Employing young workers in the United Kingdom
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Young workers — broadly, those under 18 — can be employed in the UK, but specific rules on working hours, minimum wage rates, and health and safety apply that differ from adult employment. Getting these right from day one protects both the worker and your business.
Who counts as a young worker?
UK law draws a line at school leaving age. A child is under compulsory school leaving age (the last Friday in June of the school year in which they turn 16). A young worker is over that age but under 18. The rules are stricter for children than for young workers, and this article focuses primarily on young workers aged 16 and 17, with some notes on employing younger children in limited circumstances.
Working hours
Young workers have their own limits under the Working Time Regulations 1998. They must not work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. Unlike adults, young workers cannot opt out of these limits — there is no equivalent of the adult 48-hour opt-out.
They are also entitled to:
- A rest break of at least 30 minutes if they work more than four and a half hours
- At least 12 hours' rest between working days
- Two days off per week (compared to one for adults)
Night work is generally prohibited for young workers. The restricted period runs from 10pm to 6am (or 11pm to 7am where a contract extends the working day to 11pm). Limited exceptions exist for certain sectors such as agriculture, retail, hospitality or sport, but even those require a compensatory rest period.
National Minimum Wage rates
The National Minimum Wage has different rates by age group. Young workers fall into one of two bands — a rate for those aged 16–17 and a rate for apprentices under 19 (or in the first year of any apprenticeship). Workers aged 18–20 are in a separate band, and those 21 and over qualify for the National Living Wage.
Because these rates change each April, always check the current figures on GOV.UK rather than relying on any fixed source. Underpaying the minimum wage — even unintentionally — can result in HMRC enforcement, public naming and financial penalties, so build a process to review rates every April.
Health, safety and the risk assessment requirement
Before a young worker starts, you have a specific legal duty to carry out a risk assessment that considers their particular vulnerabilities. Young people may have less experience, a reduced awareness of risk, and may be physically still developing. Your assessment should address:
- The nature of the work and any hazards present
- Whether protective equipment fits correctly
- Supervision requirements
- Exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
You must also inform the young worker's parent or guardian of the key findings before they start, if the young person is still of compulsory school age. For 16 and 17 year olds above school leaving age, that duty falls away, but the risk assessment itself remains mandatory.
Certain work is prohibited entirely for young workers — tasks involving harmful chemical exposure, working with high-pressure equipment, or other activities prescribed in the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations.
Education requirements
Employers sometimes overlook this: workers aged 16 and 17 in England are required to be in some form of education or training until they turn 18. This does not mean they must be in school — it includes apprenticeships, part-time study alongside work, or accredited vocational training. If you employ a 16 or 17 year old full time, you should confirm they are meeting this requirement and, ideally, support them to do so. Failure to participate is the young person's legal obligation, not the employer's, but failing to provide reasonable time off for study or training where it is part of their arrangement can create problems.
Payroll and rights in practice
Young workers sit inside the standard employment framework in most other respects. If they earn above the lower earnings limit, National Insurance contributions apply in the usual way. Auto-enrolment pension rules apply from age 22, so a 16 or 17 year old will not be automatically enrolled — but they have the right to opt in if they meet earnings thresholds, and you must accept that request and make employer contributions.
Their statutory leave entitlement is the same as any other worker: 5.6 weeks (28 days inclusive of bank holidays for a standard five-day week). Statutory Sick Pay and family leave rights apply where qualifying conditions are met. The Employment Rights Act 2025 has strengthened day-one rights across the workforce, which includes young workers from their first day of employment.
Practically speaking, running payroll for young workers is no different to any other employee — you report via RTI on or before each payday, issue a P60 by 31 May, and handle expenses or benefits through the P11D process by 6 July.
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