Prohibited employment of children

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Children under school-leaving age must not be employed in any of the following:

1. in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club, except in connection with a performance given entirely by children (other than performances where a special licence for a young person in entertainment is granted, in accordance with the Child and Young Persons Act 1963)
2. the sale or delivery of alcohol, except in sealed containers
3. delivery of milk in glass containers
4. delivery of fuel oils
5. a commercial kitchen
6. collection or sorting of refuse
7. work which is more than three metres above ground or floor level
8. employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
9. collecting money or selling or canvassing door-to-door
10. telephone sales
11. work involving exposure to adult material or in situations otherwise unsuitable for children
12. slaughterhouses or other premises connected with the killing of livestock, butchery or preparation of carcasses of meat for sale
13. fairgrounds, amusement arcades or other premises used for public amusement by means of automatic machines, games of chance or skill or similar devices
14. the personal care of residents in residential care or nursing homes

No child must be employed in any work outdoors unless wearing suitable clothes and shoes.

Children under the age of 13 must not be employed

Children aged 13 may be employed in light work in the following categories:

• agricultural or horticultural work
• delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed material
• shop work, including shelf stacking
• hairdressing salons
• office work
• car washing by hand in a private residential setting
• a café or restaurant
• riding stables
• domestic work in hotels and other establishments offering accommodation

Children aged 14 or over may only be employed in light work in categories other than those listed under prohibited employment.

Street trading

No child under the age of 14 may engage in street trading, and children aged 14 or over may only do so if employed by a parent or guardian under their direct supervision, and if granted a street trader’s licence by the local authority.

Last updated: 2 June 2009