This law does not apply to young workers over the minimum school leaving age of 16 years (or 15 years if their 16th birthday is between 1 July and 31 August).
If I employ young people, how will it affect me?
You must not employ anyone under 13 years old.
You must not employ young people in any way that falls outside the list of restrictions for young workers including the hours of employment and work breaks.
The Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989 still applies to the young people you employ. You must make sure that you comply with Health and Safety Law, for example by providing correct protective equipment and adequate training.
Remember that hours worked by a young person are cumulative. This means that you must add together the number of hours a young person works for you and for any other employer to get the total number of hours they are working. We recognise that gaining this information may not always be straightforward, but you should be able to show you have made reasonable efforts to do so.
You must provide the required breaks and holidays and make reasonable effort to ensure that the young person is not working too many cumulative hours.
I currently employ a 15 year old in my shop until 9pm. Will I have to stop doing this?
Yes. Once the law comes in on 1 October 2011, all employers will have to adhere to what the law says, even if means changing the current hours of employment for the young people who work for them. The latest that a young person can work is 8.15pm.
I employ young people on work experience programmes - does this law apply to them?
No, as long as the work experience is organised through Education, Sport and Culture it does not apply.
What happens, if, as an employer, I break this law?
Should this law be broken in any way, you (the employer) may face prosecution.
Wherever possible, enforcement will have a “light touch” approach; however, the maximum penalty for failure to comply with this order is a fine of level 3 on the standard scale (£2000).
What are my responsibilities if I am a parent or carer?
The benefit to young people of going to work and earning their own money is well recognised and the introduction of this law is not intended to limit this. However, young people's education must be the top priority and any work undertaken must not restrict it in any way. As a parent or carer it is your responsibility to ensure that:
- your child is only working the allowed number of hours
- your child is not undertaking any work which is on the list of prohibited jobs
- your child has not taken on a job that is too physically demanding or makes them unfit or not ready for school
Where can I find out more?
You can download the full child employment order below.
If you have any questions or concerns about the employment of a young person, call Children's Services.
Download Children (Regulation of Employment) (Jersey) Order 2011 (size 68kb)
gov.je