With the school summer holidays drawing closer, employers and parents are being reminded of the rules regarding the employment of children who are still of compulsory school age. Many children will be looking for ‘something to do’ during the summer break, while at the same time earning some extra money – but there are regulations which exist to safeguard the health and well-being of children while they are at work, and to make their first taste of work pleasant and rewarding.
Councillor Val Gibson, Wolverhampton City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “It is important that any child who is employed does so strictly in accordance with the law.
These rules are not just red tape; they exist to protect the health and physical well-being of children while they are at work.”
During the school holidays children aged 13-14 can work up to five hours a day (a maximum of 25 hours per week), children aged 15-16 can work up to eight hours a day (a maximum of 35 hours per week). Children may not work before 7am or after 7pm, and it is illegal to employ a child under the age of 13.
Anyone wishing to employ a child should register the employment by notifying the Child Employment Section, Safeguarding Service, Priory Green Office, Whitburn Close, Pendeford, WV9 5NJ, within seven days of the commencement of the employment.
Children are prohibited from working in a number of settings, including factories, betting shops, fish and chip shops, pubs, theatres and garage forecourts. Door to door selling, canvassing, street trading, cash collection, delivering milk and any kind of building work are also prohibited.
