Employment

Part-time work for 13 to 16 year olds.

If you want to work part-time, this should be possible, depending on what sort of work it is that you want to do. Obviously you will need to talk to your carers about this and work out together whether it is a good idea for you to do so. You will also have to think about whether the work you want to do will fit in with where you are living (for example, your carer may not be able to drive you to work if it is too far away).

There are also a number of laws about young people working. The law says that you cannot be paid for working until you are 13 years old. Anyone wishing to employ a child who has not yet left school must obtain a work permit for them. You are not allowed to work in school hours, but you can work after or before school and during your school holidays. You are only allowed to work 2 hours a day except on a Saturday (when you can work no more than 5 hours) and you cannot work before 7 am or after 7pm. During term time you cannot work for anymore than 12 hours a week. During school holidays you can work no more than 5 hours a day and no more than 25 hours in a week.

There is also a list of the type of work a child of school age is not permitted to do. You or your carers can find out more about these by talking to your social worker or contacting the education welfare team.

You will be allowed to keep and encouraged to save any money that you earn. You will still get your normal pocket money, clothing allowance and birthday and Christmas/Festival  presents!

You may know some friends or other young people whose parents allow them to work longer hours, or who let them work at different times. Some young people get paid unofficially or “cash in hand”. Because you are looked after in public care, your carers will not support you in breaking employment laws however unfair this may seem to you.

Full-time work for those over 16

You can work full-time when you are 16 and have left school (after the last Friday in June). If you are still at school, the same rules apply to you as for children aged 13 to 15, but during school holidays you can work for 35 hours (but no more than 8 hours a day) and you can also work for 8 hours on a Saturday.

If you want help or advice in finding a job, you can contact the Youth Connexions Service, or talk to your carers or social workers. You may visit the Job Centre to see what kind of work is available, and don’t forget to look in local papers to see what jobs are advertised. It is a good idea to talk to someone at the Job Centre or Youth Connexions about how to fill in application forms and how to behave at interviews, so that you show people all your skills and talents.

If you are working and in care you will be expected to pay some money towards your food, clothes and rent in the same way you would if you were living at home. Don’t worry, you won’t be expected to hand all your money over! You and your carers should work out how much your weekly costs are, such as food, travel and so on. It is all good practice in learning how to budget your own money for when you move out to live as an independent adult one day.