What Are the Rules on Children Working in England and Wales?

As an employer, you may employ children to work for you. If you decide to do this, you must be aware that some different rules apply to child employment, which you must abide by. You have a responsibility to ensure that the children who work for you are kept safe and that the work they are carrying out is suitable for them in terms of their age and what they can cope with. If there are any risks concerning the work they carry out for you, you must inform their parents or carers. This article will explain the rules for children working in England and Wales.

Are Children Allowed to Work? 

Children from the age of 13 years old can carry out part-time work. 

Importantly, children are not allowed to carry out full-time work unless they are at school leaving age or above. School leaving age is when a child reaches the last Friday in June of the year that they turn 16 years old before the end of the summer school holidays. However, to be allowed to work full-time, children of this age must also be in part-time education or training.

Rules Restricting Children Working

Whilst children are allowed to work, there are many restricting rules. This is to ensure that they can focus on and finish their education. 

 Notably, children cannot work:

• in factories or industrial sites; 
• somewhere which may be detrimental to their health, well-being or their education; or
• without a local authority employment permit where local bylaws require them to have one to work.

There are also rules in place regarding the hours of work and rest times. Children must not work:

• during school hours;
• before 7 am;
• after 7 pm;
• before school for over one hour unless permitted by local by-laws;
• for over 4 hours before having a minimum one hour break; and 
• where they have not had two weeks away from work in the school holidays per calendar year.

Restrictions on Working Hours

Children aged 16 or 17 years old must:

• not work more than 40 hours per week;
• not work more than 8 hours per day;
• have 12 hours of rest in any 24 hours of working; 
• have 48 hours of rest in a block per week, and where business does not allow this, they must have a minimum of 36 hours with 12 hours taken as near as possible after this;
• not work before 7 am or after 10 pm; or
• not work during the time they should be in education.

There are times when you may ask a 16 or 17-year-old to work above their weekly or daily maximum. However, you can only request your 16 or 17-year old staff to work if:

• you cannot get someone 18 years or older to do so; 
• the work will not affect their education; and 
• it is due to a sudden need for workers.

Restrictions Relating to Industry-Specific Work

As mentioned, there are restrictions on working hours for children in the workforce. However, some industries allow 16 and 17-year-olds to work up until midnight or start work from 4 am. Importantly, you can only employ children to do this work if it will not have a detrimental effect on their training or education. Likewise, first ensure that there are no adults available to carry out the work. The types of work include:

• advertising;
• agriculture;
• bakery;
• catering, including hotels, pubs and restaurants;
• hospital or similar work;
• newspaper delivery and post; and
• retail.

Term Time Rules and Holiday Rules

Additionally, the rules restricting children from working differ slightly during term time and holiday time.

Paying Children to Work

If you employ children under the age of 16 years old in your workforce, you have no obligations to pay the National Minimum Wage. This is because children under 16 are not required to pay National Insurance. So, unless the total income you pay is over the Personal Allowance, you do not need to include them in your payroll.

However, if you employ children aged 16 or 17 years old, you must pay them a minimum of £4.62 per hour. You should also include their pay in your running payroll. You cannot pay any employee, regardless of their age, over £120 per week if you are not a registered employer operating pay-as-you-earn (PAYE).

Keeping Records of Children’s Work

Employers must keep certain records for two years if they have children working for them. These are for 16-17-year-olds only. These records concern:

• the hours worked to ensure that children are not working above the maximum allowed;
• any night work to ensure they are not working hours which are not permitted; and
• where children are involved in night work, your health assessments you carry out during the employment.

Key Takeaways

If you decide to have children working in your workplace, be aware of the rules relating to their employment. Importantly, be mindful that children must complete their education before fully joining the workforce. Rules are in place in child employment which detail that children are only allowed to work a certain amount of hours during a week. Likewise, the hours they are allowed to work per day may differ depending on what day or week it is. Childrens’ permitted working hours also change between term time and holiday time, and they differ depending on the child’s age. There are also rules concerning the type of work a child can carry out.

If you need help with the rules on children working in England and Wales, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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