Q: Is a 17-year-old allowed to work in the evenings during the week when they are still in full-time education? They are employed as a sales assistant, but are required to go to work to help paint the shop?
May 16 2006
Answered by: Peter Done Ask a question
The answer to this question is quite complicated. There are several regulations that apply, there are separate rules for under-13, under-14, 14–16, and 16s qualified for school leaving age. Therefore, the individual could be quite a lot over 16 or conversely barely reaching 16. There are then the Working Time Regulations 1998 which deals with young workers who are over the minimum school leaving age but have not yet reached the age of 18; i.e. they are aged between 16 and 17 years of age.
Other pieces of legislation affecting young persons and children are the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act 1920, the Children and Young Persons Acts 1933 to 1969 as amended by the Children (Protection at Work) Regulations 1998 and Children (Protection at Work) Regulations 2000. There is also the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and other regulations affecting things like the Education (Work Experience) Act 1973 and the Children (Performances) Regulations 1968 to name but a few! Perhaps you might want to take note of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as well!
I think it is therefore fairly obvious from the foregoing that there are many regulations applying to this situation and not only are they complicated they also contain for those who transgress them, quite serious penalties.
If all of that national law is not enough there are also local authority bylaws, which affect categories of light work entered into by children over the age of 13. It would therefore be prudent to check with your local education authority that the work, not just this additional work in the evenings, is within the rules and in any event covered by a permit for working those hours and if this additional hours they are required to work would mean the ‘licence’ hours are exceeded.
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