Do you employ children of compulsory school age after school, at weekends or during the school holidays? If so you may find the following information from the Education Welfare Service very useful.

Did you know that if you employ children of compulsory school age you must apply for a work permit for them and that this is law? Without a work permit the children you employ are working for you illegally and you can be prosecuted and heavily fined for not complying with the law.

The law is there to protect the children – work permits can only be issued for work that is allowed by law and only for the hours that children are permitted to work. This means that even if a child has a work permit he/she is not covered by that permit if they begin work before 7.00am or work after 7.00pm. Children working without a permit or with one but working in breach of the time limitations may not be covered by their employer’s public liability insurance. This has serious implications for those children who are injured at work or who have property stolen or damaged and need compensation.

Children are allowed to work whilst still attending school from the age of thirteen but need work permits right up to their official school leaving date, which is always the last Friday in June of the school year in which they reach their sixteenth birthday. Many employers are under the misguided belief that once a child is sixteen they do not need to worry about work permits or the regulations regarding child employment. This is NOT the case and each year the oldest school leavers will be very nearly seventeen.

Children are only allowed to work in certain occupations and for a limited amount of time, depending on their age and whether they are working in term time or holiday time. As the employer of the child it is your legal responsibility to apply for the work permit and ensure a suitable risk assessment for the job is undertaken. You should ensure the child’s parents are informed of the nature of the work their child is doing and that any findings from the risk assessment are given to them.

The law surrounding the employment of children is complicated. Information leaflets are available from The Education Welfare Service, Great Moor House, Bittern Road, Sowton, Exeter, EX2 7NL. The leaflet and other information can also be downloaded from the Devon County Council website on www.devon.gov.uk/child_employment.

There is an Education Welfare Officer responsible for Child Employment. Her name is Christine Ellison and her contact number is 01392 384713. Her email address is christine.ellison@devon.gov.uk If you need further advice please contact her and she will answer any queries you may have.