Jobs children can do

Children may not work until they are 13 years. 

A child aged 13 or over may work in one of the following:

  • agricultural or horticultural work
  • delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed
    material, and collecting payment for same, subject
    to the provisions of byelaw 3(i)
  • shop work, including shelf stacking
  • hairdressing salons
  • office work
  • car washing by hand in a private residential
    setting
  • in a cafe or restaurant
  • in riding stables
  • domestic work in hotels and other establishments
    offering accommodation.

 Note: babysitting for friends and neighbours is not classed as "employment".

Kent County Council Byelaws prohibit the following types of employment.

Jobs not allowed

  • Delivering fuel oils
  • Street trading
  • Pub and bar work
  • Cleaning/operating machinery
  • Collecting money or selling/canvassing door to door unless supervised by a responsible adult
  • Delivery of milk
  • Collecting or sorting refuse
  • Sale of alcohol, except in sealed containers
  • Work in a slaughterhouse, or in the preparation of meat or fish for sale
  • Telephone sales
  • Activities connected with the use of firearms
  • Personal care of residents in care homes (except under supervision of an adult)  
  • Any work which is more than 3 metres above ground/floor level
  • Employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
  • Work involving exposure to adult material or in situations which are for this reason unsuitable for children

Places of work not allowed

  • Commercial kitchens
  • Fairground and amusement arcades
  • Building sites
  • Gambling clubs
  • Work in a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or nightclub, except in connection with performance given entirely by children
  • Markets (unless employed and directly supervised by a child's parent in connection with their retail business)

For full details download our booklet What you need to know about Child Employment

Contact us

Attendance and Behaviour Service.

Find the correct contact for your
area of Kent.