Health and Safety
Executive / Commission
Young people
Children aged 13 years may be employed by their parents or guardians in light agricultural or horticultural work, if authorised by and subject to the provisions of relevant local by-laws.
(1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this regulation no person shall cause or permit a child to ride on a-
machine or agricultural implement drawn by an animal,
while it is being used in the course of agricultural operations or is going to or from the site of such operations.
(2) Paragraph (1) of this regulation shall not apply to a trailer in circumstances where the child rides -
and where it possesses adequate means for preventing the child’s falling from it.
No person shall cause or permit a child to drive a tractor, or self propelled vehicle or machine while it is being used in the course of agricultural operations or is going to or from the site of such operations.
Children under 13 years are prohibited from riding on most types of agricultural machines. The exception is riding on the floor of a trailer, or on a load carried by the trailer with adequate means, such as edge protection, to prevent the child falling from it.
A child is not permitted to drive a tractor, or self-propelled vehicle or machine such as an all terrain vehicle (ATV) while it is being used in the course of agricultural operations or is going to or from the site of such operations.
These case studies provide some useful insights into the dangers that can face children in the agricultural sector.
A risk assessment must be carried out before the young person starts work.
Situations where children and young people are particularly at risk are listed below. Also identified are tasks and operations that are too hazardous for children and young people to undertake. These are based on assessments of the inherent risks associated with the tasks, and analysis of accident statistics.
You must take into account the young person’s lack of experience, limited awareness of risks, and physical and mental immaturity.
A young person aged 13 or over should not be permitted to drive a tractor or self-propelled machine unless:
A young person aged 13 or over should not be permitted to ride an all terrain vehicle [PDF 40kb] (ATV) unless:
Also you must ensure that:
There are certain types of machine which have a high level of risk due to the components involved, complex control systems, the substances used in them or the specialist knowledge required to operate them safely.
Young people of CSA should be prohibited from driving, or operating the following:
This list is not exhaustive. In addition they should not be allowed to help operate, maintain or clean these machines (unless the machine and its component parts are stationary, isolated and the keys have been removed) or any machinery of a similar nature or with similar risks.
Examples of machines and operations that may be suitable for young people include:
Children under the age of 13 are prohibited from riding on most types of agricultural machines. The exception is riding on the floor of a trailer, or on a load carried by the trailer with adequate means, such as edge protection, to prevent them falling from it.
Children under the age of 13 are prohibited from riding on most types of agricultural machines. The exception is riding on the floor of a trailer, or on a load carried by the trailer with adequate means, such as edge protection, to prevent the child falling from it.
A young person of CSA should not be allowed to ride on any tractor or trailer except:
A child should never be allowed to ride on a trailer when materials are being loaded onto it and the trailer is in motion.
Contact with machinery and being struck by moving machines is a major cause of accidents to children and young people on farms. To reduce the risk of accidents, you need to assess the situation and apply the appropriate control measures.
Where vehicles are moving around the farm and the risk of contact with children and young people is high, you should make arrangements to prevent them having access to that part of the farm. The most effective way of preventing access is to erect fencing or barriers.
In the very few cases where this is not practicable, you should consider the following options:
Where practicable, drivers of vehicles also need to be made aware of, and follow, these simple precautions:
Machine operators should do their best to keep children and young people away from the machines and the area they are working in. If a child or young person enters an area from which they should be excluded, operators should stop work until it is safe to continue and report the incident to the employer or parent if appropriate.
Children and young people living or working on the farm need to be told about the hazardous areas from which they are excluded, the hazards from moving vehicles and other dangers they need to look out for. Children visiting the farm, and if appropriate their parents, also need the hazards and precautions explained to them.
Many deaths of children and young people on farms result from asphyxiation, including drowning. These accidents occur when they gain entry to areas such as:
To prevent this type of accident you need to stop children and young people getting into such areas. Think about the possible ways you can do this. Do not underestimate their ability to get into seemingly inaccessible places, or their curiosity, and do not assume that because an adult would not wish to enter, the same applies to a child.
If your risk assessment indicates this is a problem, you should consider the following precautions:
Children and young people’s natural curiosity often leads them to get into the upper levels of buildings and high structures such as silos and stacks of bales. As a result, many injuries are caused by falling.
The most effective way to prevent this type of accident is to restrict children and young people’s ability to enter these structures. Make fixed ladders inaccessible by blanking the rungs (eg by securing a scaffolding plank across them), or pull the ladder out of reach. Remove portable ladders so that they cannot be used to enter hazardous areas.
Children can be killed or injured by objects such as wheels or gates falling on them. In some cases the objects would not seriously harm adults, so it is easy to overlook the risks they pose to children.
Secure, or lay flat, heavy items of machinery and equipment which could fall, so they cannot injure children.
Where stacks of bales, pallets or timber are stored, take precautions to prevent children gaining access. If fencing is impractical (eg when cordwood is stacked in a forest), the stack should be built so it cannot collapse.
Animals do not need to be aggressive to seriously harm or even kill a child. A playful bull, cow, sheep or pig has the potential to cause serious injury. Animals can also carry diseases which can be passed to humans (zoonoses). These include diseases such as Orf ( Contagious pustular dermatitis) , which causes skin lesions, and E coli 0157, which may cause serious diarrhoea or death.
The most effective way of reducing the risk to children from animals is to keep children away from them, or to allow contact only when they are under the direct supervision of an adult.
Children should not be allowed to enter, even when accompanied by an adult, enclosed pens housing the following animals:
There may be good educational and developmental reasons for encouraging children and young people to have contact with animals. In some circumstances you may wish to allow children to enter enclosed yards housing the following animals. This should only be permitted if the children are under the direct supervision of an adult and the animals are not accompanied by newborn young:
To limit the risk of children being affected by zoonotic diseases, the following precautions should be taken:
Although young people and children are not at any greater risk than adults from hazardous substances such as dusts, it is unlikely they will have the maturity to comply with the necessary control measures such as wearing respiratory protective equipment (RPE).
Young people and children should be prohibited from working with veterinary medicines and pesticides. All hazardous substances kept on the farm must be securely locked away at all times unless the substances are directly and continually supervised.
It is advisable to restrict young people from those work areas where it is not possible to control hazardous substances by other means than RPE.
Children are most at risk from fire on farms when they are playing on stacks of hay or straw. They will make dens in the stacks, which can catch fire, either from the children setting light to them, or from natural causes.
Check for evidence of children playing around, in, or burrowing under stacks. If you see signs of such activity, take appropriate action to prevent it from happening again. In some cases it may be necessary to fence off the area, or contact parents and ask them to keep their children away.