While lots of agricultural workers are included in the ‘key workers’ list meaning their children are still able to go to school, some children are not yet able to return and for many this means having them at home on farm.
Visit the government website to see if your job is included in the ‘key workers’ list.
Here is the latest information and advice to help keep your children safe on farm if they are away from school.
- Farms can be dangerous and hazardous places.
- Where possible keep children out of the workplace completely and under the supervision of an adult. Providing a separate play area is a good way to do this.
- If it is not possible to separate children and the workplace, adult supervision is essential at all times.
The law:
- Children under the age of 13 are specifically prohibited from driving or riding on any agricultural machine. While children over the age of 13 are legally allowed to drive some agriculture machines, they must still be protected. Remember they are still children and cannot carry out the whole range of work activities performed by adults.
- Children under 16 must not drive, operate, or help to operate, any of the following:
- towed or self-propelled harvesters and processing machines;
- trailers or feed equipment with conveying, loading, unloading or spreading mechanisms;
- power-driven machines with cutting, splitting, or crushing mechanisms or power-operated soil-engaging parts;
- chemical applicators such as mounted, trailed or knapsack sprayers;
- handling equipment such as lift trucks, skid steer loaders or all-terrain vehicles.
- By law, if any children under the age of 16 are working on the farm, the work must be simple, appropriate for their maturity and capability, and not inherently dangerous. This includes children helping out on a family farm and children who are employed and paid for their work. Children employed on a farm must have a permit from the local authority. There has been no relaxation of the requirements of child employment law.
NFU Deputy President Stuart Roberts said: “These are unprecedented times for all of us and farmers are under considerable pressure to keep the supply chain moving, keep shelves stocked and keep the country fed. As well as this, a lot of us are now having to juggle childcare with producing food.
"I know how difficult this can be, especially when you’re out in the fields every day. And I know it’s much easier just to bring them with you, or let them have the run of the farmyard while you work.
“But we must remember that farms are first and foremost a working environment. I ask every farming parent to implement whatever measures they can to keep children away from the workplace. I know this is not always possible, but as more children are going to be at home for the foreseeable future, boundaries are crucial in helping to protect them during this time.”
For more information to help keep children safe on farm take a look at the guidance:
- HSE - What a good farm looks like
- HSE - Preventing accidents to children on farm
- Yellow Wellies - A guide for parents
Click here to use the NFU's COVID-19 business impact service.
By using this form, farmers and growers can provide information on any business-critical issues they have encountered, or expect to encounter, arising from the COVID-19 outbreak. The NFU will log this information and use it in an anonymised format to flag the key issues agriculture and horticulture are facing to government on a daily basis. However, no personal data will be shared with the government. The service is for all farmers and growers across the UK.
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