The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996 is designed to protect the health of young workers and places restrictions on their employment. The basis for this is to guarantee the protection of young people and to ensure the workload assumed is not jeopardising their education.

The law sets minimum age limits for employment. It also sets rest intervals and maximum working hours, and prohibits employees under the age of 18 from working late at night. Employers must also keep specified records for those workers who are under the age of 18.

During a WRC assessment the inspector will request access to the company’s register of employees under the age of 18 (if the company employs workers in this category).

There are strict rules that employers must adhere to when employing those under the age of 18. According to the Act employers cannot employ children under the age of 16 in regular full-time jobs. Children aged 14 and 15 may be employed on a controlled basis.

Some rules to pay attention to:

• They can do light work during the school holidays – 21 days off must be given during this period.
• They can be employed as part of an approved work experience or educational programme where the work is not harmful to their health, safety or development.
• They can be employed in film, cultural/advertising work or sport under licences issued by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
• Children aged 15 may do a maximum of 8 hours of light work per week during the school term. The maximum working week for children outside of the school term is 35 hours (or up to 40 hours if they are on approved work experience). The maximum working week for children aged 16 and 17 is 40 hours with a maximum of 8 hours per day

There are many obligations on the employer when he or she employs a young person- here is a list of some of the items that employers must be vigilant of:

1. An employer must be provided with a copy of the young person’s birth certificate (or other documentation proving age) prior to the commencement of employment.
2. Break rules are: 30 minutes break after working 4.5 hours
3. Before employing a child an employer must obtain the written permission of the parent or guardian of the child.

An employer must maintain a register of employees under 18 containing the following information:

• Full Name
• Date of Birth
• Starting Time
• Finishing Time
• Rate of Pay
• Total Remuneration

An employer and parent/guardian who fails to comply with the provisions of the Act shall be guilty of an offense. Some other notable rules the employer must adhere to when employing a young person or child are as follows:

• The employer is obliged to ensure that the young person receives a minimum rest period of 12 consecutive hours in each period of 24 hours.
• The employer is obliged to ensure that the young person receives a minimum rest period of 2 days which shall, where possible, be consecutive, in any 7 day period.
• The employer cannot require or permit the young person to do work for any period without a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes.

For a comprehensive guide to employer responsibilities and the rules and regulations governing the employment of young workers please refer to the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996.

You must give employees a copy of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act.

Effective January 1, 2025, Ireland’s national minimum wage increased by €0.80 to €13.50 per hour for workers aged 20 and over. This adjustment followed the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation and was part of Budget 2025. For advice on how to proceed what what type of raise you are required to give your employees, please visit Employers Advice.

The updated minimum wage rates based on age are:

• Under 18 years: €9.45 per hour
• 18 years old: €10.80 per hour
• 19 years old: €12.15 per hour
• 20 years and over: €13.50 per hour

Additionally, to ensure that employers with employees working full-time on the national minimum wage are not required to pay the higher rate of employer PRSI, the threshold for the higher rate will be adjusted accordingly.