Employing Youth Under 16 Years of Age
Did you know that the PEI Youth Employment Act states that:
Employers cannot employ a person under 16 in any job that is likely to be harmful to their health or safety, or moral or physical development.
Employer must not hire a person under the age of 16 in construction.
Restricted hours of work for a young person:
- between 11:00 pm and 7:00 am
- during normal school hours, unless pursuant to a recognized vocational or training or apprenticeship program;
- for more than 3 hours on any school day;
- more than 8 hours on any day other than a school day; and
- for more than 40 hours in any week.
The restrictions on hours may be waived where:
- Inspector has approved application to waive; and
- parent or guardian of the young person has consented to waiver in writing.
Employer that employs young person must:
- when assigning jobs consider the age, knowledge, education and work experience of the employee;
- identify potential dangers to health and safety and provide appropriate instruction;
- ensure employee is personally supervised at all times by an adult with experience; and
- provide adequate training and instruction before allowing employee to perform unsupervised work.
The rules regarding youth employment do not apply to the following:
- where employment is pursuant to a course of study at a trade school under the Trade Schools Act; and
- young persons employed in an enterprise in which ONLY family members are employed
Source: Youth Employment Act (PEI)
