Securing work placements for students is a fantastic way to prepare them for their future careers. While the legalities can seem daunting, a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities involved for schools, employers, and parents or guardians makes the process manageable. This guide provides a summary of the key legal obligations and best practices for running a placements program, with a focus on UK law.
Note: This guide provides a general overview of legal considerations for work experience placements in the UK. It is not legal advice. Responsibility for compliance rests with schools, colleges, and employers, who should always check the latest government guidance.
Understanding Roles and Responsibilities
When it comes to the health and safety of a student on a work placement, the responsibilities are distributed among several parties.
Placement Provider (Employer): The employer has the primary responsibility for the student's health and safety. The student is considered a temporary employee, so the company's standard Risk Assessment (RA), Health & Safety (H&S) policies, and insurance should be sufficient, as long as they're adapted to account for a young person who may be unfamiliar with a workplace environment.
School/College: The school or college's role is to take reasonable steps to ensure the employer is acting responsibly. This includes verifying that the employer has appropriate policies and insurance in place. This duty of care does not mean the school is responsible for every aspect of the student's safety while on placement.
Parents/Guardians: For students under 18, parents or guardians must give their consent for the student to participate in the placement.
Common Placement Misconceptions
There are many myths that can deter schools from running their own placement programs. It's important to understand the facts to avoid unnecessary complications.
You don't need a specialist qualification to approve a work experience placement. Staff do not need professional accreditation to oversee placements.
In-person checks aren't necessary for every placement. A school's responsibility is to take reasonable steps to ensure a safe environment, which can often be done by reviewing the company's policies and procedures. In-person visits should be reserved for higher-risk settings, such as environments involving machinery, laboratory work, or placements for students with special needs.
A criminal records check (DBS check) isn't always required for an employer hosting a placement lasting longer than three days. The need for a DBS check depends on specific conditions, such as whether the student will be unsupervised with an adult and is under 16.
Using a third party isn't a legal requirement. By following proper procedures and due diligence, schools can safely manage their own placement programs without putting themselves or their students at risk.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding refers to the measures taken to protect young people from abuse or harm. Employers have a duty to keep students safe and to know how to respond to and report any concerns.
Sharing information: Schools should provide employers with information on how to handle safeguarding concerns during the placement, including contact details for the school's designated safeguarding person.
Professional conduct: Adults who directly interact with young people on placement should be mature and professional. Physical contact should be avoided unless absolutely necessary for a task, such as demonstrating how to operate machinery.
Reporting: Employers must immediately notify the school's placement coordinator if a student is absent, has an accident, or commits a serious act of indiscipline.
Responding to disclosures: If a student discloses personal information that raises concerns for their safety, the adult should listen without judgment, avoid promising secrecy, and immediately pass the information to the school's placement coordinator.
For more detailed guidance, refer to the UK government's statutory guidance, "Keeping children safe in education," which can be found here.
Insurance
Employers' Liability Insurance (ELI) is the key type of insurance for work placements. It protects an employer against claims of injury or illness from employees. In the UK and many other countries, students on placement are legally considered employees for insurance purposes.
Legal Requirement: ELI is a legal requirement for most employers in the UK.
Coverage: A standard ELI policy from an insurer that is a member of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) or Lloyds typically covers students on placement, but it's always best practice for the employer to check their policy documents.
Exemptions: Some organisations, such as sole traders (with certain exceptions), public bodies, and family businesses where all employees are closely related, may be exempt from needing ELI.
For more information on ELI and exemptions, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides a comprehensive guide on their website.
Risk Assessment and Health & Safety Policy
Employers are responsible for creating and maintaining a safe working environment. This is documented through a Risk Assessment (RA) and a Health & Safety (H&S) Policy.
Risk Assessment: An RA is a systematic process to identify hazards, assess the level of risk, and determine the necessary control measures. While businesses with fewer than five employees are not legally required to have a written RA, it is considered best practice. The RA should be updated to account for a young person who may be less experienced in the workplace.
Health & Safety Policy: The H&S policy outlines how the employer manages health and safety, specifying who is responsible for what. The RA is a component of this policy.
Fire Risk Assessment: In England, all workplaces must have a written fire risk assessment. Other UK countries have similar legal requirements.
Here are some helpful resources from the UK government and HSE:
Data Protection (GDPR)
Schools, employers, and any third-party tools like Morrisby must comply with data protection laws. This means:
Holding data securely.
Only using and storing the minimum amount of data required.
Restricting access to only those who need it.
Obtaining and respecting consent from the individual whose data is being processed.
You can find detailed information on data protection laws from the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO's website is the authoritative source for information on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Utilising a Placements Tool like Morrisby
Tools like Morrisby can simplify the administrative burden for schools by providing a structured framework to ensure all legal duties are met. These tools typically:
Provide forms to collect and verify information from employers, such as insurance details, safeguarding information, adherence to GDPR H&S policies, and risk assessments.
Offer guidance to employers to help them create a safe and effective placement.
Facilitate consent by making it easy for parents or guardians to agree to the placement.
For schools and colleges, using a dedicated tool helps them demonstrate that they have taken "reasonable steps" to fulfil their duty of care.
Family-Hosted Placements
When a family member hosts a student for a work placement as part of a school program, the school's duty of care remains the same. The host is still a placement provider and should follow the same procedures regarding insurance, H&S policies, and safeguarding as any other employer. The administrative process should be run through the same system (e.g., Morrisby) to ensure all checks are performed.
This is especially important to remember for:
Employers' Liability Insurance (ELI): Unless a family business's employees are all closely related, and the company is not a limited company, ELI is still legally required.
Health & Safety and Risk Assessments: These policies are still mandatory, even if the host is a family member.
Volunteers
The question of whether a volunteer counts as an employee is important for determining insurance and policy requirements. A volunteer may be considered an employee for these purposes if they act similarly to an employee, such as receiving expenses, working a regular schedule, or being given a contract. If a volunteer is considered an employee, the organization's RA, H&S policies, and ELI must cover them.
