The two hours refers to work being done in addition to going to school that day (that's why it says "not within school hours"). If they are with you doing work experience then presumably they don't also go to school that day and so it doesn't apply.

Yes it its classed as a curriculum activity whilst on work expierience and will be treated as employees of the company for the duration, provided that they are within their final year of full time education, if not they cant legally undertake work expierience. A lot of LEAs get round this with younger students by calling it work shadowing. just be carefull of this distinction as work shadowing will not be covered by the employers insurance, nor will it be covered by the schools insurance unless they are supervised at all time by a member of school staff.

I used to work exclusively in the field of work expierience as part of a team set up to vet placements prior to students being placed there. I was a key stakeholder on the consulatative document for hsc and dfee ( now im showing my age) on the protection of young workers legislation in 1994. we had this issue in Nottinghamshire and nearly fell foul a couple of times with people trying to circumvent the system. its all down to legal status of the placement.

Surely these young people are being EDUCATED, they are not at WORK. Therefore, WORKING time directives don't apply... And as far as H&S legislation is concerned, the HSE have stated their position on work experience: http://www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople/workexperience/. When my daughter did her work experience in a vets she "worked" normal school hours, as she would have done had she been at school.

Hi, contact the local authority for the school where the work experience kid is from, they have safety employees that can give you all of the details that you will require. They will visit and help you with your risk assessment. We take on work experience kids and a representative from the local authority visits. Maroc

It may be useful to add that scope exists for year 11 pupils (i.e. in their final year of compulsory education) in England and Wales to have extended work experience rather than the usual 2 weeks. This enables pupils, usually with minimal academic inclination/ability to pass GCSE exams, to spend much longer, say 6 months, in work experience if their schools, parents/guardians and prospective work experience provider/s are agreeable. Thus, for example, a pupil intent on becoming a vehicle mechanic could usefully gain work experience at a garage subject, of course, to appropriate measures such as effective instruction and supervision being provided. In some cases the pupils who opt for extended work experience are ones who have been disruptive at school, e.g. because of a mismatch between their abilities/inclinations and the school education system/environment. Thus, if they effectively leave school earlier than their fellow pupils, they can benefit because they're getting practical experience and learning in a new environment of their choice. Furthermore, their teachers plus fellow pupils concentrating on studying for and taking GCSE exams benefit from the reduced disruption. Therefore, extended work experience, if properly organised, can be a win-win arrangement for everybody. Though some of the above points might appear to malign pupils on extended work experience, they're surely a reflection of reality, based partly on what I used to hear from teachers and others involved in organising, vetting and monitoring placements. This includes cases where notably disruptive pupils with low motivation have been greatly changed by extended work experience, and moreover went on to gain good qualifications through vocational courses. Horses for courses as they say! As several years have elapsed since I had any involvement with people dealing with placements, my above understanding about extended work experience might well be incorrect or out of date. Therefore, if anyone can confirm, refute or update the above summary, please do so.