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Executive Summary
Background
This report forms one part of the research 'Part-Time Employment and Secondary Education: The Nature and Implications of the Part-Time Employment of School Pupils', commissioned by the Scottish Executive.
Responsibility for implementing legislation on child employment lies with local authorities. They in turn have the power to make byelaws on child employment.
This study is the first of its kind in Scotland. All 32 local authorities participated. They provide copies of their byelaws and other information made available to the public. In addition, staff nominated by chief executives completed questionnaires and participated in interviews. The data was collected in the period February-April, 2004.
Findings
Section A: Legislation
All but one of the authorities have byelaws on child employment. Some are in the process of changing the byelaws, which can take some considerable time.
The majority of the byelaws have relevant definitions of 'child', 'employment' and 'light work'.
More than half of the authorities have byelaws which set a minimum age for work which is not in line with current Scottish legislation.
There is a lack of clarity, and some confusion, in the specification of the number of hours that children are permitted to work.
Lists of prohibited jobs vary considerably between authorities, so that work which permitted in one area may be prohibited in another. Some lists seem outdated.
Section B: Local Authority Policy and Practice
All but one of the authorities have adopted a 'permit' system to register child employees. However, there is considerable variation in the particular procedures employed.
The majority of authorities have no system in place either to ensure employers and employees conform to the byelaws or to deal with amendments to permits.
The majority of authorities keep records of the number of permits issued. However, some authorities devolve the issuing of permits to schools and keep no central records.
There is a high degree of variability in the number of permits issued by different authorities.
Although some authorities produce leaflets or information packs on child employment regulations, a significant minority do not.
Authorities vary in terms of which department is assigned responsibility for child employment.
With one exception, all authorities assign staff to deal with child employment issues. However, for the majority of the staff concerned, child employment constitutes a minor part of their work.
Discussion
Section A: Legislation
Part of the rationale for devolving child employment regulation to the local level was to allow for local needs to be reflected. There appears to be little evidence that authorities are actually accommodating unique features of the regional labour market in their byelaws.
The maximum number of term-time hours of work permitted in Scotland, at the national level, do not conform to current European Union standards.
The time taken to amend byelaws and have byelaws ratified by the Scottish Executive may be seen as an impediment to effective regulation of child employment.
The rationale for allowing regional flexibility in the content of byelaws may be questioned in the 21st century.
Section B: Local Authority Policy and Practice
Interviews with staff indicated that the majority were of the opinion that the present system is inadequate, in that
it did not give rise to sufficient public awareness of child employment and its regulation, and it failed to protect children.
In interview, staff provided a number of suggestions for improving the regulation of child employment. However, they were aware that since their suggestions would require greater resources, this could be a major constraint.
Staff interviewed had a mixed response to the suggestion that children's part-time work might be given some sort of recognition as a form of educational experience. Many pragmatic concerns were expressed.
Conclusion
The sharing of good practice across local authorities should be encouraged.
Harmonisation of legislation and policy needs to be encouraged.
This report may provide an opportunity to raise the profile of child employment and encourage constructive thinking on the issue.
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