Are you planning to offer a summer job to a minor employee?
Please note that special rules apply.
Position to be occupied by the minor employee
It is forbidden to assign a young person under the age of 18 to certain categories of work that expose him or her to risks to health, safety or morality, or that exceed his or her strength.
For example, it is forbidden to employ a minor in an on-premises drinking establishment, for work involving exposure to a certain level of mechanical vibration, work involving exposure to extreme temperatures likely to damage health, work at height involving trees, etc.
Certain types of work, although prohibited in principle for minors under the age of 18, may be subject to derogations
Example: work involving the preparation, use, handling or exposure to certain hazardous chemical agents, scaffolding assembly and dismantling work, etc.
Maximum daily and weekly working hours
Underage employees may not work:
- more than 8 hours a day ;
- more than 35 hours a week.
Nor can it be subject to flexible working hours, as it regularly exceeds the legal working week.
Daily and weekly rest periods and breaks
Underage employees must benefit from :
- a minimum daily rest period of 12 consecutive hours;
- a weekly rest period of 2 consecutive days, including Sunday;
- a 30-minute break when continuous working time exceeds 4 hours 30 minutes.
Working at night, on Sundays and public holidays
It is forbidden to make a young person work at night between 10 pm and 6 am.
However, there are exceptions in certain sectors of activity:
- work possible from 4 a.m. in the bakery-pastry sector, etc ;
- working until 11:30 p.m. in the hotel and catering sector, etc.
It is also forbidden to make a young person work on Sundays and public holidays. 11
However, exemptions are possible in certain sectors whose activity justifies it (hotels, restaurants, bakeries, butchers, florists, cafés, tobacconists, liquor stores, etc.).
Compensation
Subject to more favorable contractual provisions, the remuneration of a minor amounts to :
- 80% of the minimum wage for children under 17,
- 90% of the minimum wage for young people aged between 17 and 18.
EXCEPTION
if the minor has at least 6 months' work experience in the industry in which he or she is employed, he or she must receive at least the minimum wage.
Special formalities for hiring a minor
Any minor aged 16 or over can be an employee, regardless of the type of contract (permanent, fixed-term or temporary).
However, they must be authorized to do so by their legal representative (father or mother, for example), unless they are emancipated. A written, dated and signed authorization from the legal representative is recommended.
The single declaration of employment must be made no earlier than 8 days before hiring, and no later than the 1st day of work.
Young employees must undergo a medical examination before their1st day on the job. Please contact your usual contact for further information.
