Children in the workplace: key legal restrictions for employers

Can a 14-year-old work in a café after school? Can they work weekends? Are there limitations on their working hours? Is the position the same when the business is family-owned? Employment law places tight controls on the work children can do, when they can do it, and who is responsible for ensuring compliance.

Current Law

Currently children under the age of 14 are not employable under any circumstances. That said, those aged 13 and below may, with their parents’ consent and provided that local authority licensing rules are followed (which vary from district to district in Scotland), take part in a range of entertainment activities. These include sports, advertising, film, television and theatre productions, as well as modelling.

Children between the ages of 13 and 14 may, however, be permitted to undertake some work. The full scope of this work, however, will be outlined by their local authority within their byelaws and is therefore likely to vary from area to area.

Children aged 14 or older, are entitled to undertake paid employment, provided that said employment is within the parameters of the tight restrictions. Said restrictions provide that children should not:

• Be made to undertake anything other than ‘light work’;
• Work out with the hours of 7am-7pm;
• Work before school; or before the end of the school day;
• Work for more than 2 hours on school days or Sundays;
• Work for more than 12 hours in any week in which they must attend school;
• Work for more than 4 hours in a day without a one-hour break;
• Work for more than 8 hours in a day (or more than 5 if under the age of 15);
• Work for more than 35 hours in a week (or more than 25 if they are under the age of 15);
• Work at any time in a year, unless they have had or may still have, two consecutive weeks without employment and in which they are not required to attend school.

Additionally, children over the age of 14 are able to undertake ‘street trading’, provided that they are accompanied and supervised by a parent or guardian, and provided they hold a valid Street Trader’s Licence.

In addition to the above restrictions, there are also categories of work that children under school-leaving age are prohibited from taking. These include, amongst others, jobs that involve the selling or delivery of alcohol, milk or fuel oils; jobs in commercial kitchens; jobs sorting or collecting rubbish and jobs that will require working at height (i.e. more than 3 metres above ground).

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, announced in December 2024, is currently making its way through Parliament and is now with with the House of Lords for its final round of consideration. Royal Assent is therefore anticipated in early 2026.

The Bill will update the law in Scotland by inserting a new s.28 and s.28A to Part 3 of the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937. Furthermore, amendments will be made to existing sections 31; 35-38; and 110(1) of the Act.

With these amendments and newly incorporated sections, the Bill proposes to introduce a number of changes and in some instances, seeks to loosen the current restrictions upon the employment of children. Importantly, the Bill proposes to allow children to work until both 8pm at night and to work for up to an hour before school. Furthermore, the existing restrictions on Sunday working hours are set to be removed, enabling children to work up to a maximum of 8 hours on a Sunday (or 5 hours if under the age of 15), aligning Sunday limits with those that currently apply on Saturdays.

How We Can Help

Every business is different, and child employment rules vary depending on age, role and working hours. If you employ, or are considering employing, children or young people, it is essential that you ensure compliance with both the existing and forthcoming regulations. If you would like tailored advice or a compliance check for your organisation, our Employment team is happy to help. Do not hesitate to reach out to a member of our team for further information.

This update contains general information only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. For further information and advice on this topic, please contact a member of our Employment team.

Dawn Robertson, Partner & Accredited specialist in Employment Law: dro@bto.xo.uk / 0131 222 3242