Exposure to extremes of cold or heat carry risks for employees of all ages.
Exposure to extreme heat carries risks of collapse due to heat exhaustion or potentially fatal heat stroke. Protective clothing may prevent the body losing heat. Heat stress occurs when the body’s means of controlling its internal temperature starts to fail.
Young people control body temperature in the same way as adults. Their response to work in hot conditions will depend on physical fitness, physique and past experience of hot conditions (which will vary from person to person).
In extremes of cold, people have varying abilities to tolerate the conditions. The risks are principally hypothermia and local cold injury (frostnip or frostbite).
You should:
There is no evidence that young people face a greater risk of damaged hearing from exposure to noise than other employees.
If you comply with the Noise at Work Regulations you will be protecting the hearing of most young people. The aim of the Regulations is to ensure that workers' hearing is protected from excessive noise at their place of work, which could cause them to lose their hearing and/or to suffer from tinnitus (permanent ringing in the ears). You are advised to provide suitable hearing protection where the daily personal noise exposure of young people exceeds 80 decibels (A weighted). You should ensure that a competent person supervises the wearing of ear protection to ensure that it is worn properly during exposure to loud noise.
There is no evidence that young people face a greater risk of developing hand-arm vibration syndrome from exposure to hand-arm vibration than other employees.
Hand-arm vibration syndrome includes vibration white finger and damage to sensory nerves, muscles and joints.
However, during adolescence there is an increased risk of non-occupational Raynaud’s Disease, which can give similar symptoms to vibration white finger. Young people with non-occupational Raynaud’s Disease should not be exposed to hand-arm vibration.
You should take action to protect employees when exposure to vibration exceeds an acceleration of 2.5 metres per second squared (m/s2). However HSE recognises that there may be some risks to health even below this level.
To avoid risks to young people, you will need to consider a risk control programme including:
Regular exposure to shocks low-frequency whole-body vibration, eg driving or riding in off-road vehicles on uneven surfaces, or excessive movement may be associated with back pain and other spinal disorders. Younger people may be at greater risk of damage to the spine as the strength of their muscles is still developing and their bones do not fully mature until around the age of 25 years.
You should take action to protect employees when exposure to vibration exceeds an acceleration of 0.5 metres per second squared (m/s2).
To avoid risks to young people, you will need to consider a risk control programme including:
Noise at work: A brief guide to controlling the risks
Heat stress in the workplace. What you need to know as an employer
The right start
Work experience for young people: Health and safety basics for employers
Health and safety training: A brief guide
Health and safety of children and young people in catering
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