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Children (Regulation of Employment) (Jersey) Order 2011
Explanatory Note
Introduction
This Order is made under the Children (Jersey) Law 2002 (the “2002 Law”), in exercise of a power for the Minister for Health and Social Services (the “Minister”) to make Orders with respect to the employment of children – meaning, according to that Law, a person who has not attained the age of 18.
The Minister has powers, under the 2002 Law, to take action if he or she is of the opinion that a child is being employed in a manner that is prejudicial to the child’s health or otherwise to render the child unfit to obtain the full benefit of any education. The Minister may give notice to the employer prohibiting or restricting the child’s employment by the employer. The Minister has further powers to require an employer, parent or guardian of a child to provide such information regarding the child as the Minister needs in order to determine whether the child’s employment is adversely affecting the child’s education.
It should be noted that, by virtue of the 2002 Law, the prohibitions and restrictions in the Order apply to any situation where a child assists in a trade or occupation carried on for profit, even if the child is not remunerated in any way for his or her labour.
Under the 2002 Law, employment of a child in contravention of the Order would be an offence by the employer and by any person (but not the child) to whose act or default the contravention is attributable. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
The Order
Article 1 – Interpretation
This Article defines expressions used in the Order.
“Child” is defined so as to be a person who is both under the age of 16 and below the upper limit of compulsory school age. The “upper limit of compulsory school age” is defined in the Education (Jersey) Law 1999. A child reaches that limit on the 30th June in the school year in which he or she has his or her 16th birthday. A school year is also defined in that Law, and is a year commencing on 1st September. The effect of this definition is that –
(a) the Order does not apply to any child who has attained the age of 16;
(b) if a child’s 16th birthday falls within 1st July to 31st August inclusive in a year, the Order ceases to apply to the child from 30th June in that year.
Article 2 – Prohibition of employment of children under 13 years of age
No child under the age of 13 may be employed.
Article 3 – Permitted hours of employment
A child may not be employed during school hours. A child may not be employed before 6 a.m. or after 8.15 p.m.
Article 4 – Restriction of number of hours of employment in a day and week
The number of hours that a child may work on a day is set according to whether the day falls within a school week or a holiday week. A school week is a week in which there is at least one school day. A holiday week is a week in which there are no school days. The restrictions in paragraph (1) for employment on school days and in school weeks apply to children of all ages. The restrictions in paragraphs (2) and (3) for employment on non-school days and in holiday weeks differ according to whether the child is under 15.
Article 5 – Restriction of days of employment in a week
This Article prohibits the employment of a child on more than 6 days in a week.
Article 6 – Rest periods and breaks
This Article imposes minimum requirements for the rest period that a child must have in a day and during the school holidays, and the breaks that a child must have when employed for more than 4½ hours.
Article 7 – Prohibited work
Paragraph (1) is a general prohibition of employment of a child in work that is either potentially harmful to the child’s safety, health or development or which is prejudicial to the child’s education.
In addition, paragraph (2) specifies tasks that a child may not do.
Article 8 – Duty to child who works without pay
Any child who assists in a business that is carried on for profit is treated as employed, even though the child is not paid. This Article has the effect that the person for whom the child does the work has the same duties towards the child as an employer has to an employee under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989.
Article 9 – Employment authorized by other enactment
Paragraphs (1) and (2) disapply certain provisions of this Order to certain employments where alternative regulation applies, whether under a licence granted by the Minister authorizing a child to take part in a public performance or whether the employment is on a Jersey ship and regulated by the Shipping (Employment of Young People) (Jersey) Order 2007.
By virtue of Article 26 of the Education (Jersey) Law 1999, the prohibition in Article 3 of this draft Order on employment during school hours and the limit in Article 4 on the number of hours for which a child may be employed on a school day do not apply when the child is in a work experience placement arranged or approved by the child’s school. Paragraph (3) of this Article has the effect that the restrictions in this Order on places or types of employment do not apply where a child is working in a work experience placement.
Paragraph (4) of this Article provides for hours spent in a work experience placement arranged or approved by a child’s school to be disregarded when applying the rules in this Order as to the maximum number of hours for which and the maximum number of days for which a child may be employed.
Article 10 – Citation and commencement
This Article provides for the citation of the Order and its commencement on 1st October 2011.
File No. 404/10