health care may be required to obtain an enhanced DBS check.
A student may need an enhanced DBS check with children’s barred list information before starting an industry placement in certain sectors - for example, in the health care and early years sector where the employer would need to check that the student is not barred from regulated activity relating to children or vulnerable adults.
Prevent initiative
Schools and colleges have a legal duty to take steps to prevent students being drawn into terrorism and reduce the possibility of radicalisation. This is done through the Prevent initiative. They are responsible for doing this during placements – and they need you to cooperate.
Your school or college will tell you:
how you and any of your staff involved in placements can become aware of the risks how to report any concerns to them
More guidance
If you are the lead employer and use the ‘Supply chain and employer networks’ approach, you are responsible for the student throughout the full placement, including students’ safeguarding and welfare during the time they are working with a partner or subcontractor.
Equality
Employers and schools, colleges, and providers must comply with their obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Providers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled students to enable them to commence and perform their industry placements without substantial disadvantage in comparison with students who are not disabled.
Employers should consider the reasonable adjustments required by students with special needs and disabilities.
Relevant information about a student’s disability and needs should be shared by the provider with the employer with the student’s consent.
The provider, employer and student should discuss and arrange reasonable adjustments before the industry placement commences.
More guidance
Data access and security
Your normal data and cyber-security policies and procedures will apply to industry placement students.
Your organisation is responsible for complying with data protection legislation if it handles personal data. This includes students handling data on a placement.
You will be supported by your school or college to consider how to:
balance the need to give students a good range of tasks, while limiting access to data or secure areas think about the risk of students mishandling personal data or confidential information, before giving them a task which involves this give students clear guidance and training on handling data or sensitive information
More guidance
To refer to a copy of the Information Commissioners Office employment practices code on data, see the Employment practices code.
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