Employing under-18s in restaurants: hours and rules ​

A Saturday job washing up or a summer shift on the tills is often someone’s first job. The rules for under-18s are stricter than for adults, and they turn on one question: has the person reached the minimum school leaving age yet? This guide covers what a restaurant, café, pub or takeaway needs to know.

Child or young worker? ​

• A child has not yet reached the minimum school leaving age. Pupils reach it during the school year in which they turn 16.
• A young worker is over the school leaving age but under 18. At 18, adult rules apply.

In England and Wales, pupils can leave school on the last Friday in June if they will be 16 by the end of the summer holidays; Scotland and Northern Ireland use different dates. In England, a young person must then stay in education or training until 18, which can mean working or volunteering 20 hours or more a week while in part-time education or training.

School-age children ​

• Age. Children can work part-time from 14. In some council areas, byelaws allow children aged 13 to do specified kinds of light work.
• Light work only: work not likely to harm their safety, health, development or schooling. No work in places like a factory or industrial site, except on work experience.
• Council byelaws. Each council can add its own rules, such as jobs children cannot do at all, hours and breaks. Ask your council’s education department or education welfare service.
• A permit. Most councils say you must get a child employment permit before a school-age child starts. Without one, you may not be insured for accidents involving the child. Work experience arranged by the school does not need one.

Whatever the byelaws say, a child cannot work during school hours, before 7am or after 7pm, for more than 4 hours without a break of at least 1 hour, or more than one hour before school (and only if byelaws allow it). They must also have, each year, at least 2 weeks in a row without any work during the school holidays.

A change on the way. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 rewrites these rules for England and Wales. Among other things, the latest finishing time moves to 8pm and a council permit becomes a legal requirement, apart from cases that regulations exclude. On 13 October 2026 the new rules are not yet in force for employers, so follow the rules above.

Young workers: hours and rest ​

The Working Time Regulations 1998, which apply in England, Wales and Scotland, give young workers these limits:

• Hours: no more than 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. The hours cannot be averaged out and there is no opt-out. Hours for other employers count too. The week starts at midnight between Sunday and Monday.
• Break: 30 minutes if they work more than 4.5 hours, in one go if possible, away from their workstation.
• Daily rest: 12 hours in a row in each 24 hours. It may be broken up for split shifts or very short pieces of work.
• Weekly rest: 48 hours every seven days. It may be broken up for split shifts, or cut for technical or organisational reasons, but never below 36 hours in a row.

The 8 and 40 hour limits can be passed only when all three are true: the work is needed to keep a service going or to meet a surge in demand, no adult worker is available, and it will not harm the young person’s education or training. If an accident or other exceptional event means a young worker misses daily rest or a break, they must get the same rest back within 3 weeks.

Night work ​

Young workers must not work in the restricted period: 10pm to 6am, or 11pm to 7am if their contract has them working after 10pm. Restaurants, pubs, bars, hotels, catering businesses and bakeries have an exception, but it is narrower than it sounds:

• never between midnight and 4am;
• outside those hours, only in the same three conditions as above: to keep a service going or meet a surge, no adult available, and no harm to education or training;
• with adult supervision where needed for their protection, and an equal period of rest given back.

Before giving a young worker night work, offer a free assessment of their health and capacities, and offer it again at regular intervals.

Health and safety ​

• Risk assessment first. You cannot employ a young person unless your risk assessment covers young people: their inexperience, the equipment and how it is used, the layout and the training you will give. If you have not employed one recently, review it before they start. With five or more employees, record the significant findings.
• Work to avoid. No work beyond their physical or psychological capacity, with accident risks they cannot be expected to spot through lack of experience, or with risks from extreme heat or cold, noise or vibration. Over the school leaving age, some of this is allowed for training, under a competent supervisor, with the risk as low as reasonably practicable.
• In the kitchen. HSE suggests deciding whether to keep children away from food slicers and compactors, corrosive cleaning chemicals, draining fat fryers and working at height, and advises knife training for all staff.
• Training and supervision. Young people are at more risk in their first six months. Check they understood their instructions and supervise them more closely than adults.
• Tell the parents. Before employing a child, tell a parent the risks your assessment found and how you control them. A quick chat is enough.

Selling and serving alcohol ​

In England and Wales, a responsible person commits an offence by knowingly letting someone under 18 sell alcohol unless each sale is specifically approved by a responsible person: the premises licence holder, the DPS, or anyone 18 or over they have authorised. This does not apply to alcohol sold with a table meal, in a part of the premises used for table meals where alcohol is sold only to diners. So a 17-year-old can serve wine with meals in the dining room, but their sales at the bar need approval.

In Scotland, an under-18 may sell alcohol only to take away, or serve it with a meal, and each sale must be specifically authorised by a responsible person or an adult they have authorised. For licences, the DPS and age checks, see our alcohol licence guide.

Pay and holiday ​

School-age children are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage. From the school leaving age, under-18s and apprentices have their own rates: see our minimum wage guide. For adult staff, see our holiday, hours and breaks guide.

A short checklist ​

• Age checked. School-age children: a permit if your council needs one, byelaws checked, hours within the term-time and holiday limits.
• Young workers: rotas within 8 hours a day and 40 a week, 30-minute breaks, 12 hours’ daily and 48 hours’ weekly rest.
• No under-18 working between midnight and 4am.
• A risk assessment covering young people before the first shift, and parents told about the risks before a child starts.
• Every alcohol sale by an under-18 approved, unless it is with a table meal.

Sources ​

• GOV.UK, Child employment: minimum ages, full-time work after the school leaving age, education or training to 18 in England, children and the minimum wage, restrictions, term-time and holiday hours, byelaws, child employment permits.
• GOV.UK, School leaving age: leaving dates in each UK nation and the options to 18 in England.
• legislation.gov.uk, Children and Young Persons Act 1933, section 18: restrictions on employing children in England and Wales, byelaws, light work, the two-week break.
• legislation.gov.uk, Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026: the new section 18 (section 28) and commencement (section 78); no commencement regulations made so far bring section 28 into force.
• legislation.gov.uk, The Working Time Regulations 1998: young worker and restricted period (reg 2), maximum hours (reg 5A), night work (reg 6A), health assessment (reg 7), daily rest (reg 10), weekly rest (reg 11), rest breaks (reg 12), exceptions (reg 27A).
• GOV.UK, Maximum weekly working hours, Rest breaks at work and Night working hours: no averaging or opt-out under 18, young workers’ breaks and compensatory rest, night work by 16- and 17-year-olds.
• legislation.gov.uk, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999: risk assessment for young persons (reg 3), information for a child’s parents (reg 10), protection of young persons (reg 19).
• HSE, Young people at work: risks, reviewing the risk assessment, training and supervision, the law on children.
• HSE, Catering and hospitality FAQs: children and young people in catering, including slicers, compactors, chemicals, fryers, work at height and knives.
• legislation.gov.uk, Licensing Act 2003, section 153: unsupervised sales by under-18s, the table meal exception, responsible persons.
• legislation.gov.uk, Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, section 107: unsupervised sales by under-18s in Scotland.
• GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates: the minimum wage starts at the school leaving age.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For your own staff, ask your council’s education welfare service about children, or Acas about young workers.