Young workers rights commission
As a child or young person, you have special rights, and we want to make sure that you know what they are, and that you have your rights respected. You are a valued member of Aotearoa, and we think knowing and advocating for your rights is important. In New Zealand, as you grow up you will be able to do different things at different ages. You can read about your rights at different ages. If you are a child or young person with a disability you might want to check out the Human Rights Commission too.
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Your rights as a child or young person
Young people with disability are one of the most disadvantaged cohorts in the labour market. They experience the intersectionality of systemic disadvantage and oppression of both being a person with disability and a young person — with this disadvantage being even further amplified by other demographic factors, such as socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender or sexual diversity, or living in a regional or rural area.
Young people with disability in the labour force are more than twice as likely to be unemployed or underemployment than older adults with disability. Young people with disability also face increased systemic and structural disadvantage in the labour market compared to young people without disability. Not only are the rights of young people with disability being violated, but in experiencing increased systemic barriers to employment, their ability to benefit from the good things in life that having a job and financial security provides is denied.
The response also includes four case studies which illustrate the impact of systems failures on the lives of young people with disability.
Overarching recommendation for the Disability Royal Commission for future policy development. Recommendations to ensure inclusive education and tailored transition support for strong employment outcomes. Recommendations to develop evidence-based programs to support young people with disability secure work.
Children and Young People with Disability Australia CYDA is the national representative organisation for children and young people with disability aged 0 to 25 years. CYDA has an extensive national membership of more than 5, young people with disability, families and caregivers of children with disability, and advocacy and community organisations.
We are pleased to provide a submission to the Royal Commission into Abuse, Violence, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability the Commission on the topic on youth employment. Young people [1] with disability in the labour force are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than older adults [2] with disability As a young person entering the labour force, their ability to participate is impacted by a range of external factors.
Young people are also more likely to bear the brunt of economic downturn, with employers more reluctant to hire or retain younger workers due to their limited experience and lower skills during periods of cyclical weakness.
While it is unclear how the COVID economic crisis has impacted young people with disability, it is widely acknowledged that the cohorts faces increased systemic and structural disadvantage in the labour market compared to young people without disability.
Recently at the inaugural National Youth Disability Summit, CYDA asked a group of young people with disability what having a job and being employed meant to them. The young people spoke about how having a job was inextricably linked with their identity and the ability to be independent. They shared that having a job and earning their own money allowed them to do the things they would like to do in life, like finding home that suited their needs.
The young people also shared that having a job allowed them the opportunity to meet new people and expand their social circles. Despite this, young people with disability in the labour force have an underutilisation [12] rate of This means that nearly half of young people with disability who are willing and wanting to work are denied the opportunity to fully participate in society and enjoy the health, social and economic benefits that employment brings.
Experiences of employment, whether positive or negative, must not be understood as a point-in-time phenomenon, but rather the as the culmination of life experiences that can provide risk or protective factors in the labour market. For example, those who enter the labour market equipped with personal resources, such a formal education, social networks, work experience and financial safety nets are more likely to succeed. Whereas those who have adverse experiences with systems in the lead up to the labour market and enter with limited protective resources are more likely to experience poorer outcomes.
The transition and life experience when entering the labour market also has consequential impacts on longer-term outcomes.
As we transition through life stages, we encounter systems that can either pose as an opportunity or risk. How we experience these transitions and systems — and whether or not there are adequate supports in place to protect us from the risks — can change our life trajectory.
Those who are supported and are equipped with protective supports from early childhood are more likely to experience better health and social outcomes throughout the lifespan. From birth, people with disability experience structural disadvantage and encounter ableist systems that neglect their rights and needs. This systemic neglect not only has adverse impacts on the individual in the immediate term, but will have enduring impacts on the opportunities they can access throughout the lifetime.
Those who enter the labour market equipped with personal resources, such as a quality education, are more likely to achieve better employment outcomes [15]. Children and young people with disability must be provided with equitable, inclusive and appropriate opportunities to learn and develop to give them a competitive chance to find and maintain employment. Improving post-school outcomes for young people with disability, and supporting wellbeing throughout their lives, begins with an inclusive education in school, as defined by the CPRD, Article 24, General Comment 4 People with disability in Australia are less likely to finish school and more likely to leave before the age of 16, and less than a third of people with disability aged 20 or over have completed Year level schooling — compared with 62 per cent of people without a disability.
For all students, inclusive education facilitates social development, socially inclusive attitudes, improved education outcomes and communication and language development.
The CRPD emphasises that no form of segregation constitutes inclusive education [21] , but many students with disability in Australia currently experience segregated education programs, including attending special schools, participating in special units in mainstream schools, or having no appropriate option except home-schooling. More students with disability are attending special schools over mainstreams schools than a decade ago.
Additionally, half of the students who reported attending a mainstream school are separated in special units or a combination of regular class and a special unit Table 3, Appendix A. These negative experiences in school years contribute to lower school completion rates for young people with disability.
