How many hours can children work?
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13 – 14 Years
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15 – 16 Years
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School Days
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2 hours
|
2 hours
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Saturdays
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5 hours
|
8 hours
|
|
Sundays
|
2 hours
|
2 hours
|
|
School Holidays
|
5 hours
|
8 hours
|
- 13 - 14 years up to a maximum of 25 hours a
week.
- 15 - 16 years up to a maximum of 35 hours a
week.
- Children must not work before 7am or after
7pm, or during school hours.
- Children can only work 1 hour after 7am and
the beginning of the school day.
- There must be 2 consecutive weeks free from
work during the year.
- There must be a rest break of 1 hour every 4
hours.
- Children are not allowed to work more than 12
hours a week during term time
What jobs can school age children do?
13 year olds can only do light work in the following areas:
- Agricultural or horticultural work.
- Delivery of newspapers/journals/leaflets (not to collect
money).
- Shop work, including shelf stacking.
- Hairdressing salons.
- Office work.
- Car washing by hand in a private residential setting.
- Kennels/catteries.
- Cafés or restaurants (not in the kitchen).
- Domestic work in hotels and other establishments offering
accommodation.
14-16 year olds can do light work in a wider range of
jobs which means:
- Work that is not likely to affect
health and safety or development.
- Work that will not affect attendance or
performance at school.
-
What jobs are children not allowed to do?
- Cinema/theatre/discotheque/dance hall or licensed night club
(unless licensed to perform there).
- To sell or deliver alcohol except in
sealed containers.
- To deliver milk.
- To deliver fuel oils.
- Work in a commercial kitchen.
- To collect or sort refuse.
- In any work which is more than 3 metres above
ground level or in the case of internal work more than 3 meters
above floor level.
- In employment involving harmful exposure to
physical biological or chemical agents.
- To collect money or to sell or canvas door to
door.
- In work involving exposure to adult material
or situations which are for this reason otherwise unsuitable.
- In telephone sales.
- In any slaughterhouse or in that part of any
butcher’s shop or other premises connected with killing of
livestock, butchery or the preparation of carcasses or meat for
sale.
- As an attendant or assistant in a fairground
or amusement arcade or in any other premises used for the purpose
of the public amusement by the means of automatic machines, games
of chance or skill or similar devises.
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Useful links
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Questions on child employment