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Employment Law for School-aged young people

If you are thinking of working and earning a wage the law states that you can only work a certain number of hours per week and only do certain jobs until you reach school leaving age at about 16. The youngest age that you can work part-time is 13 unless you are involved in:

  • television and theatre
  • modelling
  • similar activities

If you do undertake work of this kind you will need to get a performance licence from your local authority who will speak to your school to make sure that it doesn’t affect your studies.

Children and young people under minimum school leaving age

If you are still at school and not yet eligible to leave here are some of the things you have to consider before starting work:

  • You must not work during school hours on any school day
  • You must not work in any industrial setting such as a factory or industrial site
  • You must not work before 7.00am or after 7.00pm
  • You must not work for more than four hours without taking a break of at least one hour
  • You must not work in any occupations prohibited by local byelaws or other legislation, such as pubs and betting shops
  • You must not work if it may be harmful to your health, well-being or education
  • You must not work at any time, if during the 12 months beginning 1 January, working means that you have not had two uninterrupted weeks of holiday from school
  • You must not work for more than two hours on any school day or for more than 12 hours in any week in which you are required to go to school
  • You must not work for more than two hours on a Sunday
  • You must not work for more than eight hours (five hours if you are under 15) on any day which is not a school day or a Sunday
  • You must not work for more than 35 hours (25 if you are under the age of 15) in any week in which you are not required to go to school
You may need an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council.
Check out the employment of children byelaw in Highland: Byelaw for the Employment of Children 1999

For further information visit: Young People and employment

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