Every September, a wave of school and university leavers step into their first proper job. For many SMEs, that means employing a young person for the first time – often without a ready-made process to fall back on.
A recent government report found that over a million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK are currently not in education, employment or training, at an estimated cost to the economy of £125 billion. But 84% of those young people said they want a job or training. That runs counter to the idea that this generation is disengaged or lacking resilience.
What they’re actually looking for is good work. Roles with structure, purpose and the chance to develop. Employers who can offer that have a genuine opportunity. Not just to fill a vacancy, but to build future capability and make a real difference to someone’s working life.
Getting it right takes a bit of thought, though.
The legal rules are different for under-18s. Pay rates change with birthdays. Safeguarding expectations go beyond a checklist. And the gap between a well-supported first job and a chaotic one can be the difference between a young person who stays and thrives and one who’s gone within a month.
What our Guide to Employing Young People covers
We’ve put together a free, practical guide that walks through the key things employers need to think about when bringing young people into their workforce. It covers:
- Recruitment and how to reach young candidates through the right routes
- Legal basics for employing under-18s, including working hours and employment status
- Pay rates, age-band changes and where payroll compliance trips people up
- Safeguarding and the extra duty of care employers owe younger workers
- Onboarding that actually works when someone has never had a job before
- Supporting neurodivergent employees, with or without a formal diagnosis
- Retention, development and what keeps a young hire beyond the first few months
None of it is written as a legal textbook. It’s a clear, jargon-free starting point for business owners and managers who want to do this properly.
Who it’s for
Whether you’re considering taking on an apprentice, offering a work-experience placement, or hiring a school leaver into a permanent role, the same questions tend to come up.
- What are the rules?
- What should I actually be paying?
- How do I set someone up so they don’t quietly struggle through their first fortnight and leave?
This guide brings all of that into one place. It’s written for SMEs and growing businesses, the kind of organisations where there isn’t always a dedicated HR team on hand to check the details, but where getting things right still matters.
Download the guide
Download your free copy here –The Employers Guide to Young Workers – Gravitate HR
And if you’d like help putting any of it into practice, whether that’s contracts and right-to-work checks, onboarding, or ongoing performance management, the Gravitate HR team is always happy to talk it through.
