How To Keep Minors In Your Business Safe

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If your business is in an area close to a school, then young workers could be a valuable part of your workforce. Getting young workers in the door to your business offers them a great opportunity to learn your trade and gets them acclimated to a business they may possible want to pursue further. However, when you hire minors to work in your business, there are many restrictions that come with the task. Not only that, all employers should be well versed on all the necessary measures they need to keep these young workers safe. In order to do so, be sure to follow these steps. 1. Know The Rules As mentioned early, when you employ minor workers, there are different guidelines you must follow. Be sure your knowledge of the child labor laws are up to date as well as what other safety measures you must take before employing your first young worker. 2. Provide Mentors Especially in a business working in trades, mentors can be especially helpful to a young worker. When they have someone to learn from, minors can easily distinguish between a safe work practice or a non-safe work practice. 3. Give Proper Training Teaching a minor about safety in your business has to be structured differently than when you would try to teach an adult. Clear and brief messages tend to work the best. Hands on learning activities, where you perform the job and then ask the trainee to perform the task, also tend to stick well than lecture based trainings. 4. Encourage Conversations Just like when you talk to your adult workers, be sure minor workers in your business are comfortable speaking up with safety issues. A business’s safety plan works best when all employees and management are willing to work together to discuss safety concerns. Having a comfortable atmosphere to voice concerns helps this process immensely. In the end, a young worker in your business can bring new viewpoints and ideas that you haven’t thought of before. As long as you take the steps necessary to keep them safe, hiring minors in your company can lead to an irreplaceable relationship.
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