Working hours
You cannot employ anybody under the age of 13, and children can only start full-time work once they have reached the minimum school leaving age which is generally 16 and even then they must stay in some form of education or training until they are 18.
Once children have reached school leaving age they can work up to a maximum of 40 hours per week.
There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work. Specifically looking at school holiday rules, during the holiday summer break 13 to 14-year-olds are only allowed to work a maximum of 25 hours a week. This includes:
- A maximum of five hours on weekends and Saturdays
- A maximum of two hours on Sunday
During school holidays, 15 to 16-year-olds only work a maximum of 35 hours per week, including a maximum of eight hours on weekdays and Saturdays and two hours on Sundays.
Pay levels
School age children are not entitled to the national minimum wage. Young workers aged 16 to 17 are entitled to at least £3.72 per hour at present.
Once someone reaches 16 you must pay them through PAYE. Children under 16 do not pay National Insurance, so you will only need to include them on your payroll if they earn over their personal allowance.
Once someone reaches 18, adult employment rights and rules apply, which you will be more accustomed to.
Responsibilities
Under the Licensing Act 2003 children can work in pubs and restaurants: they can wait on tables, collect glasses, clear tables and take orders from customers. They are even allowed to work behind the bar, pulling pints and pouring glasses of wine.
In a bar they can make sales of alcohol as long as each individual sale has been specifically authorised by a responsible person. A responsible person is either the holder of the premises licence, the designated premises supervisor, or anyone aged over 18 who has been authorised by the premises licence holder or the DPS to themselves authorise sales made by under 18s.
Specific approval is required for each case, which means that each time an under-18 makes a sale, authority must be given by the responsible person. Practically this means that the sale made by the child must be witnessed by the responsible person in every case.
However, if you are running a restaurant, or a specific area of your premises is set aside for the service of table meals, then there is an exemption under the Act, which means each sale is not required to be authorised by a responsible person.
Local rules
There are also local rules on the type of work that children are allowed to do. Local bylaws list the jobs that children cannot do. If a job is included on this list a child under the minimum school leaving age cannot do the type of work listed. You will need to contact your local council education department or education welfare service to obtain a list of the local bylaws relevant to your local authority.