As the Easter holidays approach, the NFU’s farm safety adviser, Tom Price, has some timely guidance on children in the workplace. He writes:
The reason that children are excluded from work places is because they do not appreciate hazards and risks; they can be both physically and mentally immature.
Children are usually excluded from workplaces even if accompanied by their parent, family member or other close relative or friend.
Child care arrangements are difficult and expensive to arrange as lots of working parents in other industries know but taking them to work is not the answer.
Why? The answer is because it is difficult to safely supervise children when doing work that requires close attention. Every year children are injured and sometimes tragically killed in accidents on farm that could have been prevented.
Learning through experience is something that should be encouraged but it should be planned and under direct supervision. Children can watch farm activities when:
- The task itself is not inherently dangerous
- The person doing the task is not the same as the person supervising the child
- The child is kept in a safe place
What can be done?
- There should be a clear differentiation between working areas and areas that may be part of the home
- Children should have a safe, secure and supervised play area away from the farm to prevent them straying into hazards such as vehicle movements, livestock and other risks
- Children should not be involved in farm work activities
- If children are taken in to the workplace they must be fully supervised by an adult that is not involved in any aspect of the tasks being undertaken
Remember it is illegal for any child under the age of 13 years to drive a tractor or self-propelled machine, or to ride in the cab of any tractor or agricultural machine, or on farm equipment.
Remember everyone working on farm or visiting a farm must be made aware that children may be unexpectedly present and that they know to stop work until the child has been returned to a safe area.