You cannot employ young people under the age of 15. The age limit may be higher in EU countries where compulsory full-time schooling continues after age 15.
However, you can employ children under 15 in cultural, artistic, sports or advertising activities, as long as the competent authority has given prior authorisation.
You can employ children between 14 and 15 years old as part of a work/training scheme or a work-experience scheme. Children who are at least 14 (in certain cases 13) can also perform light work.
As an employer, you have to take the necessary measures to protect the health and safety of young people and ensure they are implemented based on a risk assessment of their work. This must be undertaken before young people start working for you.
You cannot employ young people for the following types of work:
Some EU countries allow employers to hire young workers if the jobs are required to be undertaken as part of their vocational training. As an employer, you must guarantee that a competent person supervises their work to ensure their health and safety is protected.
You must inform young workers about the possible risks of their job and all measures adopted concerning their safety and health. If your young workers are under 15, you must inform their legal representative.
If the assessment of the hazards to young people in connection with their work shows a risk to their safety, physical or mental health or development, you must offer them an appropriate free assessment of health and capacity before their work starts.
When you hire young people, you must guarantee them a break of at least 30 minutes if they work longer than 4.5 hours.
If children attend compulsory full-time schooling, you must ensure that they have a period free of any work included in the school holidays (as provided for in the applicable national rules).
You must follow strict rules when employing children under the age of 15; these differ depending on the type of work/training scheme undertaken.
The maximum working times are:
You cannot employ children under 15 to work between 8 pm and 6 am.
For each 24-hour period, you must guarantee a minimum rest period of 14 consecutive hours and a minimum of 2 days rest for each 7-day period (consecutively, if possible).
If you hire teenagers between 15 and 18 who are no longer subject to compulsory full-time schooling under national law, they can work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
Teenage employees cannot work between 10 pm and 6 am or between 11 pm and 7 am. Some EU countries allow derogations to these limits under exceptional conditions related to the nature of the work (shipping or fisheries sectors, armed forces or police, hospitals or similar establishments, cultural, artistic, sports or advertising activities).
For each 24-hour period, you must guarantee a minimum rest period of 12 consecutive hours and a minimum of 2 days for each 7-day period (consecutively, if possible).
If national derogations allow it, you might not have to give these rest periods to your young employees working in the following sectors:
If you hire teenagers whose work is split up over the day, derogations to the minimum rest periods may also be possible.
Get access to national information below: