More than 300 children aged below 16 are currently in paid work in Nottinghamshire, according to the county council.

Next month is Child Employment Awareness Month and the council is reminding businesses children aged between 13 and 16 require a work permit.

In Nottinghamshire, 306 permits were issued to young people in the last year.

The most popular jobs were newspaper rounds and shop work.
No child aged below 13 is allowed to work in England unless it relates to entertainment and performance projects.

Michelle Clement-Evans, Targeted Support Senior Case Manager, at the council said: “There is a national awareness campaign which takes place across the country every April, where we remind employers, parents and young people of the fact that children aged between 13 and 16 years old require a Work Permit to enable them to undertake part-time work.

“Many employers are not even aware of this so it is a good idea to conduct this awareness raising campaign.”

Coun Liz Plant, vice-chairman of the Children and Young People’s Committee said: “The welfare of children is paramount if they are taking part in part-time work opportunities. We need to ensure that their needs are being met by employers and that children who do work are doing so safely.”

During next month’s Child Employment Month, the council will visit places of businesses during the month to make sure that young people in part-time jobs are safe and working legally.

Under byelaws regulating the Employment of Children and Street Trading by persons aged under 18 years old, teenagers aged between 13 and 16 years old can take part in light work (restrictions apply) in a number of different areas including: shop work, office work and working in cafes, restaurants, car washing and riding stables.

No child may be employed before 7am or after 7pm on any day. No child may work for more than four hours without a break of at least one hour and no child can work for more than two hours on a Sunday between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

During term time, no child can be employed for more than 12 hours per week and there are also other guidelines for the number of weekends and hours during holiday times that children can work.

For more details on Child Employment Month, visit: http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/living/jobs/support-and-advice/child-employment/