How young is too young to work?

The laws around when you can legally employ young people vary from country to country. HRM looks at what you need to know.

BY HRM 07 May 2014

Most of us had childhood jobs like delivering newspapers or pamphlets or helping our parents if they had a family business.

But the rules around how old children must be, when they can work and what kind of work they are allowed to do can vary from country to country.

International child labour standards set the minimum age for light work at 13 years and general employment at 15. The minimum age for hazardous work is 18, although it can be lowered to 16 under strict conditions.

In New Zealand there is no general minimum age for employment, but there are rules around the times young people can work and the types of work they can do.

People under the age of 16 cannot work before 6am or after 10pm
They are legally required to attend school and work must not prevent or interfere with school attendance
People under the age of 15 cannot work in a factory or place where things are being prepared or made for sale, on a construction site, in a forest where trees are being cut down or processed or in any area where the work being done is likely to harm the employee
People under the age of 15 are also not allowed to work or assist with work involving machinery, including powered tools and appliances

Child employment laws internationally

Australia
Rules vary between states and territories. Generally the minimum age is 13, but there are conditions around the work young people can do. There is no minimum age for working in a family business or the entertainment industry.

ACT: There are limits on the types and hours of work allowed for people under the age of 15
NSW: There is no set age for when people can start working
NT: People under 15 cannot work between 10pm and 6am and work cannot affect education
QLD: People aged 11 and older can do supervised work delivering newspapers and similar material. Other work can be started at the age of 13 with a parent’s consent form
SA: There is no set working age, but there are limits on what jobs young people can do
TAS: There is no set working age, but there are limits on performing or selling things in public places
VIC: Employers needs a child employment permit from the Victorian Government for workers under the age of 15
WA: People under 15 can work in certain jobs with restricted hours

United Kingdom
The youngest age at which a child can work part time is 13, except for children involved in areas like television, theatre and modelling, who will require a performance licence.
Children who have reached the minimum school-leaving age can work up to 40 hours per week.

United States
The Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA) sets 14 as the minimum age for most non-agricultural work, but young people of any age can deliver newspapers, perform in radio, television, movies, or theatrical productions or work in businesses owned by their parents, except in mining, manufacturing or hazardous jobs.
They can also babysit or perform minor chores around a private home or be employed as home-workers to gather evergreens and make evergreen wreaths.
Many stages have child labour laws, some of which may have a minimum age for employment which is higher than the FLSA. Where both the FLSA and state child labour laws apply, the higher minimum standard must be obeyed.

Canada
The Federal Government allows children under the age of 17 to be employed so long as the work is unlikely to endanger their health or safety and they are not allowed to work between the hours of 11pm and 6am. Provinces also have their own rules around youth employment.

Lowest employment ages internationally

Country	Employment age
Sri Lanka	10
Ghana	12
Netherlands Antilles	12
Dominica	12
Jamaica	12
Trinidad and Tobago	12
Burma	13
Lebanon	13
Denmark	13
United Kingdom	13