Employment of Children Bill

Employment of Children Bill - continued	House of Commons

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PART II

ENFORCEMENT

Employment of child without work permit an offence.

10. - (1) Subject to subsection (2) below, no person shall employ a child other than in accordance with a work permit issued under section 13 of this Act.

(2) Where an employer has applied for a work permit, but-

(a) the permit has not been issued; and

(b) the employer has not been informed by the relevant authority that it will not issue a permit;

he may employ the child for a period not exceeding four weeks, provided that any such employment shall be in accordance with the notice of intention to employ the child.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Fitness for work.

11. - (1) Before a child undertakes any work for an employer other than his parents, his parents shall provide the prospective employer with a certificate stating that he is fit for the type of work concerned.

Notification of work.

12. - (1) Before a child undertakes any work for an employer, the prospective employer shall send to the relevant authority, the child's parents and the head teacher of the child's school written notification of his intention to employ the child in the form specified in Schedule 1 to this Act.

(2) Any person who, in giving notification under subsection (1) above, makes any statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false, for the purpose of persuading or attempting to persuade the relevant authority to issue a work permit under section 13 below shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Issue, amendment and revocation of work permit.

13. - (1) On receiving a notification of intention and a certificate of fitness, the relevant authority shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, issue a permit for the child to undertake the proposed work, provided that-

(a) the authority is satisfied that-

(i) the work complies with the restrictions on child working set out in Part I of this Act;

(ii) the prospective employer and the person responsible for supervising the child's work are fit and proper people;

(iii) the child is fit to undertake the work concerned;

(iv) the measures taken by the prospective employer to protect the child from risks to his health and safety are adequate; and

(b) the child's parents and the head teacher of the child's school have given their written consent to the issue of the permit.

(2) If the authority is not so satisfied, it shall immediately inform the employer that it will not issue a work permit and that he would be committing an offence if he were to employ the child as proposed.

(3) The relevant authority may amend a work permit issued under this section (whether issued by another authority or not) on the application of a child's employer, provided that it is satisfied that the conditions referred to in subsection (1)(a) and (b) above will still apply.

(4) The relevant authority may at any time revoke a work permit issued under this section (whether issued by another authority or not) if it has reason to believe that the work is having an adverse effect on the child's health, welfare or education.

(5) The relevant authority must immediately revoke a work permit if the consent of either the head teacher or the parents given under subsection (1)(b) above is withdrawn in writing.

(6) The relevant authority shall-

(a) when a new work permit is issued, or an existing permit is amended, send copies of the permit to the child's prospective employer, his parents and the head teacher of his school;

(b) when a child in respect of whom a work permit has been issued attends a new school for the first time, send a copy of the permit to the head teacher of that school; and

(c) when a work permit is revoked, send notice of the revocation to the child's employer, his parents and the head teacher of his school.

(7) A head teacher who receives a copy of a work permit under subsection (6)(b) above, which was not issued by the relevant authority, shall send a copy of that permit to the relevant authority.

Issue of work permit: supplementary.

14. - (1) In satisfying itself under section 13(1)(a)(ii) above that the prospective employer and the person responsible for supervising the child's work are suitable and proper people, the relevant authority shall consult the chief officer of police in the police area in which the home of the person responsible for supervising the child's work is situated (and, where the employer is an individual, the police area in which his home is situated) in order to determine-

(a) whether he is subject to a notification requirement under Part I of the Sex Offenders Act 1997; and

(b) whether he has been prosecuted for any offence relating to the employment of children (whether under this or any other Act);

and the chief officer of police shall supply to the authority any information so requested as soon as is practicable.

(2) In satisfying itself under section 13(1)(a)(iv) above that the measures taken by the prospective employer to protect the child from risks to his health and safety are adequate, the relevant authority shall obtain from the child's parents a copy of the information provided to them by the prospective employer pursuant to regulation 8(2) of the Health and Safety (Young Persons) Regulations 1997.

Duties of employers.

15. - (1) Where an employer employs a child for whom a work permit has been issued, he shall keep at the child's principal place of work-

(a) a written record of the relevant information; and

(b) a copy of the work permit;

and shall make them available on request for inspection by a designated officer of the relevant authority.

(2) In Schedule 7 of the Companies Act 1985 (which specifies the matters to be dealt with in a directors' report), at the end of paragraph 6 there is inserted-

	"(d) an indication of the number of children employed by the company during the financial year, the average duration of such employment and the average number of hours worked per child per week; and
	(e) a statement of the company's policy on the employment of children, and in particular the working hours of child employees."

(3) On 1 January and 1 July each year, every employer who employs one or more children for whom a work permit has been issued shall, in respect of each child, notify the relevant authority-

(a) of the child's name and address; and

(b) of any changes to the relevant information.

Home-school agreements.

16. - (1) Every home-school agreement shall include-

(a) information about the number of children attending the school in respect of whom a work permit has been issued; and about the nature of the work undertaken and the average number of hours work undertaken per pupil per week;

(b) a statement to the effect that a child may not work without a work permit; and

(c) a statement to the effect that the school will not consent to the issue of a work permit unless it is satisfied that the child's education will not suffer as a result of the work proposed.

(2) Every parental declaration shall contain a statement by the parents to the effect that-

(a) they will not consent to the issue of a work permit unless they are satisfied that the child's health and education will not suffer as a result of the work proposed; and

(b) they will monitor closely the effects on the child of any work undertaken by him.

Enforcement notices.

17. - (1) Where a designated officer of a relevant authority has reason to believe that a child is employed without a work permit, he shall carry out such investigations as appear to him to be necessary and, if he is satisfied that a child is so employed, serve on the employer a notice requiring him to apply for a work permit and requiring him to cease to employ the child until such a permit has been issued ("an enforcement notice").

(2) For the purposes of conducting investigations or serving an enforcement notice under subsection (1) above, a designated officer of the relevant authority may-

(a) enter any premises at any reasonable time;

(b) require the production of, inspect and take copies of (or of any entries in) such books, documents or records as appear to him to be necessary;

(c) require any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be able to give any relevant information, to answer such questions as the officer thinks fit (in the absence of persons other than the person nominated by him to be present and any person whom the officer may allow to be present); and

(d) exercise such other powers as the Secretary of State may, by order made by statutory instrument, prescribe.

(3) An order under subsection (2) above shall not be made unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(4) It shall be an offence for any person-

(a) intentionally to obstruct a designated officer of a relevant authority in the exercise of his powers under this section;

(b) to make a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly to make a statement which is false for the purpose of persuading or attempting to persuade a relevant authority not to serve an enforcement notice under this section;

(c) intentionally to make a false entry in any register, book, notice or other document or record which contains entries about a child's work or, with intent to deceive, to make use of any such entry which he knows to be false; or

(d) to pretend to be a designated officer of a relevant authority.

(5) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Offences due to fault of other person.

18. - (1) Where the commission by a person of any offence under this Act is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilty of the offence and a person may be charged with and convicted of an offence under this section whether or not proceedings are taken against the first-mentioned person.

(2) This section applies to any person by whose act or default an offence would have been committed by the Crown, but for the fact that this Act does not bind the Crown.

Prepared 22 December 1997