Legalities of employing young people
Employing young people can benefit your business by providing you with a new employee that you can develop in line with your company’s methods and practices, will provide you with fresh creative ideas and is cost effective. However there are some restrictions to employing young people to which you must adhere.
Local Authorities have the power to make their own bye-laws regarding the minimum age for employment in addition to national restrictions. You will need to check with Kent County Council regarding their current Child Employment bye-laws: www.kent.gov.uk
Working time limits
A young worker (under 18) cannot usually work more than 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week.
They can only work longer hours if you need to either:
· keep the continuity of service or production
· respond to a surge in demand for a service/product and providing that:
· there is no adult available to do the work
· the young worker’s training needs are not negatively affected.
Rest breaks
Young workers who need to work for more than 4.5 hours must have a rest break of 30 minutes. These rest breaks must be:
· taken in one block
· taken somewhere in the middle of the work period, not at the end
· spent away from their place of work, if that is what the young worker wants
Young workers must take 2 days off each week. These 2 rest days should also be taken together with no working in between them.
Night working
The laws around night working are very complicated. Generally, young workers cannot work between 10PM and 6AM. However there are a few exceptions in the following industries: hospitals, agriculture, retail, hotels/catering, post/newspaper delivery, cultural/sporting/artisitic/advertising activities. The working time limits listed above also apply to night working.
Age limits (please also check local restrictions with Kent County Council):
· You cannot legally employ someone aged under 13 years old. Although they can take part in paid sport or entertainment with permission from your local authority.
· 13 year olds may be allowed to be employed to do 'light work'. This is work which is not likely to affect their health, safety or education. Examples may include shop work or taking on a paper round.
· 14 – 16 year olds (of statutory school age*) can be employed in a wide range of jobs, but there are still some industries they cannot work in. For example they cannot work in factories or on a building site.
· 15 – 17 year olds (no longer of statutory school age*) there are fewer restrictions for these young workers, but the limits listed above apply to this age range.
· 18 year olds have the same work rights as adults.
*In England a person is no longer of statutory school age after the last Friday in June of the school year in which their 16th birthday falls.
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Updated January 2010