Employing a 13 to 16-year-old

New guidance on the employment of young people aged between 13 - 16 years (inclusive) during the coronavirus pandemic is now available. View advice.

These rules apply to all young people who are employed in Nottinghamshire. You should apply for a licence to the local authority where the child will be working, which may be a different authority to where they live. You can check which local authority if you're unsure.

All children between 13 and 16-years-old can work part time providing they have a valid employment permit. These rules do not end when the child turns 16 but apply until the last Friday of June in the school year in which the young person becomes 16.

These rules apply to all work done for a commercial business including a family business and whether the child is paid or not .

It is the responsibility of the employer to apply for a permit, which is issued free of charge. The permit must be obtained within 7 days of the child starting employment.

The council has a Code of Practice Policy in place that all employers must sign up to if they are employing 13-16 years. This is to support a common approach across the area in the employment of children in Nottinghamshire.

Work permits are valid for one year from the date they are issued. If the employer wishes to keep the young person in the employment, they must renew the application online.

Limitations on working hours

Employers must

Undertake a full risk assessment, taking into account the young person’s experience and age.
Inform parents/guardians of the risk assessment and keep their contact details in case of an emergency
Ensure the work fits in with the law on working hours for children and local bylaws set by the council [Word] on the types of work that children can and can’t be employed to do.

Failure to do so;

Can invalidate your insurance
Can result in the local authority taking legal action against you.

When the application has been completed by both the employer and the parent/guardian, it will be reviewed by the Children in Entertainment, Employment and Chaperone team. Until this has been completed, the application cannot be processed.

Please allow 10 working days for us to process your employment permit application, otherwise we can not guarantee this will be processed in time.

Apply

Apply for a permit online

Once you have submitted the employer section of the application form we will email a link to the second part of the application to the nominated parent/guardian. If the parent/guardian fails to complete and submit their application within 7 days, it will result in the application being automatically declined.

You will receive an email to advise if the parent/carer has not completed the application and the case is to close.

Further details about how we share your information can be found in our privacy notice.