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Peterborough City Council is reminding
employers they must apply for work permits if they employ children
aged between 13 and 16 as part of Child Employment Fortnight
which takes place from Monday 24 May 2010 to Friday 4 June 2010.
The law states that children cannot
work full time if they are of compulsory school age. Children aged
13 and over can undertake part-time work but their employer must
obtain a work permit for them. They must also be registered with the
city council.
Suzanne Stone, Peterborough City
Council’s child employment and chaperon officer, said: “Potential
employers of young people aged 16 and under need to be aware that
there is a legal requirement for young people to have work permits
to ensure they are working within the local employment byelaws.
“These byelaws stipulate the nature
of the work and the hours permitted. Employers who disregard the
requirements may face prosecution and invalidate their employer
liability insurance.
“Just because children are issued
with a National Insurance number does not mean that they can leave
school and work full-time.”
Children are of compulsory school
age until the last Friday in June of the school year in which they
reach their 16th birthday. It is up to employers to obtain work
permits and they are responsible for the health, safety and welfare
of children they employ.
Suzanne added: “Any children working
in Peterborough who is not registered for employment with
Peterborough City Council may not be covered by insurance.
“We will prosecute employers if they
do not register their school age employees, employ school age
children in a prohibited occupation or allow school age children to
work outside the hours allowed by the byelaws.”
School age children:
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Cannot work before 7am or after
7pm.
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Can only work two hours on
Sundays.
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Children can be stopped from
working even if they have a permit, if their school work,
attendance or health suffers or if they are continually late for
school.
Work permit application forms and
information leaflets on the laws surrounding child employment,
including hours and the types of work that are prohibited are
available from Suzanne Stone, child employment and chaperone officer
on (01733) 863667.
Child Employment Fortnight is run by
the National Network for Child Employment and Entertainment.
May 2010 -
Peterborough UK Community Website
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