The long summer holiday is an opportunity for young people to earn some cash by taking on a temporary job until the new term starts - but there are legal restrictions on who can work, and for how long.
Cumbria County Council's Education Welfare Service is encouraging children, their parents and employers to make sure they know about the law on child employment so they don't fall foul of the regulations.
The main restrictions are:
- children under the age of 13 can't work at all.
- young people who want to work need to have a permit (unless they are legally of school leaving age). It is the employer's responsibility to get this permit, which is issued by Education Welfare.
- a young person who is still of school age cannot work until a 'risk assessment' has been carried out by the employer.
- during the school holidays, young people can't work before 7.00am or later than 7.00pm and their hours are restricted by their age:
13-14 year olds can work 5 hours Monday - Saturday, 2 hours on Sunday up to a maximum of 25 hours a week
15-16 year olds can work 8 hours Monday - Saturday, 2 hours on Sunday up to a maximum of 35 hours a week.
The 35 hours a week only applies to school holidays - during term time it is less.
Young people are of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year in which they reach 16 and NOT on their 16th birthday or when they receive their National Insurance number.
- there are restrictions to the type of jobs young people can do - some environments are simply not safe bearing in mind someone's age and experience.
Mary Johnson is a child employment officer at Cumbria County Council. She said:
"Now is a good time to remind everyone of the rules about young people and employment, and why they are important.
"These rules are designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young people. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure that they get a work permit for the employee and that a risk assessment is carried out, and that the result of this assessment is shared with both the employee and a parent.
"There is no doubt that children of compulsory school age can benefit tremendously from part time work but it is important that the work is suitable, and that it is properly regulated."
If you are a young person, a parent or an employer who would like to find out more about employing young people, please contact:
Mary Johnson on 01768 242072 or
Janet Poultney on 01946 595346
You can also get more information at www.cumbria.gov.uk/education/welfare
ENDS
Further information from Alison Lister, media team on 01228 606335
Follow this link to get more information on employing young people