Will it affect how much I'm paid?
No. The law doesn't cover anything to do with your pay or the minimum wage. There is no legal minimum wage for children at work.
What hours can I work and when?
- you cannot work before 6am or after 8.15pm
- you can work on up to six days per week
- you can work up to two hours a day on a school day and up to 12 hours a week on a school week*
If you are 13 or 14 years old you can work a maximum of seven hours on a Saturday or Sunday of a school week. But, you can’t work seven hours on both days because this adds up to 14 hours and you can only work 12 hours in any school week.
If you are 13 or 14 years old you can work for up to 25 hours per week in the school holidays but for no more than seven hours on each day.
If you are 15 years old you can work a maximum of 8 hours on a Saturday or Sunday of a school week. But, you can’t work 8 hours on both days because this adds up to 16 hours and you can only work 12 hours in any school week.
If you are 15 years old you can work for 35 hours per week in the school holidays but for no more than eight hours on each day.
*A school week is any week with an official school day in it; so even if school starts back on a Friday after the holidays, that would still be a school week.
What work breaks should I have?
- you must have a 30 minute break when you have worked 4 ½ hours
- you must have 14 clear hours of rest from work within a 24 hour period
- each year, you must be given and must take at least two consecutive weeks off of all work during the school holidays
What types of work can I not do?
You are not allowed to do work which is harmful to your safety, health or development or hinders your education in any way. You cannot do the following:
- work within pubs or nightclubs
- work within commercial kitchens
- work within a slaughterhouse
- sell or deliver liquor, tobacco or fuel oil
- collect or sort refuse
- work within a fairground or amusement arcade or anywhere associated with games of chance
- work where you can get exposed to harmful physical or biological agents
- do door to door sales or canvassing without direct supervision of an adult
- work where you could fall from a height of more than 2 metres
- work where you give personal care in a nursing or residential home
- work where you will be exposed to adult material
How old do I have to be before I can work?
You must be at least 13 years old before you can be employed to work. Once you turn 16 years old, this law does not apply to you. If your 16th birthday falls between 1 July and 31 August, this law does not apply to you after 30 June of the year you become 16.
Remember that under Education (Jersey) Law you must attend school full time until 30 June after your 16th birthday or until 30 June if your 16th birthday falls between 1 July and 31 August.
What about work experience organised through schools?
It does not apply to work undertaken as part of work experience programmes organised by schools.
I'm into performing arts, singing and acting - will this law restrict my rehearsals and performances?
This law does not apply to young people involved in performing arts. These activities are covered by another law called the Children (Jersey) Law 2002.
When I turn 16 can I leave school and go into full time work?
No, not necessarily. The Education (Jersey) Law 1999 requires you to be in full time education until 30 June of the year you are 16. This is called the minimum school leaving age.
I have been working for a while and have an existing contract which does not comply with the new law. Does the new law still apply to me?
Yes, it does apply. Your contract will need to be amended to comply with the law.
What are my responsibilities as a young person working?
You must make sure your job does not interfere with your school work. For example, if you find you are struggling to fit in your homework, or not getting to school on time, you should rethink whether working is a good idea for you, or whether the job you have is just too much to cope with.
You must let your employer know if you have another job and for how many hours you are working there. You must make sure you do not work more than the total allowed hours or outside of the permitted hours.
Where can I find out more?
You can download the full child employment order below.
You can also look on your school's Virtual Learning Education (VLE) site for more information.
Download Children (Regulation of Employment) (Jersey) Order 2011 (size 68kb)
gov.je