First up – what age of employees are we talking about here?

We’re talking about employing individuals between the ages of 13 and 17 years old.

If we refer to a minor, we’ll specifically be referring to those aged 13 to 16 (or those of compulsory school age) whereas if we refer to a young person, we’ll be referring to someone over compulsory school age but younger than 18. The reason being that these two age groups are covered under different legislation and different working hours and restrictions apply to minors and young persons.

What do we mean by compulsory school age?

Compulsory school age is anyone who has not reached school leaving age and this differs in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. To find out the relevant school leaving ages, click here.

As a reminder, all minors and young people still need to have the right to work in the UK and the relevant checks completed before they are employed – we cover this further below including the additional considerations needed for Child Student visa holders.

What work pattern can minors and young people work?

Minors and young people can work part-time in your business subject to certain restrictions which are covered later.

In addition, young people can also work full-time hours.

Do I need a local authority work permit for a minor?

Yes. If you employ or intend to employ anyone of compulsory school age you will need to apply for a work permit from the local authority (free of charge) before they start in their part-time role.

The work permit will need to be completed by you as the employer, but you will also need input from the individual’s school and their parent or carer.

Most applications for work permits can be dealt with online via the relevant local authority website and are free of charge. However, if you fail to obtain a work permit for a minor in your business, this could result in a fine of up to £1,000. We recommend ‘work permit obtained’ is added to any onboarding checklist to mitigate this risk.

What are the restrictions on working hours for 13- to 16-year-olds?

If you employ minors the legislation to comply with in England and Wales is the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (CYPA).

Under the CYPA, there are general restrictions and specific restrictions on working hours for minors.

The general restrictions are that minors:

• Cannot work during school hours
• Cannot work before 7am or after 7pm
• Cannot work more than one hour before school
• Cannot work more than four hours without a one-hour break
• Must have a two-week break (per calendar year) from any work during school holidays

There are specific restrictions on the number of hours minors can work during school term-time and school holidays. The below infographics set out the working hours restrictions. However, each local authority has different school holiday dates and therefore you should ensure you are aware of the school holidays for any minors you employ to ensure you’re being compliant. Again, we would recommend ‘school holiday dates obtained’ is added to any onboarding checklist and shared with their line manager to mitigate the risk of exceeding the hour restrictions.

Working hour rules during school term-time:

Working hour rules during school holidays:

What are the restrictions on working hours for 16- to 18-year-olds?

For employees above compulsory school age (but under 18, typically 16- and 17-year-olds), the legislation to comply with in England and Wales is the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR). Finally, a piece of legislation you’re familiar with!

Under the WTR, there are different working time and rest obligations for young persons (defined as ‘young workers’ under the WTR) which differ from those applying to adults. The restrictions that apply generally to young persons under the WTR include:

• Daily Working Time: they cannot work from than 8 hours in any day.
• Weekly Working Time: they cannot work more than 40 hours in any week (this is measures Monday to Sunday).
• Night-Work: they cannot work between 10pm and 6am.
• Rest Breaks: if they work more than 4.5 hours, they must have at least 30 minutes rest (ideally consecutive) during their shift.
• Daily Rest Periods: they must not have less than 12 hours consecutive rest in each 24-hour period.
• Weekly Rest Periods: they must have at least 48 hours consecutive rest in each 7-day period.

As noted above, young persons should not work between 10pm and 6am – this is known as the restricted period. However, there are some exceptions to this which could apply in your business depending on business need or sector. If you would like advice on whether any exceptions would apply to your business, we can assist with this.

What role or duties can minors do in the workplace?

There is (understandably) significant regulation on what minors can (and cannot) do in the workplace which is aimed at ensuring their health, safety, well-being and education.

The CYPA stipulates that minors are only permitted to do “light work” – this means a job that will not affect their safety, health or development or interfere their school attendance or education.

In addition to the above, there are local byelaws set by each local council on what types of work a minor can and cannot do. Although these change from council to council, we’ve set out some generally accepted examples below:

• Jobs they can do: agriculture, shop work, office work, café or restaurant work, domestic work in hotels.
• Jobs they cannot do: work in a cinema, deliver fuel oils, factory or industrial site, work in a commercial kitchen, collect or sort refuse, work involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents.

If you are unsure if you can employ a minor for a particular role, you can seek assistance from the local council.

