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Protection from work that harms you

13 – 17

years

old

What does this mean?

How is this right protected in Ireland?

Does every child in Ireland get this right?

What does this mean?

Article 32 of the UNCRC says that you have the right to be protected from doing any sort of work that might be dangerous, and that could harm your physical or mental health.

This could include work in factories or on farms, work with long hours, or work in the home under bad conditions.

This doesn’t mean that children cannot work at all. However, the work they do must be safe, fairly paid, and not interfere with their education.

How is this right protected in Ireland?

The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 sets out lots of rules on employing young people under the age of 18 in Ireland. As young people are usually still in full-time education, there has to be different laws for them than there are for adults.

Your employer should inform you about your employment rights and give you a payslip from your employer. This explains how much you are paid and any money that is deducted from your total pay for things like taxes.

If you work on a farm, you must not be carrying out dangerous work. The Health and Safety Authority gives lots of information on how children should be kept safe when if they are working on farms..

The rules around employment for young people also depend on your age:

If you are 14 or 15…

You are allowed to carry out light work during the school holidays but you must still have 21 days off during this time.

You are not allowed to work before 8am or after 8pm.

Your parent or guardian must give written permission to your employer.

You can work a maximum of 35 hours each week and should have 2 days in a row off every seven days.

14-year-olds cannot work during school time but 15-year-olds can do 8 hours of light work.

If you are 16 or 17…

You can work a maximum of 8 hours a day up to 40 hours each week.

Unless you are working in a bar or a pub, you are only allowed to work between 6am and 10pm.

While you are allowed to work in a pub, you cannot serve alcohol.

If you are working in a pub, you can work until 11pm as long as it’s not the night before a school day!

You are entitled to a 30-minute break after working 4.5 hours.

Does every child in Ireland get this right?

According to the International Labour Organisation, 138 million children worldwide are still victims of child labour.

There are many reasons why children are forced into child labour:

Families living in poverty often rely on their children to work to provide more money.

A lack of affordable, good quality education may prevent children from attending school or force them to drop out early.

Countries may not have laws on young people’s employment that create a minimum age for children to work or, if they do, they may not enforce these laws effectively.

Businesses may try to take advantage of children as they are cheaper to employ and easier to control.

In some communities, child labour may be seen as normal and be culturally accepted.