Employing children and young people

You cannot employ children under 13 years old, except when they are involved in areas such as television, theatre, or modelling. Children working in these areas will need a child performance licence from the Education Authority (EA). The Children Entertainment & Employment Team, on behalf of the EA, has responsibility and a specific function for issuing child performance licences, chaperone licences, and child employment permits.

Find further guidance on child employment and how to apply for these licences and permits.

Statutory rules govern the employment of school-age young people and must be adhered to, even if you only want to employ them to do a paper round. No one under 16 years old may be employed in manufacturing, on licensed premises, or in any dangerous activity.

Minimum school-leaving age in Northern Ireland

As noted above, in Northern Ireland, a young person can leave school on 30 June if they are aged 16 years old on or before 1 July of that year. If their 16th birthday falls on or after 2 July they have to wait until the end of the following academic year before they are eligible to leave.

Working conditions limitations

Children under 15 years old

In Northern Ireland, young people under 15 years old may not do any work, paid or unpaid:

• before 7am and after 7pm
• for more than one hour before school opening time and any time between school opening and finishing time
• for more than two hours on a Sunday or school day
• for more than five hours on a Saturday or weekday outside term-time
• for more than four hours on a Saturday without taking a break of at least one hour
• for more than 12 hours in any week in which s/he is required to attend school (with a break of 1 hour after any continuous 3-hour period)
• for more than 27 hours in any week during school holidays, and no more than five hours per day Monday to Saturday
• in any occupations prohibited by local bylaws or other legislation (for example, in any industrial setting, pubs, betting shops, or in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being, or education)
• without the written consent of their parents and a child employment permit issued by the Education Authority

Young people aged between 15 years old and minimum school-leaving age

Young people aged between 15 years old and the minimum school-leaving age may not do any work, paid or unpaid:

• before 7am and after 7pm
• for more than one hour before school opening time and at any time between school opening and finishing time
• for more than two hours on a Sunday or school day
• for more than seven hours on a Saturday during term-time
• for more than four hours without taking a break of at least one hour
• in any occupations prohibited by local bylaws or other legislation (for example, in any industrial setting, pubs, betting shops, or in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being, or education)
• for more than seven hours per day during school holidays, up to a maximum of 37 hours in any week
• without the written consent of their parents and a child employment permit issued by the Education Authority

In addition, young people must have a two-week break from any work during the school holiday in each calendar year. Read more on hours, rest breaks and the working week.

You must do a risk assessment before taking on school-age workers, or review your existing risk assessment. See health and safety risk assessment.

Statutory maternity and paternity pay

If a pregnant woman or an expectant father is legitimately employed before reaching the age of 16 and meets the qualifying conditions, they are eligible for statutory maternity pay (SMP), statutory paternity pay (SPP), and statutory parental bereavement pay (SPBP).

To find out about qualifying conditions for SMP, SPP or SPBP, see maternity leave and pay, paternity leave and pay and Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay.

For more information on eligibility to, calculating, paying and recovering statutory pay, see our section on statutory leave and pay entitlements.