Use this page to find out about regulations controlling the employment of children and young people, and to apply for a child employment permit.
The page contains regulations which employers must follow, and guidance for working young people, their parents or guardians and schools. Check the sections below to see which information may be particularly useful for you.
If the proposed employment is a performance in a commercial play, concert, exhibition, sports event or modelling show, this is not the service you need. Instead, please visit our page on how to apply for a child performance licence.
Find the information you need
You are responsible for getting a separate permit for every child you employ, and ensuring that you follow the legal regulations for working children.
- employ any child aged under 13 (even if they are a family member)
- employ a child aged 13 to 16 without an employment permit
- make false statements to get a child employment permit
- fail to follow the conditions of the permit
If you're employing children illegally, your liability insurance will also become invalid.
You can only work legally from the age of 13. Any employer will need to inform us and get a permit before you start working for them. Your parents and school must also give their permission. If you have more than one job, you must declare this to your school and your employers.
It's in your best interests to read the restrictions on the type and amount of work you can legally do, in the sections below. These regulations exist to protect your safety, and make sure that working doesn't interfere with your school life.
You can't get in trouble with the police for working illegally, but you could lose your job, and your employer might be taken to court and have to pay a large fine.
Read our Guide to Child Employment for more information about the rules, and what to do if something goes wrong at work.
Your child can only work legally from the age of 13, with the knowledge and permission of their local authority. Child employment regulations will apply while they are still in compulsory education. These restrict the type of work they can do, and the number of hours they can work during term time and school holidays. You may want to read our Employer's Guide and Young Person's Guide to child employment, to learn how the regulations are designed to safeguard your child's wellbeing and make sure that working doesn't interfere with their education or social activities.
Your child can only work with your consent, and the agreement of their school. You may need to meet with their teachers to discuss your child's progress and any potential for employment to affect their education. If there are any issues with attendance, punctuality, progress or capacity to learn in lessons, the school may refuse to grant their permission.
Please pay particular attention to the Before you apply section below, which gives details of the information and documentation that you will need to have ready, before an application for a child employment permit can begin.
Permit regulations and application
Select any topic below to read in more detail.
Child employment permits exist to protect the wellbeing of children and young people who do work (paid or unpaid). The law is there to ensure that working children are:
- safe from injury
- protected from exploitation
- benefiting fully from education
- able to rest and enjoy social activities in their spare time
View the national legislation and local bye-laws for full details of the legal protections for employed children and the process for applying for a permit:
Location
We manage the granting (and if necessary, revoking) of child employment permits within B&NES, through our Attendance and Welfare Support Service. It is the employer's responsibility to inform us if they employ a young person, and not to do so without the appropriate permits. We will only issue a permit once we are satisfied that the child's working conditions meet legal requirements. This applies, whether or not the working child normally lives within our area.
Age
Permit regulations apply to all children who are working (whether paid or not), from their 13th birthday until the end of their last year of compulsory education. Currently, the official school leaving date is the last Friday in June of the school year that the child turns 16.
After leaving school, general employment law applies, and young people can work without a permit.
Parental and school consent
We can only grant permits if the child's parent or guardian, and their school, know about the employment and give their consent for it to continue.
What counts, and doesn't count as 'employment'
We class as 'employment' any work which helps a person or business to make a profit, even if the work itself is unpaid. So, for example, these are examples of employment:
- Delivering advertising leaflets for a local tradesperson (even if that person is a family member)
- Helping out in the family shop or restaurant (minding the till, taking orders or stocking shelves, for instance)
Where no business profits, and the work is more likely to be very casual, irregular or a one-off, we do not class this as 'employment'. For example:
- Occasional babysitting, even if it is paid
- Any sort of work experience placement which is organised as part of education
- Offering to wash a car or do odd jobs, to raise money for charity. However, doing regular money-raising or similar activities for a charity counts as 'employment'
The meaning of 'light work'
Legally, children may only do 'light work'. This means work which, by its nature and working environment, is not likely to:
- be harmful to their safety, health or development
- interfere with their attendance at school or their ability and energy to learn there
- stop them from doing, or learning from, any work experience which is organised as part of their education
We may issue a child employment permit to cover light work in one or more of the following categories:
- Agricultural or horticultural work (farming or gardening)
- Delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed material (and collecting payment for these, subject to the provisions of byelaw)
- Shop work, including shelf stacking
- Work in hairdressing, beauty or nail salons
- Office work
- Car washing by hand, in a private residential setting
- In a café or restaurant (but without ever entering a commercial kitchen)
- In riding stables
- Domestic work in hotels and similar accommodation
Young people aged 14 or above can also work in street trading, if there is a family stall or kiosk, and they are working under direct parental supervision. In addition to a child employment permit, it's necessary for the business to have street trading consent and any other applicable permissions (such as food business registration).
