Posted By Julie Geairns Dear All Looking for some advice here - our cleaner has recently started to bring her young daughter (I would guess aged 11-12) into the office to assist her in emptying bins and cleaning etc. I am a little worried about this in terms of liability should the daughter have an accident on our premises. My boss, however, appears unconcerned. Anyone advice appreciated. Julie

Posted By Lorraine Lee You have a duty of care to the child under section 3 & 4 of the HASWA '74, and therefore, if she had an accident, you would have breached this due to the fact you were aware of the situation and failed to act. She is also carrying out work- related duties which are prohibited in children under 13. You are aware she is doing this albeit she is not employed or being paid by you. If the cleaner is employed by a contractor, then this gets more complicated as they should be responsible for setting the protocols for H & S, although you should still be aware what these are. In, this case, liability would be usually be split. Ultimately, though the employer is always liable....