Is there a set amount of pay for minors and young persons?

Here’s the typical lawyers answer you were waiting for…it depends.

For minors, they are entitled to be paid for any work they do for you, however there is no statutory restriction on what pay they should receive. However, we would recommend their rate of pay is fair and reasonable. As those under 16 years of age are not subject to National Insurance contributions, they only need to be added to your payroll if their total income exceeds their Personal Allowance.

For employees over compulsory school age (i.e., young persons) they must receive the National Minimum Wage applicable to their age and their payments should be processed through your payroll system. The current rates for NMW can be accessed here.

What are the holiday requirements for minors and young persons?

As covered already, minors must have a two-week break per calendar year from any work during school holidays. However, for young persons (i.e., those over compulsory school age) they have a statutory right to paid annual leave under the WTR.

Are there specific right to work checks for minors and young persons?

No. You should still obtain the usual right to work check documentation to ensure that they have the right to work in the UK. There is no difference here and you must obtain acceptable evidence as per the Home Office’s guidance.

The employee has a Child Student Visa, are there additional restrictions on their working hours?

Yes. Firstly, a Child Student visa holder under 16 years old cannot work at all during their time in the UK.

However, a Child Student who is aged 16 or above is allowed to work but the following restrictions will generally apply:

• During term time, they can only work up to 10 hours per week (a week is considered in this context to run from Monday to Sunday).
• During vacation periods, they can work for any duration (including before the course starts) (subject to the working time restrictions under the WTR).
• They can work on a course-related work placement which forms an assessed part of the Child Student’s course; provided that any period that the Child Student spends on that placement does not exceed half of the total length of the course undertaken in the UK, unless it is a UK statutory requirement that the placement should exceed half the total length of the course. If they are on a work placement, the above 10 hour per week limit won’t apply.

In addition to the above, there are specific restrictions on the type of work a Child Student visa holder can do. The Home Office stipulates that in no circumstances can a Child Student undertake any of the following work:

• be self-employed or engage in business activity.
• work as a professional sportsperson (including as a sports coach).
• work as an entertainer.
• work in a position which would fill a permanent full-time vacancy.

Conducting an online right to work check using a ‘share code’ will confirm what work restrictions are applied to the Child Student you are looking to employ. If you are uncertain on what restrictions will apply, we can assist with this.

The employee has a Child Student Visa, what additional obligations do I have?

In addition to carrying out an online right to work check, for Child Students who are permitted to work for a limited number of hours per week during term time you must also obtain, copy and retain details of their academic term and vacation times covering the duration of their period of study in the UK for which they will be employed. The dates should be provided by the education provider who is sponsoring the Child Student’s visa. You should not rely on a copy of the education provider’s website and instead should obtain written confirmation specific to the Child Student and the course they are enrolled on.

It will be essential to monitor a Child Student’s working hours to ensure they are not exceeding their permitted term time limit, particularly where overtime is being undertaken.

If a Child Student does work beyond what their immigration permission allows, for example if they work more than 10 hours per week during term time, they will be considered by the Home Office to be working illegally. In these circumstances, you would be liable for civil illegal working penalties of up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first-time offence, or up to £60,000 per illegal worker for repeat offences within a 3-year period.

What else do I need to know about employing minors and young persons?

Other things to consider when employing minors and young persons, include:

• The need for specific risk assessments for their role and duties (which must be given to their parent or carer if they’re under age 16).
• The need to consider minors and young persons in your risk assessments for the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Considering whether your insurance policies include coverage for employees under 18.

Potential pitfalls when employing minors and young people

The pitfalls usually experienced by employers when employing minors and young people is generally the lack of record keeping or monitoring of working hours.

Here are our top tips:

1. Keep clear records of working times and rest period
2. Check school holiday dates for each location you operate in
3. Check whether the minor or young person has another job – their working time is an aggregate!
4. Remember to obtain a work permit from the local authority
5. Check your insurance policy covers you to employ minors and young persons
6. Conduct risk assessments for health and safety and for prevention of sexual harassment

If you fail to pay minors or young people correctly or breach restrictions on working hours and rest periods, you will be at risk of enforcement action from HMRC and the local authorities and subject to warnings, penalties and fines. This is just the same as with adult employees.

How we can help

If you would like any assistance or advice on employing minors and/or on student visa requirements, please reach out to our employment and immigration teams for advice.