Legal duties and responsibilities of employers

When a child aged 16 or under is employed (paid or unpaid) the employer has a legal duty to:

protect the rights, safety and wellbeing of the child
have the correct employment licences and permits
comply with the relevant child employment requirements (GOV.UK)
comply with the relevant local byelaws set by the council on the types of work children can do

Employment licences and permits

Depending on the work a child is employed to do, employers and organisations must have the correct licences and permits, such as a:

child performance licence if a child is taking part in a performance and will be absent from school, paid for a performance, or if an audience is paying to watch the performance
chaperone licence if an adult is responsible for the welfare of a child who is taking part in a theatre, film or television production, or modelling and photography work
work permit issued by a local council’s education department, if the child is working for an organisation that makes or intends to make a profit

When a work permit is needed, the duties of the employer may include:

carrying out a risk assessment that considers the age and maturity of the child
informing the child’s parent or legal guardian about any potential risks and the measures put in place to protect the child from risk
getting a signed and stamped declaration from the child’s school
following the local byelaws set by the council

To find out more about the duties of employers, view the GOV.UK child employment pages.

Council Services