What Work Can I Do?

There are laws to protect the employment rights of children and young people. The laws concern your health and safety, what work you can do, when you can work and how many hours you can work. These laws are very strict, and an employer can be prosecuted for breaking them.

16-18 Year Olds

If you are over school leaving age and under 18, there are special restrictions on doing certain types of work. These are:

• work which you are not physically or mentally capable of doing
• work which brings you into contact with chemical agents, toxic material or radiation
• work which involves a health risk because of extreme cold, heat or vibration

You are only allowed to do the work above under the following circumstances:

• where it is necessary for your training
• where an experienced person is supervising you
• where any risk is reduced to the lowest level that is reasonable

These rules do not apply if you are doing short term or occasional work in a family business or in a private household, and this is not considered to be harmful to you.

Under 16

No one under the minimum school leaving age (under 16) can be employed in work other than light work.

You are not allowed to do work which is likely to be harmful to your safety, health or development, or work that will affect your attendance at school or participation in work experience.

You are not allowed to work:

• in a factory or in construction work
• in transport
• in a mine
• on a registered merchant ship

The local authority (your council) where you live may also have some extra rules, called by-laws, about the employment of children in your area. You should check with your local authority if you want to find out what these are.

Employers who want to employ children under school leaving age are required to get a permit from their local authority. The permit must be signed by both the employer and your parent or carer.

Young People Under 14

If you are under 14, you are not allowed to work at all except in the following types of work:

• to take part in sport, advertising, modelling, plays, films, television or other entertainment. (The employer must apply for a licence from the local authority)
• to do odd jobs for a parent, relative or neighbour
• to do babysitting

However, young people 13 or above may be able to do some other types of work, depending on the by-laws of the local authority in their area. For example, the by-laws may say that children of 13 and above in your area can do a paper-round, or that you can do light work which is not likely to be harmful to your health, safety or development.

Babysitting

You can babysit at any age, whether you are paid or not and are allowed to look after a child of any age. However, if the child you are babysitting is thought to be at risk because it is not being looked after properly, the child's parents could be prosecuted, or action could be taken to put their child into care.

Last modified: 08/06/2010 16:41:53