Are there any jobs children may not do?

Permitted work for 13 year olds

Children aged 13 years are allowed to be employed in light work in one or more of the following specified categories:

No child of any age may be employed:

in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club (except in connection with a performance given entirely by children or under the terms and conditions of a performance licence)
to sell or deliver alcohol, except in sealed containers
to deliver milk
to deliver fuel oils
in a commercial kitchen
to collect or sort refuse
in any work which is more than 3 metres above ground or internal floor level
in employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
to collect money or to sell or canvass door to door
in work involving exposure to adult material or in situations which are for this reason otherwise unsuitable for children
in telephone sales
in any slaughterhouse or in any part of a butcher's shop or other premises connected with the killing of livestock, butchery, or the preparation of meat for sale
as an attendant or assistant in a fairground or amusement arcade or in any other premises used for the purpose of public amusement by means of automatic machines, games of chance or skill or similar devices
in the personal care of residents of any residential care home or nursing home.

note: other legislation prohibits children's employment e.g. in industrial undertaking and street trading.

A young person is of compulsory school age until the last Friday in June in the school year in which they reach the age of sixteen years.

This information is only a general guide.

Employers and parents must consult the relevant legislation for assistance with specific queries.

For further information contact the Child Employment Office