We believe that young people not only have the right to access creative and cultural spaces but that they deserve to be treated fairly, equally and with respect in them. If you are working with Arts Emergency Young Talent we ask that you read through these guidelines carefully and carry these practices into your workplace.
This is a living document and may be updated.
Respect
- create a safe and welcoming space in your work environment
listen to and respect young people at all times
respect a young person’s right to personal privacy. Do not be intrusive
respect a young person’s personal physical and emotional boundaries
- be compassionate and nurturing
value and take young people’s contributions seriously
give enthusiastic and constructive feedback rather than negative criticism
be thoughtful with your use of language. If you need to have a difficult conversation, look at our resource on this topic
consider how hierarchy and power influences your workplace and how a young person might experience this
- do not expect young people to carry out emotional labour in your workplace. This includes asking young people
with a particular lived experience to be a voice for others
to discuss social-justice issues with you
do not engage in behaviour that is in any way emotionally, physically or sexually abusive or manipulative
do not patronise or belittle young people.
Rights
understand that young people are individuals with individual needs
respect young people’s differences in gender, sexual orientation, culture, race, ethnicity, disability and religious belief systems, and appreciate that all participants bring something valuable
ensure you have pastoral care in place to ensure the wellbeing of the young person
make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled young people to enter your workplace and fully take part in the experience. If this is not possible, you must let us know
make sure you have a clear complaints procedure that is up to scratch and explain this as part of the induction
treat young people fairly, without prejudice, discrimination or microaggressions
encourage young people and staff to speak out about attitudes or behaviour that makes them uncomfortable
challenge any discrimination, prejudice and microagressions you might see
ensure your contact with young people is appropriate and relevant to your work
make sure that there are consequences for unacceptable behaviour.
Fair Pay
pay fairly, at least the Living Wage or your industry rate
pay on time
share your rates with those starting out, so young people understand what fair pay looks like in your industry
for unpaid work experience, we recommend allocating £15 a day for lunch and travel expenses for each young person
any work experience that lasts longer than five working days should be paid the Living Wage
a young person should not be doing unpaid work that is integral to the successful running of an organisation
offer flexible working hours - this is important for those who have disabilities, caring responsibilities etc.
For more details on offering us a paid opportunity, read our dedicated resource page.
Safeguarding
For all young people
work in a way to protect and advocate for every young person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect
promote safe practices by being an excellent role model; positively involve people in developing safe practices wherever possible and report any concerns about poor practice swiftly
encourage open communication by treating all people equally with respect and dignity and share information appropriately with others and within the law
understand and accommodate for young people over the age of 18 may be at risk of abuse due to their needs for care and support.
For under 18s
- you must guarantee that safeguarding is part of your risk assessment, including:
ensuring the content the young person is working with has to be appropriate for their age
not adding or following the young person on social media.
- you must ensure that they are not left alone both in-person and digitally. This means:
you always accompany the young person to meetings (online or in person)
you must be cc’d into all email correspondence
a young person cannot be left alone with only one adult present
no young person should be left in a room with an adult with the door closed
you must maintain and respect a young person’s boundaries with social media.
do not share pictures of the young person on social media, your website, or marketing materials without their permission
Reporting safeguarding concerns
- you must report to our Safeguarding Team by filling out our safeguarding form if:
you have any concerns about a young person (both under and over 18)
you accidentally hurt a young person and they seem distressed in any manner; and/or if the young person misunderstands or misinterprets something you have done which could result in an allegation of misconduct
If in doubt, refer to our safeguarding and child protection procedures.
Writing Job Descriptions
always state the salary for the role
make it clear where the position is based and if you’re open to a young person working from home
be clear what the working hours of your organisation are and if flexible working hours are available
state if you provide a phone, laptop, software or other digital devices. Remember that digital poverty is real
use bullet points to make it easier to digest, especially for neurodivergent applicants
be conversational and don’t use jargon
don’t use ableist terms like “must be energetic” or “must be mature” in your person specifications
don’t expect candidates to have a certain number of years experience
do not require a degree unless a particular qualification is absolutely necessary for the role
do not expect candidates for entry level roles to know how to use specialist software. Make sure you offer training
decide whether a drivers licence is really essential and what workarounds you have for those who can’t drive i.e. those with medical conditions or those from low income households. Can you offer a scholarship to help fund driving lessons?
never ask for just a CV
have non-written ways to apply i.e. video and audio applications
always have a deadline. Rolling applications are not always accessible
make sure the application window is at least two to three weeks long
have a contact name and email on the job description so potential candidates can ask questions about the role
For more advice on writing better job ads, read our blog.
Interviews
let young people know the interview questions beforehand
only include interview tasks that are relevant to the actual position
ask ahead of the interview if they have any access needs
if you are running an interview online, be clear ahead of the interview what platform you will be using
if you are running an in-person interview with a young person from a different city, you must offer travel expenses
organise an informal “getting to know you” interview before work experience placements
You can read our tips on conducting interviews in this blog.
Best practice employment
Before the young person arrives
ask if they have any access needs and accommodate them
do not expect them to work outside of working hours unless previously stated and you are offering Time Off In Lieu
do not expect young people to use their personal mobiles for work calls
let your colleagues know that there will be someone arriving for a placement
make a note of your colleagues who would be happy to have 1-2-1 tea breaks where they get to know the young person
you may want to create a separate email for the young person for data protection
you may want to clear permissions from IT for access to certain files. If this is quite clunky, we’d recommend creating an open access folder for documents your young person would need access to during their placement.
When the placement takes place
welcome them to the organisation
introduce the young person to other members of staff, e.g. set up 1-2-1 tea breaks
let them know where the toilets, kitchens and faith rooms are located
encourage short breaks away from the desk
allow a full hour for lunch
arrange regular 1-2-1s
offer an exit interview
- at the end of the placement, if your young person is
over 18, you can invite them to post work socials but make it clear that it is not a requirement and please say in advance if there will be alcohol
under 18, you can invite them to post work socials but there must not be alcohol and their lead contact must be present
Additional considerations for working online
ask if they have any digital access needs and accommodate for them e.g. do they have a laptop and regular connection to wifi?
if you require the young person to use certain software, you must provide either a software licence or access to a laptop/computer that contains the software
train the young person on the online platforms you use
encourage regular breaks away from the screen
Supporting their next steps
you must provide a debrief towards the end of the placement to help young people understand their achievements i.e. the skills that will help them get employed next, how to ace recruitment into the industry.
provide thorough and personalised references by filling out our feedback survey that is sent to you at the end of the placement
If they are over 18, you can ask if you can stay in touch with them to let them know about future opportunities in your organisation and/or include them in the pool of freelancers you work with.
Consequences
you should always follow this code of behaviour and never rely on your reputation or that of our organisation to protect you
if you behave inappropriately we will not work with you again
if we are made aware of safeguarding concerns that have taken place within your organisation, we may be required by law to make a report to statutory agencies and/or the local authority child protection services