Recent research [25] from the University of Melbourne finds that at least 50, children and young people of school age are disengaged from the Australia education system. While students with disability are acknowledged as being at increased risk of disengaging [26] , there is no clear disaggregated data to monitor the disengagement rates of the group.
School disengagement is regarded as a complex issue, with students who disengage experiencing a range of external and systemic barriers to education. There is also limited evaluation data on these programs that could support the development of a national, coordinated approach.
With early school leavers being some of the most disadvantaged jobseekers in the labour market, the lack of national response to school disengagement will have enduring impacts on longer-term employment outcomes. Urgent investment is needed in the development and roll-out of holistic initiatives that will remove barriers to education for students with a disability. This includes early intervention efforts, ensuring that all students experience an equitable and quality education from early childhood.
For children and young people to have equal opportunities to thrive in their schooling and their eventual employment, the phasing out of segregated education and the realisation of inclusive education as defined by the CPRD which Australia has endorsed, but not fulfilled for students with disability must be a priority. The Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education, an initiative which brings together organisations that share a commitment to advance Inclusive Education in Australia, have developed a year plan [31] Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia to help realise inclusive education and prevent the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of students with disability.
This plan has been endorsed by specialist organisations across the country. CYDA recommends the uptake of Driving change: A roadmap for achieving inclusive education in Australia to promote equitable opportunities in the labour market. To achieve this plan, the commitment and shared responsibility of the Australian and all state and territory governments is required. In , CYDA released a report [33] into the experiences of young people with disability during their post-school transitions.
While there are pockets of good post school transition practice, generally programs and preparation for this transition are fragmented with minimal coordination and guidance regarding what should occur during this time. Sadly, the situation today for students with disability remains very similar to that outlined in the above report. As shown in Figure 1 see Appendix A , the majority of respondents Fewer than one in five students report receiving assistance in understanding their strengths and skills for post-school transition; practical assistance such as resume-writing; or assistance to plan any study or training.
Additionally, parents report feeling a significant degree of responsibility for the career-planning process, and note that the support provided is generally not tailored to students with disability, and therefore options are limited.
Comments from young people and families in our post-school transition survey demonstrates the limited support available in many places:. Huge disconnect between a regional public high school in a low-SES area about post-school life and particularly on scholarships to universities and open days, etc. I coordinated this program for my daughter. This is not normally available in NSW schools. Around three quarters of our survey respondents agreed that much more needs to be done to support post-school planning and to help students to achieve their goals Suggestions for further investment include assistance with life skills, more teacher support, tailored work experience with interest and abilities, more community integration for students and more information for families.
Participation in work experience, paid and unpaid, during the last years of secondary schools is consistently a strong indicator of post school success. With most employers requiring applicants to hold previous work experience [37] , more needs to be done to support young people with disability partake in work experience and part-time employment during their school years to support their full transition to the labour market. The provision of current school programs for senior students with disability varies in every state and territory, which means the system is fragmented and inconsistent.
The programs vary in terms of what is offered and the level of resourcing provided. The age for career-planning also varies significantly across states and territories, with some starting for students in Year 7 e. Victoria and others not until Years 10 or Almost 30 per cent of these students reported they started receiving career-planning support in Year 12, with around 45 per cent receiving support in either Year 10 or 11 see Table 6, Appendix A.
Fewer than five per cent reported receiving support in Year 9. Additionally, many families report they are not aware of these programs. This may be for a number of reasons, including the student not finishing school or not being provided appropriate support and opportunities to develop skills due to lower expectations and exclusion. Many people were pushed earlier into trades at TAFE, rather than focusing on them getting into university.
Presume competence. Inform, encourage and support families to be involved in the process. Give them all the options and assist in making these happen. The report on the Review of senior secondary pathways into work, further education and training [39] , to which CYDA provided a submission [40] , highlighted the importance of starting the transition from school and career planning activities early, with specific recommendations that all students with disability should have an individual post-school transition plan.
Students with disability may require extra or different support for their transition from secondary school, and it is beneficial to start the career planning earlier.
A number of studies have confirmed that post-school transition planning for young people with disability needs to include five key areas: [41]. CYDA recommends taking a unified approach across the country and introducing career-planning activities that include the five key areas for all students with disability by the age of 15 years.
To build the skills of the students it will be important to include practical subjects as well as work experience or exposure to different work industries where students have expressed interest. It is critical that young people with disability, and families, are involved in the development of any new transition planning activities or programs from the beginning and throughout the development and implementation process.
Pragmatically, a Participatory Design approach helps us to develop interventions that are engaging to young people and therefore are more likely to be used, increasing the overall reach and impact of the intervention. Social capital helps mitigate the risks of the increasingly competitive labour market [43].
Those who have diverse networks, resources and contacts to draw on have increased ability to connect with employers and access job opportunities. Ultimately, who we know can help us get ahead in life.
Australians with disability tend to have less access to social capital than those without disability. Young people with disability are likely to experience social exclusion at higher rates than their counterparts without disability, and are less likely to have social contact with friends and family or have a voice in the community. The social exclusion children and young people face must be addressed. Fundamentally, as it is human right to enjoy full inclusion and participation in the community, but also as a means to build social capital.
