Hiring young people
There are certain laws that protect the employment rights of young workers. Such laws are around health and safety, what jobs young workers can do, when they can work and how many hours they can work. If you want to employ young people — in some cases, this can include people up to the age of 25 — it is important to be aware of your legal responsibilities.
There are a number of categories of young workers, including:
- workers of compulsory school leaving age;
- workers over compulsory school leaving age and under 18;
- workers aged 18 or over;
- apprenticeships; and
- internships.
A guide developed by the Labour Relations Agency, the Department for the Economy and Invest NI contains detailed information on each of the above categories. It can be accessed at the link to NIBusinessInfo in the ‘Links for employers’ section.
Last updated:
02 October 2020