A NEET move: Hiring younger workers

The news cycle moves so quickly this may already be in the back of your mind. But in mid-June the Department of Work and Pensions published a shocking report. At its heart was the fact that one million young people (16-24) were NEET; that’s Not in Employment, Education or Training.

While that is not your problem directly (it is all of society’s), you could be part of the solution. Let’s be honest though, the Government are not making it easy for you! They have continued driving the minimum wage upwards as well as making employers’ national insurance more burdensome; to name but two challenges.

Benefits of hiring young people

The national insurance hike is not limited to younger workers, while those at the younger end of this NEET cohort will have lower national minimum wage bands.

You may associate young people with being inexperienced, commercially unaware, glued to screens and maybe even lacking certain communication skills. It’s unfair to assume they are ALL like that however. And even ones who do have these traits can learn!

More positively, young people have grown up with technology so some may be more tech savvy than average. The right candidates will be full of enthusiasm, energy and desire to learn (and not burdened by poor work experiences), so you can mould them to your culture. They may be tomorrow’s brightest stars!

Special considerations for hiring younger workers

It can be possible to hire children under the age of 16 in some circumstances, but we shall focus on over-16s here. In England, age 16 in a working context is known as the MSLA – Minimum School Leaving Age.

Payroll – From 16 onwards, national insurance kicks in, so they will need to be on your payroll and subject to PAYE if they earn enough. The national minimum wage for 16–17-year-olds and apprentices is £8 per hour; it’s £10.85 for 18–20-year-olds; and for those aged 21 and over it is £12.71 (the national living wage).

16-18 – People who’ve reached MSLA but are under-18 are known as “young workers”. In England, they are, now, legally required to remain in education or training until they are 18. This means they could work part-time for you whilst attending sixth form or college. Or work for you whilst undergoing training or an apprenticeship.

Special protections for young workers – “Young workers” cannot work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours per week, and in most circumstances their hours must be within 6am to 10pm (or 7am to 11pm by contractual agreement).

They must also be given a half hour rest break when working for more than 4.5 hours, 12 hours’ rest in any given 24-hour period and normally at least a block of 48 hours of rest taken together each week.

Health and safety – Young workers need to have a specific risk assessment done for them, but the need for this ceases when they turn 18. However, you may choose to do one anyway, as an inexperienced 19-year-old may be just as vulnerable as an experienced 17-year-old.

As with all health and safety, consider the risk level of your work environment: at the extremes, an office will probably require a significantly different approach to a construction site.

Training – In order to get the most out of a younger worker, think about the training they might require. Do they need an introduction to the work environment, including acceptable behaviours (by and to them), how to raise concerns, the information on a payslip etc.?

University challenged?

University is no longer the automatic premium choice for building a career. Technical qualifications and apprenticeships could be a more appropriate option for many school leavers, giving them a fast track to becoming employable – and without racking up vast debts.

If you recognise this in your recruitment, make sure you reflect it in your hiring processes (including person specifications and job adverts), training programmes and general workplace culture.

Don’t forget that equality law is applicable from the start of your recruitment process, including the job advert; and that “age” is one of the protected characteristics.

Pragmatic advice on employing younger workers

If this article has given you food for thought, either regarding younger workers you already employ, or if you are thinking of recruiting them, reach out to us. We can help

you improve your policies, procedures and systems to make employing young people the success you need.