Employment of Children and Young Persons

The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 sets out controls governing the employment of children and young persons.

The Act defines a child as "a person who is under 16 years of age or the school-leaving age, whichever is the higher"; and defines a young person as "a person who has reached 16 years of age or the school-leaving age (whichever is higher) but is less than 18 years of age".

In general, the Act prohibits the employment of children under 16 years. Employers may, however, take on 14 and 15 year olds, on light work -

• during the school holidays, provided there is a minimum three week break from work during the summer,
• part-time during the school term (over 15 years old only, and for a maximum of 8 hours in the week),
• as part of an approved work experience or education programme where the work is not harmful to their safety, health or development.

Children (i.e. under 16 years of age) can also be employed in cultural, artistic, sports or advertising work which does not interfere with their attendance at school, vocational guidance or training programmes or capacity to benefit from the instruction received.

Employers are required by legislation to display an Abstract of the Act - a poster version of the summary information is available as an attachment at the foot of this page.

Working Hours and Breaks

The following limits apply to the hours that can be worked by young persons under 18 years of age –

Children under 16 years of age are not permitted to start work before 8.00 a.m. They are not allowed to work beyond 8.00 p.m. on any day.

Young persons aged 16 and 17 years are not permitted to start work before 6.00 a.m. They must finish work at 10.00 p.m. on days preceding a school day. They may work up to 11.00 p.m. on days where they have no school the next day: in such instances they must not start work before 7.00 a.m. the next day. However, it should be noted that work past 10.00 p.m. is subject to Ministerial approval by regulation.

A special Code of Practice Concerning the Employment of Young Persons in Licensed Premises is in place governing employment of 16 and 17 years olds in the Licensed trade. This must be signed by the employer, the employee and his/her parent or guardian.

How many hours can a child or young person work each day/week?

Children of 14 years of age cannot work during term-time. They may be permitted to work a maximum of 35 hours a week during school holidays, and a maximum of 40 hours a week on work experience.

Children aged 15 years can work a maximum of 8 hours a week during term-time, a maximum of 35 hours during school holidays, and up to 40 hours on work experience.

Are young persons or children entitled to special work breaks?

Under 16s must be given a 30 minute break after working 4 hours. They must be given a break of 14 hours in every 24 hours, and 2 days off in every 7.

Young persons aged 16 and 17 years must be given a 30 minute break after working 4½ hours. They are entitled to 12 hours off in every 24 hours and 2 days off in every 7 days.

Pay Rates

For industries to which the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 applies, the rate for an employee who is under eighteen years of age is 70% of the Adult National Minimum Wage. The current rate of pay for a person under 18, therefore, is €8.89 per hour.

Employers of persons under 18 years of age must display a Poster which outlines the rights of the young person, in an area where it can be easily accessed and read by all staff.

Mandatory Records

In addition to the normal Statutory Records that employers are required to keep, the following records must be kept for any children and young persons employed by them -

• full name
• date of birth
• time work begins each day
• time work finishes each day
• rate of wages or salary paid per day, week, month or year, as appropriate
• total amount of wages or salary paid to each person

In addition, before employing someone under 16 years of age, an employer must see a copy of the child's birth certificate and obtain the written permission of a parent or guardian to employ the child.

Under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994, an employer must provide all workers under the age of 18 years with a copy of the official summary of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, together with the other details of their terms of employment within one month of taking up a job.

Employing Children - Film & Theatre

In order to employ a child in cultural, artistic, sports or advertising work permission must be obtained by the potential employer by way of a licence issued on behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The type of activities for which licence applications are made would typically be television commercials or films that require the presence of a child. The licence sets out the conditions under which the child(ren) may be employed, such as general conditions about parental consent, supervision and education arrangements, and the maximum working times and minimum breaks appropriate to each group.

The employer should apply in writing for a licence at least 21 days before the employment commences.