As we commence Child Employment Awareness Month, Blaenau Gwent Council is reminding businesses that employ children aged between 13 and 16 years old that they need permits to comply with employment laws. These permits are free of charge from the Local Authority where the child works.
No child aged below 13 is allowed to work in England and Wales unless it relates to Entertainment and Performance projects.
This National Awareness Campaign takes place across the country every year in April, where councils will be reminding employers that children aged between 13 and 16 years old require Work Permits to enable them to undertake part-time work.
The welfare of children is paramount and if they are taking part in part-time work opportunities, we need to ensure that their needs are being met by employers and that children who do work are doing so safely.
During this month Local Authority officers will be visiting places of businesses across the borough to make sure that young people in part-time jobs are safe and working legally.
Under byelaws regulating the Employment of Children and Street Trading by persons aged less than 18 years old, which was introduced over 50 years ago, teenagers aged between 13 and 16 years old can take part in light work in a number of different areas including: shop work, office work and working in cafes, restaurants, car washing and riding stables.
No child may be employed before 7.00 am or after 7.00 pm on any day. No child may work for more than 4 hours without a break of at least 1 hour and no child can work for more than 2 hours on a Sunday between the hours of 7.00 am and 7.00 pm.
During term time, no child can be employed for more than 12 hours per week and there are also other guidelines for the number of weekends and hours during holiday times that children can work.