With the school summer holidays approaching, many businesses will look to employ young workers to help meet seasonal demands and to provide valuable work experience.

Young workers have additional rights which must be followed strictly:

• Children below age 13 cannot work.  Children aged 13 to 15 can only work part time.  Children aged 16 or over can work full time in school holidays but subject to conditions.
• In England, a young person must be in part-time education or training until they’re 18.
• Any worker under the age of 18 cannot work for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week.
• They must also have at least 30 minutes break if their shift is longer than 4.5 hours
• and they must have at least two consecutive days off every week
• The national minimum wage workers over the compulsory school age, but not yet 18, is £4.20 per hour
• Once a worker reaches 18, the minimum wage increases to £5.90 per hour and must come into effect immediately. It is therefore important to track the employees age to make sure the correct rate is paid.

As with all of our tax tips and web pages this information is necessarily summarised and of a general nature.  If you would like detailed specific advice please contact us.