This includes addressing the exclusion children and young people with disability face in community settings and creating and fostering networking and leadership opportunities. Students with disability continue to face significant barriers to accessing and participating in higher education. These structural and systemic barriers include inflexible pathways from school to tertiary education, lack of adequate awareness and capacity in educational institutes to understand and accommodate the needs of students with disability, the timing and extent of education and career planning for people with disability and low availability of appropriate and accessible information in relation to education and employment pathways.
While it is encouraging to see that the enrolment rates of students with disability in higher education is steadily increasingly, people with disability still remain are still underrepresented higher education attainment. Only 17 per cent of people with disability aged 20 and over have a bachelor degree or higher, compared to 35 per cent for individuals without disability. Almost half of respondents reported to have completed Year 12 but have not completed further education, and around 21 per cent reporting that they have completed Year 10 or 11 as their highest educational attainment to date Table 4 in Appendix A.
Thirteen per cent have completed some form of higher degree or certificate.
Employment of Children and Young Persons in Ireland
The Queensland Government is committed to the recruitment and retention of young people as they bring fresh new ideas and perspectives, creativity, adaptability to technology and change, and eagerness and willingness to learn to the workplace. We engage and develop young people, enabling them to contribute to the delivery of services to Queenslanders now and in the future. For example:. The Queensland Government is an employer of choice for young people because of the breadth of career opportunities it offers, the value it places on improving the life of Queenslanders and the way in which work is performed in the public service. Government also provides a range of employment benefits, such as development opportunities, on-the-job training, entry level programs, competitive salary, salary packaging and superannuation. Flexible working conditions and generous leave options create an appealing work life balance proposition. Apprenticeships and traineeships combine training with paid work which also contributes to the completion of a nationally recognised qualification.
Young worker rights and responsibilities
Youth who are informed about workplace safety including both safe work practices and their legal rights are more likely to have positive job experiences and less likely to get hurt. For a complete list of our materials for teens, visit our For Teens page. The California Department of Industrial Relations DIR also has a website that outlines your rights on the job and how to stay safe in several common jobs for teens food service, grocery clerk, etc. Sexual Harassment includes unwanted sexual advances, visual, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, and includes many forms offensive behavior and gender-based harassment. For more details on what constitutes sexual harassment, visit the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing website. Employers also have the responsibility to make sure there is no discrimination in the workplace either by your coworkers or by the clients you serve. California state laws protect workers from being fired, from having job opportunities withheld, or from being otherwise unfairly treated on the basis of: race, color, gender, religion, etc. For more details on what constitutes discrimination, visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website.
Young people
It takes a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and we are looking for someone with career potential. Comments like these may show ageism — which means making assumptions based on labels and attitudes about age. Young people and older persons can experience ageism. Ageism also results from looking at and designing society based on the needs of either younger or older people, without looking for ways to include to all people, regardless of age.
Jodie Griffiths-Cook
Many young people are unaware of their rights or too afraid to stand up for themselves in the workplace. For young workers, particularly those who may just be starting their first job, there is a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming and confusing at times. Being a Union member means you are protected at work and have access to expert information, advice and representation. Joining a Union connects you with thousands of young workers across Australia who are standing up for their rights. Starting your first job is an exciting step in life, but it can also be a bit daunting.
Age discrimination (brochure)
It's illegal for an employer to discriminate against you because of your age, whether in the workplace or when you apply for a job. This applies to all aspects of employment including:. Age discrimination can sometimes be hard to prove. The first thing to do is to discuss your problem with:. Contact the Human Rights Commission. This could be making a phone call to the employer for you or arranging mediation so everyone involved can talk the problem through.
Consulting with Children & Young People
Information on workplace health and safety rights available here. If you are injured at work and require medical assistance or miss a day of work, the injury must be reported to the WCB. It does not matter if you believe the injury was your fault, or if your employer tells you it was your fault. If you are covered by the WCB, you are eligible for compensation.
Young Worker Rights & Resources
RELATED VIDEO: Young Workers CampaignYouth Affairs Council Victoria is not a legal service, and this page provides general information, not legal advice. We would like to thank Young Workers Centre and the Disability Discrimination Legal Service for supporting us with the expertise to put this together. If you have concerns related to your legal rights or employment, you should seek legal assistance. This is for our safety, but also our colleagues, anyone who comes to our workplace and the wider community. A vaccine mandate comes from a government. It is a law or public health order saying that you have to be vaccinated to do something, like travel or work in a certain industry.
Discrimination means being treated less favourably because of a characteristic like age, gender, race or religion. In South Australia, it is usually against the law for someone to discriminate against you in any of the circumstances above based on personal characteristics such as your:. No, not all anti-discrimination laws apply to all schools or places of education. It depends whether you go to a public school or a private religious school. Generally speaking, public schools and teachers within these schools must not illegally discriminate against a student or potential student based on a personal characteristic.
Secretary General. Executive Summary. About copyright. WIPO link.
The remarkable answer :)
don't agree at all