Employment of minors: what jobs can children aged 12 or 15 do?

Quick overview

• Children under the age of 15 can normally only engage in artistic, cultural, advertising or sporting activities with a permit from the Labour Office.
• From the age of 14 onwards, it is now possible to do light work during the main summer holidays if the legal guardian agrees in writing.
• From the age of 15, after the end of compulsory schooling, employment can be concluded without parental consent.
• For minors, there are stricter limits on working hours, a ban on overtime and, in principle, a ban on night work.
• The employer must always provide an initial medical examination and, in the case of minors, regular medical examinations at least once a year.

What the law says today

The rules for child and adolescent work are mainly based on the Labour Code and the Employment Act. The Labour Code regulates the normal employment of minors, i.e. employment under an employment contract, on a temporary or permanent basis. The Employment Act deals mainly with the authorisation of activities of children under 15 years of age in the field of culture, advertising or sport.

A major recent change is the possibility for minors from the age of 14 to perform light work during the main summer holidays, even if they have not yet completed compulsory schooling. This is a novelty effective after the flexinove of the Labour Code. However, this is not “free work without rules”. It must be light work that is not detrimental to the child’s health, education or moral development, and the written consent of the legal guardian is required.

Children under 15: when they can work

For children under 15 years of age, it is still the case that traditional part-time work is not the norm. They can only do selected activities, typically in culture, advertising or sport. This requires an individual permit from the regional office of the Labour Office. The permit is issued for a specific child and a specific activity.

In practice, this is for example a child acting in a series, appearing in an advertisement, performing in a theatre or playing sport at a public event. For these activities, the law also addresses maximum daily and weekly limits, mandatory breaks and rest periods. So it is not really a free-for-all for any work “on trial”.

But beware of a more recent exception: if the child is already 14 years old, he/she can perform light work during the main summer holidays, even under the Labour Code. Typically, this could be clerical work, delivering light parcels, cleaning, managing social networks, helping out in a cake shop or café or working as an entertainer. However, the decisive factor is always whether the work is actually light work classified in the first category and without special medical qualifications.

Temporary jobs from the age of 15: what is already possible

Once a minor reaches the age of 15 and has completed compulsory schooling, he or she can commit him or herself to work as an employee, on a temporary or permanent basis. However, the employer may only assign him work appropriate to his physical and mental development and must provide him with special care.

In practice, the most common tasks are clerical work, restocking, cleaning, helping at events, seasonal agricultural work or light catering. The mere fact that someone is under 18 does not automatically mean that they cannot, for example, work at a cash desk. What does apply, however, is the prohibition on entering into a liability agreement or a liability agreement for the loss of entrusted goods. These can only be negotiated from the age of 18.

In other words, it is correct to say that a minor cannot be subject to this special strict liability regime, not that he is automatically barred from doing any work involving cash. What is decisive is the specific work, the level of risk and compliance with the special restrictions for minors.

What restrictions apply to minors

The law distinguishes between two groups.

For a juvenile under the age of 15 or a juvenile who has not completed compulsory schooling, the shift may not exceed 7 hours per day and the total working time 35 hours per week. For other minors, the maximum is 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, with working time being aggregated over several employment relationships.

Juveniles are prohibited from working overtime and, in principle, from working at night. In addition, for those under 15 years of age or those who have not yet completed compulsory schooling, there is also a prohibition on working between 8 pm and 10 pm. There is an exception only for minors over 16 years of age, for night work of up to 1 hour if this is necessary for their education for the profession and if other conditions are met.

The employer may also not employ minors in work below ground, work that is unreasonable, dangerous or harmful to their health, or work that involves an increased risk of injury or danger to other persons. The specific prohibited work is then spelled out in an implementing decree.

What the employer must do

When employing minors, it is not enough to “sign an agreement”. The employer must also fulfil a number of other obligations.

The most important is an initial medical examination. This is compulsory for minors both before the employment relationship starts and before the FTE or FTE. In addition, minors must undergo regular examinations at least once a year. This applies even after the 2025 amendments, which otherwise relaxed the medical examinations for some contract workers. The special regime for minors has been maintained.

In addition, employers must keep a list of juvenile employees, take care of OSH, adapt the organisation of work to their age and follow a medical opinion. In addition, the permission of the Labour Office comes into play in the case of a child under the age of 15 in an artistic, advertising or sporting activity.

In practice, this means that the employer should already be clear on three things before taking on a temporary worker: whether the young person is fit to do the work, whether the work is not prohibited and whether the working hours are set correctly. These are the mistakes that companies most often make.

A practical example

A café wanted to hire a 14-year-old student for the summer who had not yet completed her compulsory schooling. Initially, she was scheduled for regular shifts as a senior temporary worker, including evening work until 9:30 p.m. and occasional service at events where alcohol was sold. However, such a setup would be problematic.

After a legal review, the scheme was modified: the temporary work was set up for the main summer holiday period only, for light first category menial work only, with written parental consent, no evening shifts and no activities that would be questionable from an age and youth protection perspective. At the same time, the employer provided an initial medical examination and rearranged the schedule so as not to exceed the legal limits for this age group. In this way, the brigade was already defensible and safely set up.

Summary

Employment of minors is strictly regulated in 2026, but newly a little more flexible. Children under the age of 15 can, by default, mainly perform artistic, advertising or sporting activities with the permission of the Labour Office. However, from the age of 14 they can now do light work during the main summer holidays, provided that their legal guardian agrees in writing. Minors aged 15 and over who have completed compulsory schooling can work more regularly, but are still subject to strict restrictions on working hours, a ban on overtime, a ban on most night work and a ban on dangerous activities. The employer must also always think about an initial medical examination, ongoing health checks and increased protection for the minor at work.