National rules for children's part-time jobs in England go out to consultation ahead of 2028 start
One set of regulations and a compulsory work permit would replace council byelaws, many dating from a 1998 model. Responses are due by 13 December.
By Daily Oracles News Team2 min read
School-age children in England will generally be able to work only once their council has issued a child employment permit, and the Department for Education put the detailed national rules for that system out to consultation on Monday.
The proposals fill in the detail of changes already made by the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. That Act ends councils' power to write their own child employment byelaws and lets the Secretary of State set one framework for England instead. Most current byelaws follow a model issued by the Department of Health in 1998, with local variations, so rules on permits and banned jobs can differ from one area to the next. The department expects the new regime to start in 2028, subject to parliamentary time.
Changes already in the Act
Within the existing limits, children will be allowed to work:
- until 8pm rather than 7pm;
- for up to an hour before school;
- for more than two hours on a Sunday, which will be treated like a Saturday.
The minimum age for most work stays at 14. Other limits stay the same, including no more than 12 hours in a school week and two hours on a school day, and a cap of 25 hours in a week without school for under-15s, or 35 hours for older children. Each year children must still have at least two weeks in a row free of work at a time when they are not at school.
The proposals
Permits. The employer would apply to the council where the child will work before the job starts, giving the hours, days, tasks and place of work, a parent's statement that the child is fit and approved to work, the child's school, and confirmation that a risk assessment has been done. Councils could ask for a medical check, add conditions, and suspend or revoke a permit. Employing a child without a required permit will become an offence once the Act's provisions are in force.
Banned work. The department plans to keep a list similar to the 1998 model, which rules out jobs such as working in commercial kitchens, collecting refuse, delivering milk, telephone sales and industrial work. It proposes adding the sale of tobacco and vapes, and sunbed services, unless an adult is supervising.
Jobs for 13-year-olds. A national list would replace local ones. The model list covers light work such as delivering newspapers, shop work including shelf stacking, office work, work in a café or restaurant outside a commercial kitchen, and agricultural work.
Rest. Borrowing from the Working Time Regulations 1998, children would get at least 12 hours' rest in any 24 hours in which they work, and 48 hours together each week, or 36 hours where there is a good business reason, with the remaining 12 taken soon afterwards.
The rules cover children until they reach school leaving age, which in England is the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 16. Child performance licensing, street trading and work experience are outside the scope, and Wales and Scotland can make their own regulations.
The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 13 December 2026. The department will then draft regulations for Parliament to scrutinise.
