Child labour!!

[ali_alic]

My Boyfriend has an 11yr old girl who loves being involved in everything thats going on.  Occasionally I work weekends to compete a job and she has asked if instead of getting temps in to do the boring stuff (Stuffing envelopes etc) she can do it for "pocket money"  The temps only get �10 per 000 envelopes but that is a lot of money to her and she would willingly do it for free anyway.  Is there a maximum amount a child of 11 can earn, or does it go by hours worked, or is she too young for either?

[kempie]

According to a TUC Press Release ( read here )

• No-one under 16 is allowed to work before 7am or after 7pm.
• Only what the law calls �light work� such as babysitting and short paper rounds is legal.
• Children under 16 should not work more than two hours on a school day or 12 hours in any school week.
• During school holidays, children under 15 cannot work more than 25 hours a week and 15 year olds have a limit of 35 hours.

Also children are not exempt from taxation so if she were lucky enough to earn more than her Income Tax Allowance (�4,895 for 2005-6) she would need to pay tax on all earnings over that amount.

[ali_alic]

Brilliant kempie, so I should be able to emply her for 8 hours and pay her �80, making sure her yearly wage isn't more than �4895..... she's gonna love that.

Thank you

[Miss Zippy]

There�s no maximum amount that a child is allowed to earn, but each local authority has its  own bye laws on  how many hours children of certain ages are allowed to work. I would have thought that most authorities� rules echo the guidelines Kempie mentions. Lots of children do light chores around the home to earn a bit of extra pocket money so I don�t see that a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon stuffing envelopes is any different. Your boyfriend�s daughter is keen to do the work and will be paid (rather well for her age) so I don�t think you need to worry about being hauled up for child abuse or slave labour!

[ali_alic]

Yup, give her her due she is a really good little worker and loves earning and saving money.  She is also willing to spend it on others as well, bless her. She has her own bank account for "Do not touch until aged 16" money, which is forward thinking indeed.  She was 11 on monday so she also wants to save some of her b'day money.  Hopefully this thrity attitude will last for a while!!

[ursula62]

As long as she is discreet about this and doesn't mention it at school you can probably get away with it, especially as she believes she is helping for pocket money.

The school would have a duty to tell the local authority if they found out about it.

Your local authority may have rules on their website about this, so check it out that way, rather than phoning them for details and drawing attention to the situation.

This is one local authority's rules: http://www.littlehampton-cab.org.uk/youth_work.html  but each local authority is different.

[ali_alic]

Ursula62, I am asking this question so that we stay within the law, as opposed to getting away with it.  I will check with our local authority and see if they have aby by laws.  Thanks all of you for your input

[ursula62]

No offence meant...

Because the child wants to work, ideally it is nobody's business but your own. But a wellmeaning neighbour or teacher may misunderstand the situation and report you to the authorities.