Children in the Workplace

Introduction

This policy has been developed to provide clarity regarding the presence of children and young people in the workplace while maintaining a professional environment.

Leuchie is committed to supporting employees with caring responsibilities and acknowledges the importance of helping employees balance their professional responsibilities with their caring responsibilities by offering a range of flexible working and leave policies. 

Leuchie recognises that there are a wide variety of circumstances in which children (under the age of 16 years) and young people (aged 16-18 years) may come onto our sites as visitors and we have a legal duty of care for the health, safety and welfare of our employees, guests and other visitors, including children and young people, using our premises.

Scope

This policy is for all employees, guests, volunteers, and visitors to Leuchie House.

Children in the workplace

Leuchie House premises are not designed to accommodate children and the precautions in place to control risks for employees and guests are unlikely to be appropriate for children.

In some circumstances, visits by children to workplaces may be beneficial and/or necessary. Circumstances in which it is normally safe or appropriate to allow children to visit are:

• for the purpose of breastfeeding 
• to attend events organised by Leuchie where risk assessments have been conducted to identify any significant risks associated with planned activities and foreseeable incidents 
• attend school organised work experience or planned visits periods whereby identifiable risks have been assessed and safe working procedures have been applied

In all other situations, the presence of children at Leuchie House or any other associated site should only occur exceptionally, in low risk work areas, where their presence does not disrupt the normal operations of employees and for brief periods of time.

 Examples include: 

• social visits by a parent, carer or guardian with newborn babies or young children to speak to work colleagues 
• accompanying their parent, carer or guardian to specific events, not involving hazardous activities, areas or equipment as risk assessed by the Health and Safety Officer.

If an employee is in a difficult and unforeseen situation that necessitates their child being present in the workplace, the child’s presence must be agreed with the Head of Department or CEO. This does not, for example, include reasonably foreseeable events such as school holidays.

Children must not be brought into the workplace for extended or frequent periods, or as an alternative to making proper arrangements for their care, which include flexible working arrangements including emergency unpaid leave. 

Children must not be brought into work if they are not well enough to attend school for however brief a period of time. 

Responsibilities

In the event that children are brought into the workplace in line with the provisions detailed above, the parent, carer or guardian is fully responsible for the behaviour and actions of the child or children whilst on Leuchie premises and is responsible for exercising sufficient supervision to prevent any hazardous situation from arising. 

The parent, carer or guardian should ensure that: 

• they are fully supervised by a responsible adult for the time they are in the workplace 
• Leuchie Health & Safety rules are adhered to at all times 
• the time the child or children are in the workplace is kept to a minimum 
• regardless of their age, children are not left alone under any circumstances 
• children are not allowed to disrupt the normal operation of the workplace, the work of colleagues and are not to come into contact with guests
• children do not use any equipment including computer equipment, except when taking part in an official activity, such as a work placement 
• appropriate Safeguarding arrangements must be considered 

The CEO or other appropriate senior manager can instruct the parent, carer or guardian to remove the child or children immediately from the workplace if they have any concerns about the safety or supervision of the child or children, or if their presence is causing a distraction for others. 

High risk areas

Unless on an organised work experience programme or work placement, Open Day event or other activity that has been adequately risk assessed by the event organiser, children must not be allowed to enter high risk areas including: 

• areas where hazardous activities are being undertaken, including refurbishments or construction 
• areas where hazardous equipment, tools or machinery is accessible
• areas where hazardous substances, covered by COSHH regulations are being used or stored
• areas where their presence may cause harm to the child or children such as kitchens

Links to other documents

Flexible Working Policy

Special Leave Policy

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Risk Assessment

 

Leuchie House – Team Members Children in the Workplace (Event) Risk Assessment 

 

Completed by: (H&S Officer)  Date: 

 

H&S Officer signature: Parent/Guardian signature:

 

Hazard	Persons at risk	Risks	Controls	Further controls required	Risks suitably controlled?
Stairways, bannisters, and lifts	Children.	Slips, trips & falls  Entrapment in the bannisters and/or the lifts
Fire alarm / emergency event	Children.  Team members.  All visitors to the house.	Death  Children become lost from parent/guardian.  Child not evacuated at earliest opportunity.
Reduced productivity or other team members feeling it unfair that children were allowed to visit.	Children.  Team members.	Other team members being disgruntled feeling it unfair that not all team members children were invited
Hot drinks and electrical sockets.	Children	Scalds.
Guest. equipment/powered wheelchairs.	Children.  Leuchie guests.	Injury to child.  Injury to Guest.  Damage to equipment resulting in costs and equipment out of use.
Traffic/vehicles in the car park and drive	Children	Death.   Injury from vehicle impact.  Lack of awareness, unaware of dangers.
Cleaning products	Children	Poisoning.   Lack of awareness, unaware of dangers.