Employers may be approached by students looking to gain some work experience during the summer holidays. This could be career-related or an opportunity to earn some spending money. There may be reluctance on the part of some employers to employ a young person (particularly under 16 years) because of perceived restrictions on their employment. 

 

Q. The company has been approached by a number of students from the local high school seeking employment during the summer school holidays. We are happy to offer them employment but they are only 16 or 17 years of age. We are concerned there may be some legislative restrictions on the employment of young persons. They will be working in one of our retail outlets so the work is particularly arduous.

Are there laws which would prevent the company from hiring persons of this age and are they covered by the relevant award? 

 

A. An employer can employ a young person subject to the relevant state or territory child employment law and the relevant state or territory education law. Generally, an employer is permitted to employ a school-aged person outside the hours the person is required to attend school, subject to the restrictions under the relevant state or territory child employment law.  

Any person below the minimum school leaving age (as determined by the relevant state or territory education law) is precluded from accepting employment which would prevent their attendance when school is open for the child’s instruction or participation in school activities, unless that person is participating in a school-based apprenticeship or school-based traineeship, or an accredited work-experience program arranged through the participating educational institution.  

 

Modern awards & age restrictions  

The majority of modern awards do not prescribe a minimum age regarding the employment of young persons, except with respect to certain classes of work regarded as dangerous or unduly arduous, or the performance of work after certain hours, for example, late-night work. These restrictions may be regulated by the relevant state or territory child employment legislation or workplace health and safety legislation.  

Modern awards which cover occupations that are semi-skilled or unskilled may not prescribe junior wage rates. Examples include: Security Services Industry Award 2010, Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2010, Cement, Lime and Quarrying Award 2010, Nurses Award 2010, and Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award 2010.  
 
This means the employer is required to pay the minimum adult rate for the classification under which the work is performed by the junior employee, regardless of their age. Where a modern award prescribes a scale of wage rates commencing from (say) 16 years of age, an employee employed who is younger than 16 must be paid the 16 year minimum award rate of pay. 
 
 Reference should be made to the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement to determine whether any restrictions apply to the employment of young persons.  

 

Junior wage rates 

A modern award which covers occupations that are a trade, semi-skilled or unskilled in nature may not prescribe junior rates of pay. In this case, a person is paid the appropriate adult rate of pay regardless of their age. Modern awards that do not provide junior rates include: Building and Construction General On-Site Award 2010; Market and Social Research Award 2010; and Quarrying Industry Award 2010. 
 
The majority of modern awards do prescribe junior rates, such as clerical, retail and storage industries. 

Reference should be made to the applicable modern award to determine the appropriate rate of pay for a junior employee. 

 

Parental/guardian permission 

In certain circumstances, some state legislation requires the employer to obtain the written permission of the young person’s parent or guardian before being employed, although this usually applies to the employment of a child under 16 years of age. It would be prudent however for the employer to obtain permission of the parent or guardian of the young person to be employed regardless of the requirement under the relevant state or territory legislation. 

 

Bottom line 

Generally, state and territory legislation does not restrict the employment of young persons during school holidays, although statutory restrictions usually apply only to children under 16 years of age. Reference should be made to the applicable modern award and National Employment Standards for relevant employment conditions regarding minimum wages and entitlements.