Working
Questions on this page:
From what age are you allowed to work?
What hours are you allowed to work?
What is the minimum wage for young people?
If your employer is making you work long hours, or not paying you enough, what can you do?
From what age are you allowed to work?
The general rule is that you can get a part time job from the age of 14, but in some parts of the country you might be allowed to do ‘light work’ now and again if you are 13 years old.
You can start full time employment as soon as you don’t have to go to school any more, which is on the last Friday in June of the year that you will reach 16 years old.
What type of work can you do?
Depending on your age there are rules about the kind of work that you can do:
If you are still at school you cannot do the following work:
• Street trading
• Working in a mine, quarry, manufacturing or construction work, or working as a driver
• Working with scrap metal
• Working in a betting shop
• Going from house to house collecting money for charity
The kind of work you can do is:
• Delivering newspapers and leaflets
• Shop work, including shelf stacking
• Office work
• Hairdressing
• Working in a café or restaurant, but not in the kitchen
• Working in a stable
• Work in hotels and other places offering accommodation
What hours are you allowed to work?
You can only do part time work while you are still at school.
If you are 14 years old, you can work up to 12 hours in a school week and up to 25 hours per week during the summer holidays. You can’t work during school hours or before 7am or after 7pm.
If you are 15 or 16 years old (and still at school), you can work up to 12 hours in a school week and up to 35 hours in any week during the school holidays.
What is the minimum wage for young people?
There are different rates of National Minimum Wage depending on your age and whether you are an apprentice.
You are entitled to £5.93 if you are aged 21 or over.
You are entitled to £4.92 if you are 18-20.
You are entitled to £3.64 if you are aged 16-17 and are no longer of compulsory school age (you no longer have to go to school).
You are entitled to £2.50 if you are an apprentice and are under the age of 19 or if you are 19 or over and in the first year of your apprenticeship.
If you are of compulsory school age then you are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage.
If your employer is making you work long hours, or not paying you enough, what can you do?
If you think that you are being paid under the National Minimum Wage you should first speak with your employer to see if they can change this. If they continue to pay you less than the minimum wage you should ask to see their National Minimum Wage Records (you have to ask for these in a letter, you can’t just ask them during a conversation). Your employer cannot refuse to show you these records. You should take a copy of these records and then call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.
Click here for more information on the pay and work rights helpline.
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