Permitted employment for children and young people

Jobs children aged 13 and above can do

light agricultural and horticultural work
shop work including shelf stacking
delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed materials (but not collecting money)
shampooing and sweeping up in hairdressers
serving tables in a café/restaurant (but not working in the commercial kitchen)
office work
car washing by hand in a private residential setting
working in riding stables
domestic work in hotels

In addition young people aged 14 and above can work with their parents in a market if they have a work permit.

No child of any age may be employed:

in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club, except if the child is performing and is licensed to do so
in a factory or industrial undertaking
to sell or deliver alcohol (except in sealed containers and under the supervision of a responsible adult)
delivering milk
delivering fuel oils
in any commercial kitchen such as a café, pub, hotel or fish and chip shop
collecting or sorting refuse
in any work that is more than three metres above ground or floor level
in employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
collecting money or selling or canvassing 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 that part of a butcher’s shop or any other premises connected with the killing of livestock, butchery or the preparation of carcasses or meat for sale
as an attendant or assistant in a fairground or amusement arcade (where gambling takes place)
in the personal care of residents in any residential care home or nursing home

The child employment team provides advice to employers and families on the regulations for the employment of children.

Child Employment Team
Pupil Services
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London
E14 2BG

Tel: 020 7364 5006
Fax: 020 7364 4311