Under 16s...
Firstly, no child under 13 may be employed in a salon. This leaves us with a defined bracket of children between the age of 13 and the school leaving age (which is a child who is 16 before the start of the next school year).

Any child of school age that you take on must be reported to the local authority for consent. They will typically be looking for proof that the job is not dangerous, so you should consider a risk assessment about the proximity or handling of any dangerous product within the salon or items such as blades or tongs for example. Many local authorities will have a PDF of the application form for you to download. This form will have to be countersigned by the parent or guardian so make sure that they are fully aware of their child’s potential employment.

If you fail to notify then not only do you risk enforcement and fine from the local authority but potentially worse is that the child will likely not be covered by your employer’s insurance in the event of an accident.

If you have your permit then the rules are fairly common sense, some of the more memorable ones are,

* No work before 7am or after 7pm
* No working for longer than two hours on a school day or Sunday
* No working for more than 12 hours a week during term time
* No working for more than five hours (13/14 year olds) or eight hours (15/16 year olds) on Saturdays and holidays
* No working for longer than four hours without a one hour break

Under 18s
Some salons may decide that it actually isn’t good PR to have very young children working, no matter how eager the children are. However, students or young people between 16 and 18 are a lot more likely to seek the independence given by earning their own money - there are however rules for them too albeit not quite as restrictive given they are entitled to have left school if they choose,

* No working for longer than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week
* No working for longer than four ½ hours without a 30 minute break
* Two days off a week

Trying to get around the rules…

I have heard some owners suggest that because this is only holiday work or because the child is a friend of the family (or even family themselves) then these rules won’t apply. The child is desperate for the work and sometimes I can see why that argument is so persuasive. Unfortunately there just aren’t exceptions – some have even tried to argue that the child is self-employed or that they are unpaid but I think this is a stretch too far!