PRESS RELEASE 3 August 1998

New rights for children at work

The Low Pay Unit today welcomed the new government regulations providing additional safeguards for the UK's 2 million working children. The Low Pay Unit has long campaigned for better protection for children at work, less than half of whom work in newspaper delivery. Most children are employed in a range of adult jobs including hairdressing, retail, hotels and catering and even in factories and on building sites.

The Unit welcomes the tighter national co-ordination of age and hours restrictions - which are a result of the 1994 EU directive on the protection of young people at work - and hopes this means that the regulations will be more effective. The Unit's recent survey on child employment found that existing legislation is widely ignored with two thirds of children employed illegally; one in five are under the minimum working age of 13.

The new regulations coming into force from 4 August 1998 will mean that:

• No child under the age of 14 can be employed - 13 year olds will only be able to carry out light work as specified in local authority bye-laws.
• Under 15 year olds may not work for more than 5 hours on Saturday (8 hours for 15 and over) and no more than two hours on a Sunday
• Young people will be entitled to a two week break from work during school holidays.

The Unit is disappointed that the new government has decided to retain the opt out on maximum weekly hours of work negotiated by its predecessor. This means that UK children can be employed for up to 17 hours a week instead of 12 as is common in other EU states. Long hours were found by the Unit to be widespread, especially among girls who often worked over 16 hours during a school week, some up to 30 hours per week.

Bharti Patel, Director of the Low Pay Unit, commented:
"We welcome the move towards consistent national regulation, however more effective enforcement is required to ensure that children have a positive experience of work. Far too many children are employed illegally - working long hours and in industries which are prohibited, outside the permitted times and often exposed to physical danger."

The Low Pay Unit has published a new rights leaflet "New Protection for Children at Work" designed to inform parents, children and employers of the new regulations. For a free leaflet send an sae to The Low Pay Unit, 27-29 Amwell Street, London EC1R 1UN. The Low Pay Unit's report on child employment "Invisible Hands" is available from the same address, price £20.

For further information call Bharti Patel on 0171 713 7616 or 0973 738 462.