Child employment and performance

Our education department has a duty to regulate, supervise and enforce legislation relating to all aspects of the employment of children within the county.

Making sure children work safely and legally, national laws and the council's bylaws regulate the number of hours and type of work children can do.

A child assisting in any trade or occupation carried on for a profit or gain is deemed to be employed, even if they receive no payment for their labour.

It is important that any child who is employed does so strictly according to the law.

No child must be employed in any work outdoors unless wearing suitable clothes and shoes.

There are different working hours allowed for children aged 13/14 years old and 15/16  years old. Children under the age of 13 must not be employed.

• Any person who employs children must notify the council, giving their own details and details of the child, a description of the work and evidence of parental approval of the child's employment
• As long as the work meets the permitted hours, is not prohibited and does not detrimentally affect the welfare of the child, a permit will be issued to both the employer and the parent/child
• The authority responsible for the registration is the local authority area in which the employment takes place.

Download and complete the Application for the employment of children which can be found in the required document section below.

• The law restricts the kind of paid work that children under the statutory school-leaving age can do in terms of hours and the type of part-time jobs they can undertake
• The statutory school-leaving date is the last Friday in June in the academic year they turn 16
• All children of statutory school age must have a Child Employment Licence for any employment

For a new child employment application the following documents must be sent by email:

• Child employment licence application (PDF) [104KB] (opens new window) and passport size photo photograph
• Risk assessment form under 18s (PDF) [32KB] (opens new window)

The decision to issue an employment licence for a young person will be made by taking into account our safeguarding responsibilities and by ensuring the safety and welfare of young people in Wiltshire.

All documents should be signed by the employer, a parent or carer and school. The completed documents should be sent by email to childemployment@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window)

Children under school-leaving age must not be employed in any of the following: 

• In a cinema, theatre, discotheque, dance hall or night club, except in connection with a performance given entirely by children (other than performances where a special licence for a young person in entertainment is granted, in accordance with the Child and Young Persons Act 1963)
• The sale or delivery of alcohol, except in sealed containers
• Delivery of milk in glass containers
• Delivery of fuel oils
• A commercial kitchen
• Collection or sorting of refuse
• Work which is more than three metres above ground or floor level
• Employment involving harmful exposure to physical, biological or chemical agents
• Collecting money or selling or canvassing door-to-door
• Telephone sales
• Work involving exposure to adult material or in situations otherwise unsuitable for children
• Slaughterhouses or other premises connected with the killing of livestock, butchery or preparation of carcasses of meat for sale
• Fairgrounds, amusement arcades or other premises used for public amusement by means of automatic machines, games of chance or skill or similar devices
• The personal care of residents in residential care or nursing homes

Children aged 13 may be employed in light work in the following categories: 

• Agricultural or horticultural work
• Delivery of newspapers, journals and other printed material
• Shop work, including shelf stacking
• Hairdressing salons
• Office work
• Car washing by hand in a private residential setting
• A café or restaurant
• Riding stables
• Domestic work in hotels and other establishments offering accommodation

Children aged 14 or over may only be employed in light work in categories other than those listed under prohibited employment.

Street trading

• No child under the age of 14 may engage in street trading
• Children aged 14 or over may only do so if employed by a parent or guardian under their direct supervision if granted a street trader's licence by the local authority

A child may need a licence if they're under the school leaving age (opens new window) and taking part in:

• Films, plays, concerts or other public performances that the audience pays to see, or that take place on licensed premises .
• Any sporting events or modelling assignments where the child is paid.

The person in charge of running the event must apply for a child performance license.
Please contact us for further information.

• Is payment made to the child?
• Has the child performed for more than 3 days in the previous six months?
• Is the total performance time for this application more than 4 days?
• Is absence from school required?

In addition a performance licence is not required if:

• No payment is made to the child and the performance is arranged by a school
• No payment is made to the child and the performance is exempted by the Secretary of State, e.g. scout gang shows

The Local Authority require the following documents to issue a Child Performance Licence:

• Completed Performance application (PDF) [116KB] (opens new window)
• Copy of Child's Birth Certificate
• Passport style photo no older than 6 months
• Performance organisers' risk assessment and child protection policy
• Absence authorisation from the child's headteacher, if relevant

All performance must meet clear criteria to ensure the child's wellbeing is safeguarded and the child is able to perform in safe conditions. 

Please note to guarantee the licence is issued in good time all  documents must be emailed to childemployment@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) 21 days prior to the performance start date.

It is a legal requirement that children of compulsory school age must be supervised at all times by a registered chaperone when engaged in public performances, unless they are under the direct supervision of either parent or an agreed tutor.

Any adult living in Wiltshire who is planning to work as a chaperone for child performances may apply to Wiltshire Council to be registered as an approved chaperone. Chaperones are approved for three years and will then be required to re-register.

The requirements for approval with Wiltshire Council are:

• Submission of a completed Chaperone application (PDF) [164KB] (opens new window) together with a passport style photograph
• Completion of the reference documents in the application by two referees. These references must be able to comment on your suitability to chaperone children and young people in line with the Duties of a Chaperone (Word doc) [36KB] (opens new window)
• A satisfactory 'Enhanced' DBS disclosure' certificate obtained from the Disclosure and Barring Service DBS
• Attendance at our chaperone training

The local authority has a statutory duty to protect children who are engaged in the performance industry. Chaperones act on behalf of the licensing authority and work to safeguard the health and well-being of children involved.

Attendance at our training is a requirement to complete the registration process. We operate several training sessions throughout the year, please email childemployment@wiltshire.gov.uk (opens new window) for details of the next available session. During the session you will also need to provide originals of the valid identity documents for the enhanced DBS check.