Employers

Employing young people - What you need to know.

Young People are an asset to your workforce.
They can bring fresh ideas.
You can ensure that they develop the skills and experience that suits your business.
Young people can motivate an existing workforce.
You can receive financial assistance towards the cost of an Apprenticeship or you can train young people via your own in-house training programme.
You can develop young people now to avoid skills gaps in the future.

Employing Young People

All 16-year olds are not legally available for full time work until the last Friday in June of their final year at school. Until that time they are covered by the children (Protection at Work) regulation 1998. These regulations state that:

Young people under the age of 13 are not allowed to work full time;

Young people aged 13 years and over are allowed to take part in light work in agriculture or horticulture in shops, hairdressers, cafes, stables, kennels, in offices and to deliver newspapers as long as it does not interfere with their education: and

Young people aged 14 years and over are allowed to take part in light work which is not harmful to their safety, health and development and does not interfere with their school day.

Young Peoples working hours (school age) under the children (protection at work) regulations 1998.

No work during school hours.
No work before 7am and after 7pm.
No more than 12 hours a week in term time.
No more that two hours on a school day or on a Sunday.
No more than five hours on any other day (eight hours if 15 or over).
No more than 25 hours a week during school holidays (35 hours if 15 or over).
No more than four hours without a break of 1 hour.
Any young person of compulsory school age must have a work permit issued by the local council. It is the employer’s responsibility to apply for the permit within one week of the young person starting work.

In addition to the information on this page it is important to know the legislation involved when employing young people. For more information contact Connexions for an employer pack or follow the links below:

Links to further information

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) www.hse.gov.uk
Practical advice for businesses www.businesslink.gov.uk
Information from Royal Society for the prevention of accidents (RoSPA) about employing young workers www.rospa.org.uk
Department of trade and industry www.dti.gov.uk www.berr.gov.uk
Inland Revenue www.hmrc.gov.uk
Equal pay information from ACAS www.acas.org.uk

You can find information about the minimum wage at www.direct.gov.uk or by calling the national minimum wage helpline on 0845 6000 678.

Whether you are an individual looking for an Apprenticeship, or an employer looking for an apprentice, there is a whole range of information to help you decide if Apprenticeships are the right route for you.

 

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