Information

The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 is designed to protect the health of young workers in and ensure that work carried out during school years does not put young people's education at risk. The Act sets minimum age limits for employment, rest intervals and maximum working hours and prohibits the employment of anyone under 18 on late night work. The Act also requires employers to keep specified records for workers under 18.

Rules

The Act generally applies to employees under 18 years of age. Under the Act, employers cannot employ young people under 16 in regular full-time jobs.

Employers are permitted to employ young people aged 14 and 15 years on light work:

Young people under the age of 16 can be employed in film, cultural, advertising work or sport under licenses issued by the Minister for , Trade and Employment.

If the maximum week is 35 hours, then the maximum day is 7 hours. If the maximum week is 40 hours, the maximum day is 8 hours.

Young people under 16 must have at least 21 days off work during the summer holidays.

Working hours, time off and rest breaks for young people aged 16 and 17

If a young person under 18 works for more than one employer, the combined daily or weekly hours of work cannot exceed the maximum number of hours allowed.

Limits on night work and early morning work

Employers are not permitted to require employees under 16 to work before 8 am in the morning or after 8 pm at night. In general, young people aged 16 and 17 are not allowed to work before 6 am in the morning of after 10 pm at night.
Young persons are only permitted work between 6am and 10pm. Any exceptions to this rule must be provided by regulation.

The Protection of Young Persons Act, 1996 (Employment in Licensed Premises) Regulations, 2001 – (SI 350 of 2001) permits young people employed on general duties in a licensed premises to be required to work up to 11 pm on a day that does not immediately precede a school day during a school term where the young person is attending school.
Employers who employ young persons to carry out general duties in licensed premises must have regard to the Code of Practice concerning the Employment of Young Persons in Licensed Premises.

Evidence of age and the written permission of parents

Employers must see a copy of the young person in question's birth certificate or other evidence of his or her age before employing that person. If the young person is under 16, the employer must get the written permission of the person's parent or guardian.

Payment of Wages

All employees in are entitled by law to a pay slip. A pay slip is essentially a statement in writing from the employer to the employee that outlines the total pay before tax and all details of any deductions from pay.

While there is a national minimum wage of €7.65 per hour in place in , this does not mean that everyone is automatically entitled to receive this. For example, young people who are under 18 are only guaranteed up to 70% of the national minimum wage. Your employer is of course, free to pay you more than the minimum wage if they wish, but you should be aware that they are not required to do so by law.

If you are working in a job where staff are given tips/gratuities by customers (i.e., restaurants, bars, etc.) there is nothing in law to state you are automatically entitled to these tips. However, the law does not require you to hand these tips to your employer either. Instead, it all depends on the custom and practice in your workplace.
If all tips are collected by management and paid to staff through the payroll, then these tips are subject to tax in the normal way.

Records to be kept by employers

Employers must keep records for every employee under 18 that contain the following information:

The employer must keep these records for at least three years.

Employers must give employees aged under 18 years a copy of the official summary of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, along with other details of their term of employment within one month of taking up a job. Employers with employees under 18 must also display the official summary of the Act at a place in their workplace where it can be easily read. Copies of the official summary in both leaflet and poster form can be obtained from the Information Unit, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Davitt House, Adelaide Road, Dublin 2.

Penalties under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act

Employers found guilty of an offence under the Act are liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to €1,904.61. Continuing breaches of the Act can attract a fine of up to €317.43 a day.