The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill: upcoming changes to child employment

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill has started its journey through the House of Lords and could come into effect later this year. Its wide-ranging provisions are aimed at better protecting children, improving standards in education, regulating educational institutions, and establishing new schools.

The Bill also seeks to give children slightly more opportunities to take up employment, whilst not adversely affecting their education. The Bill therefore introduces some new changes and flexibility into when children can work. The Bill will also replace the power for local authorities to make byelaws with a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations in relation to employment for children to ensure greater consistency across England and greater certainty for all to know the rules.

What is the current law on child employment?

The current law on employing those under the age of 18 applies different rules for “children” and “young people”. This distinction will remain. A “child” for these purposes is anyone who is not over compulsory school age. A child may not legally leave school until the last Friday in June of the school year during which they reach the age of 16. This means that some 15 year-olds will fall within the restrictions on the employment of children, while others will not. A “young person” is someone who is over compulsory school age but under the age of 18.

Age limits

The starting position is that children under the age of 14 may not be employed. However, local authority byelaws can relax that rule to allow 13-year-olds to be employed in some jobs such as delivering newspapers, stacking shelves and some responsibilities in riding stables. Since 2000, employment of children between the ages of 10 to 12 in light agricultural or horticultural work has been unlawful.

Types of work

Children can only be employed to do “light work”, meaning work which is unlikely to be harmful to their health, safety and development, school attendance or participation in work experience. Children cannot be employed in street trading (other than under byelaws which allow such employment by their parents).

Hours of work

Children cannot be employed:

• On a school day, before the end of the school day (although this is often relaxed by byelaws to allow for morning paper rounds);
• Before 7am or after 7pm;
• For more than 2 hours on a school day or on a Sunday;
• Without a one-hour rest after working 4 hours in any day;
• For more than 12 hours in any week during which there is school;
• If they are under 15 years old, for more than 5 hours on a non-school day Monday to Saturday; if they are 15 or over, for more than 8 hours on a non-school day Monday to Saturday;
• During the school holidays, if they are under 15 years old, for more than 25 hours a week, and if they are 15 or over, for more than 35 hours a week;

Holidays

Children must be given a two-week break from employment each year but there is no right to paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations.

Pay

Children are not entitled to National Minimum Wage (NWM). (Young people are entitled to NMW at a young workers rate.)

Public performances

Local authorities may issue licences which permit children under the age of 16 to take part in public performances for payment such as sports events, working as a model, taking part in a paid for broadcast performance.

What new changes will the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill make?

The Bill proposes to:

• Remove the 2-hour restriction on a Sunday.
• Allow children to work until 8pm (instead of 7pm).
• Allow children to work for up to one hour before school.

Current caps on weekly hour limits, as well as a restriction on working during the school day, will continue to be in place.

These changes will be welcomed by businesses (and teenagers keen to earn money). Consistency will be achieved by requiring all employers to have a work permit to employ children for safeguarding reasons. Currently, employers must apply for a work permit from their local councils, if there are local byelaws requiring this.

Children will still only be permitted to do light work.

The Bill also proposes to allow for regulations which would grant the Secretary of State the power to:

• Prohibit or permit work of a particular kind by children.
• Authorise 13-year-olds to work in specific roles.
• Add additional restrictions to children’s hours of work.
• Specify intervals to be allowed for meals and breaks.
• Provide for holiday entitlement.
• Provide for other conditions.

This power would replace the power currently granted to local authorities to issue byelaws, again for the sake of consistency.

If you have any questions or concerns about child employment, please contact Rachel Tozer.