Child employment and performance licences

Overview

No school age child (as defined in Section 8 of the Education Act 1996) can be employed:

to sell alcohol, except in sealed containers
to sell cigarettes or medicines
to deliver milk or fuel oils
preparing meat for sale in a butchers or slaughter house
to collect or sort refuse
in any work which is more than three metres above ground level or, in case of internal work, more than three metres above floor level
any work that involves driving or riding a motor vehicle, including those used in agriculture
in employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
to collect money or to sell or canvass door to door, except under the supervision of an adult
in work involving exposure to adult material or in situations which are for this reason otherwise unsuitable for children
personal care of residents in a care or nursing home – unless under the supervision of an adult
in telesales

A child also cannot be employed:

in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club - except in connection with a performance given entirely by children
in a nightclub
in a commercial kitchen
in a garage
in an amusement arcade or fairground
in a warehouse or factory
on the streets