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Child Employment Research Report.

Spring 2006 Onwards.

Mark Pearey

Theresa Jackson

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Two tailed hypothesis to measure the extent of illegal child

employment in North Yorkshire:1) That young people who are employed do not have a work

permit.2) That young people are unaware that they are working

illegally. The questionnaire had a mix of open and closed

questions. There were 10 main questions with several sub-questions.

The questionnaire used sensible English and was given to secondary school age children via ESW/HOY or Form Tutor.

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CONTINUED: Anonymity was preserved in the questionnaires so that the

respondents would be more accurate/truthful. At the time of the research taking place there were

approximately 71,000 secondary school age children in North Yorkshire.

Due to the high number of children a sample group of the population was used. The sample considered all year groups in secondary schools and also looked at particular geographic locations, i.e. coastal, rural and town based areas. This was an attempt to avoid the data being skewed to a particular location/age trend.

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The questionnaires were targeted to young people who were employed and attending mainstream school. Primary, Special or PRU/Schools were not considered.

Approximately 10% of the questionnaires were void due to illegibility and obvious non-serious responses.

In excess of 1000 questionnaires were completed and returned by Schools. So far, 1000 have be analysed and inputted into Microsoft Excel

The findings provide a general guide to employment activity of children in North Yorkshire.

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Chart 1 looks at the age range within the survey, clearly 14 is the most popular age range for working children – though there is illegal activity with ages 11 and 12

Age

0 0.60%

4.70%

19.70%

8.90%

27.40%

38.70%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Age 11 years 12 years 13 years 14 years 15 years 16 years

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Chart 2 shows an almost even gender distribution with employed young people.

Gender

48.70%

51.30%

470

475

480

485

490

495

500

505

510

515

Female Male

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Chart 3 highlights the types of employment, Catering in it’s many forms being most popular due to NYCC being mainly a tourist destination. ‘Other’ constitutes a variety of irregular employment, (Scrap Metal, Butchery, Dog Handling and Factory work; these types of industry being illegal)

Type of Work/Industry

0.40%0.10%

12.20%

16.30%

10.10%

1.90%1.30%

4.80%3.90%4.90%4.00%

40.10%

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

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Chart 4 shows that young people work outside the legal time frame of 7a.m & 7 p.m. Higher illegal employment activity on evenings.

Working before/after 7.00

198

447

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

Before 7.00 a.m. After 7.00 p.m.

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Chart 5 suggests that most young people are paid for their activities.

Paid

4.60%

95.40%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Paid Unpaid

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Chart 6 shows that a small proportion of young people actually work illegally in School time.

Working in School Time

94.40%

5.60%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Working in School Time Not working in School Time

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Chart 7 notes that nearly 13% had been frightened at work for a variety of reasons – some of which are Child Protection/safeguarding concerns and are high risk findings which are described later.

Frightened whilst working

87.10%

12.90%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

Frightened whilst working Not frightened

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Chart 8 highlights that over a quarter of the respondents had not been given health & safety advice.

Health & Safety Advice Given

28.50%

71.50%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Advice given No advice given

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Chart 9 proves part of the hypothesis whereby 84% of young people did not have a work permit, indicating negligence on behalf of the employer. Work Permit

84.30%

15.70%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Yes No

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Chart 10 proves the other element of the hypothesis – over two thirds of the population were unaware of child employment laws, including the requirement to obtain a work permit. Another employer responsibility which is not in place.

Young Person Aware of Legal Requirements

71.20%

28.80%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Aware of legal requirements Not aware

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Chart 11 notes that a staggering 23% had been injured whilst in employment (Mainly scalds, cuts and bites from animals/insects)

Young People who were injured

76.60%

23.40%

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Yes No

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Type of Work Comparative - NYCC/Cumbria

40%

16.30%

12.20%10.10%

4%

35%

24%

11%

17%

11%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Catering/Hospitality Paper Delivery Retail Other Babysitting/Childcare

NYCC Cumbria

Chart 12 compares employment sector findings to that of Cumbria – very similar trends though North Yorkshire employs more children in retail and hospitality.

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Working before/after 7.00 Comparative - NYCC/Cumbria

20% 21%

45%

52%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

NYCC Cumbria

Before 7.00 a.m. After 7.00 p.m.

Chart 13 suggests that children in Cumbria work outside the permitted hours more frequently than in North Yorkshire.

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Young people who were injured at work comparative - NYCC/Cumbria

24.40%

35%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

NYCC Cumbria

Injured at Work

Chart 14 compares injury levels amongst working children between the two authorities

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Work Permit Comparative - NYCC/Cumbria

15.70%

15%

14.60%

14.80%

15.00%

15.20%

15.40%

15.60%

15.80%

NYCC Cumbria

Work Permit

Chart 15 An almost identical trend between Cumbria and North Yorkshire

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High Risk Findings

YP being assaulted by employer. Employers unaware of major Child Employment regulations. YP being frightened of adults under the influence of

alcohol/adults fighting. YP being afraid of damaging employers equipment and making

mistakes at work. YP working alone and unsupervised. YP working in illegal occupations. YP expressing fear of working with bulls, bees/insects and being

bitten by a horse

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Conclusions Part – time work is clearly a common phenomenon for school aged young people,

where the type of employment is varied, and a general ignorance of relevant legislation is common.

The research has highlighted concerns over late hours, dangerous occupations and unsuitable situations when young people are in employment. These are clearly safeguarding concerns and require support/action.

There has also been an identified need to continually raise awareness at an employer level, including possible prosecution. This would help prevent the aforementioned concerns rather than being reactionary.

Further analysis could allow detailed findings for a specific region and/or be compared to other neighboring authority’s findings, i.e. Cumbria. The research can also steer the project with regard to the highlighted areas of concern.