We will not issue a child employment permit for any forms of work which might present a danger to the child, or where mistakes could cause a danger to others. These prohibited forms of work include:
Dangerous tasks or working environments
- Delivering fuel, oils or milk
- Working with or sorting rubbish and refuse
- Working in a commercial kitchen
- Working 3m or more above ground or floor level (such as working on a roof or cleaning guttering)
- Handling harmful chemicals
- Working in a slaughterhouse, butcher's shop, meat factory or smokehouse for curing fish
- Operating dangerous machinery
- Any work that is physically very demanding, and does not meet the 'light work' requirement
Tasks or working environments which present safeguarding concerns, or exposure to potentially harmful influences
- Working in a cinema, theatre, disco, dance hall or night club (except as part of a performance given entirely by children, or as covered by a child performance licence)
- Selling or delivering alcohol, cigarettes or other tobacco, or dangerous drugs
- Selling things, collecting money or canvassing from door to door
- Working in telephone sales
- Working in a fairground or amusement arcade, with gaming machines or other types of gambling
- Providing personal care for residents in a nursing or residential care home
- Work involving exposure to adult material or situations
Work where there may also be a risk to others
- Delivering milk
- Working in a commercial kitchen
- Providing personal care
The law places strict limits on the amount of work that school-age children are permitted to do, and when they can do this work. The regulations are split into two age bands: 13 to 14, and 15 to 16 years of age. Where the time restrictions differ, these appear in bold in the tables below.
Contents
Restrictions for ages 13 and 14
| Period | Condition |
|---|---|
| School days |
No more than 2 hours per weekday, during these periods:
|
| Saturdays during term time | Up to 5 hours, between 7am and 7pm |
| Sundays during term time | Up to 2 hours, between 7am and 7pm |
| Weeks during term time | No more than 12 hours in total per week |
| Days during school holidays | Up to 5 hours a day on any day, except Sunday |
| Weeks during school holidays | No more than 25 hours per week |
| Per year | At least 2 consecutive weeks without employment |
| Any working day longer than 4 hours | No more than 4 hours of work without a 1-hour rest break |
Restrictions for ages 15 and 16
| Period | Condition |
|---|---|
| School days |
No more than 2 hours per weekday, during these periods:
|
| Saturdays during term time | Up to 8 hours, between 7am and 7pm |
| Sundays during term time | Up to 2 hours, between 7am and 7pm |
| Weeks during term time | No more than 12 hours in total per week |
| Days during school holidays | Up to 8 hours a day on any day, except Sunday |
| Weeks during school holidays | No more than 35 hours per week |
| Per year | At least 2 consecutive weeks without employment |
| Any working day longer than 4 hours | No more than 4 hours of work without a 1-hour rest break |
Employers
Before employing any child, you must by law complete a full risk assessment. This should be a suitable and sufficient assessment of any health and safety risks that the child may be exposed to at work. Complete your risk assessment before you start your application for a permit, as you will need to submit the results to us. See our Employer's Guide to Child Employment for further guidance on what you should consider.
You will need to co-operate with the child's parent or guardian, their school and any other authorities to get all of the necessary documents which you'll need to submit with your application. We cannot start processing your application until we have all of the necessary paperwork.
Parents and guardians
You'll need to provide the information below before we can process the application.
- Your child's date of birth (employers may request ID or a copy of their birth certificate)
- Details of any pre-existing health conditions which may prejudice their ability to do the job
- Confirmation that the school have agreed to your child taking on the job
- Confirmation that the employer has completed a risk assessment, and shared the results with you, including any adjustments they plan to make to safeguard your child's wellbeing
Get an application form
The easiest and quickest way to get an application form for a child employment permit is to download one, using the button below.
Download the permit application form
Parents can also request a copy of the application form from:
- the prospective employer
- your child's school
- the Attendance and Welfare Support Service, via email at awss@bathnes.gov.uk
Complete and submit the application
The form has sections to be completed by the employer and parents or guardians, so you'll need to co-operate to complete it.
Submit by email: Complete the application form (MS Word) and email it to us at AWSS@bathnes.gov.uk
Submit by post: Print and complete the application form, and send it to us at:
- Attendance and Welfare Support Service
- Bath & North East Somerset Council
- Lewis House
- Manvers Street
- Bath BA1 1JG
When we have processed your application
We will issue all child employment permits to the employer, to retain for any future reference. Please return permits to us, once the child is no longer in your employment.
Email us at AWSS@bathnes.gov.uk or call us during business hours on 01225 394241
If you are concerned about the welfare of a working child
Be clear on the law
It is illegal to employ a child:
- who is too young
- aged 13 to 16 without a child employment permit
- for a type of work, length of working hours, or in a working environment which is against the regulations protecting working children
If you have concerns, please act on them. Use one of the following services, depending on the severity and immediacy of concern:
- Call the Police on 999 if you believe the child is in immediate danger
- Use our dedicated service to report your concern to our Children's Services Team, if you believe the child is at risk of, or has already experienced, significant harm
- Email us on awss@bathnes.gov.uk, or call us during business hours on 01225 394241
All reports will be treated in confidence, taken seriously, and investigated fully.
Be alert to child trafficking, exploitation and modern slavery
If you have any suspicions, please refer to the GOV.UK website for more information on modern slavery, how to spot the signs, and what to do. People working in certain frontline professions (such as teachers and healthcare workers) have a duty to notify the government in cases of suspected modern slavery.
Read more about our work and policy on modern slavery.