Young Persons (Employment) Regulations, 2003

L.N. 440 of 2003

EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT

(ACT NO. XXII OF 2002)

Young Persons (Employment) Regulations, 2003

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 6 of the Employment

and Industrial Relations Act, 2002, the Deputy Prime Minister and

Minister for Social Policy, has made the following regulations >-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Young Persons

(Employment) Regulations, 2003.

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to>

(a)

prohibit work by children<

(b) establish that the minimum employment age shall not

be lower than the minimum age at which compulsory full-time

schooling ends<

(c)

regulate work by adolescents and young persons< and

(d) ensure that employers guarantee that young people have

working conditions which suit their age and are protected against

economic exploitation and against any work likely to harm their

safety, health or physical, mental, moral or social development or

to jeopardise their education.

(3) These regulations shall apply to any person under 18

years of age having a contract of employment or any form of employment

relationship with an employer.

(4) These regulations shall not apply to occasional work or

short-term work involving -

(a)

domestic service in a private household or

(b) work in a family undertaking>

Provided that, in either case, the work to be performed cannot

be regarded as being harmful, damaging or dangerous to a young

person.

(5) These regulations shall come into force on the 5th April,

2004. Interpretation.

(1) In these regulations>

“the Act” means the Employment and Industrial Relations

Act, 2002<

“adolescent” means any young person who has reached 16

years of age, or any other age which may from time to time be

established as the school leaving age by virtue of the Education Cap.327.

Act, but is less than 18 years of age<

“child” means any young person, of either sex, who is under

16 years of age, or any other age which may from time to time be

established as the school leaving age by virtue of the Education Cap.327.

Act<

“Director” shall have the same meaning assigned to it by

article 2 of the Act<

“Director of Education” has the same meaning assigned to it

by article 2 of the Education Act<

“light work” means all work which, on account of the inherent

nature of the tasks which it involves and the particular conditions

under which the tasks are performed>

(i) has been shown by a risk assessment, in terms of

the General Provisions for Health and Safety at Workplaces

Regulations, and any other relevant health and safety L.N. 36 of 2003.

legislation which may be in force from time to time, carried

out by the employer to the satisfaction of the Occupational

Health and Safety Authority, to be work which is not likely

to be harmful to the safety, health or development of children<

and

(ii) the Director of Education has no objection to the

carrying out of such work on the grounds that such work is

harmful to their attendance at school, their participation in

vocational guidance or training programmes approved by the

Minister responsible for education or by such other person

duly authorised by the said Minister to act on his behalf, or

their capacity to benefit from the instruction received<

“Occupational Health and Safety Authority” means the

Authority established by virtue of the Health and Safety Authority

Act<

“parent” includes any person having the legal care or custody

of a young person<

“rest period” means any period which is not working time<

“working time” means any period during which the young

person is at work, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out his

activity or duties<

“work” includes any duty, activity, task or service producing

a product or result, and being performed for payment or for free or

in exchange for goods, for services, for profit or for benefit<

“young person” means any person under 18 years of age.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulation (1) of this

regulation, terms and expressions used in these regulations shall, unless

the context otherwise requires, have the meaning assigned to them in

the Act.

(1) Subject to sub-regulation (2) and (3) of this regulation,

no person shall employ a child unless the child has been granted written

permission in terms of the provisions of section 43(2) of the Education

Act.

(2) An employer shall apply to the Director for written

authorisation to employ a child in cultural, artistic, sports or advertising

activities, and the Director may issue such authorisation, in individual

cases, for the employment of a child in such activities>

Provided that>

(a) the employer carries out a risk assessment, in terms of

the General Provisions for Health and Safety at Workplaces

Regulations, and any other relevant health and safety legislation

which may be in force from time to time, to the satisfaction of the

Occupational Health and Safety Authority, which shows that such

activities are not likely to be harmful to the safety, health or

development of the child< and

(b) the Director of Education has no objection to the carrying

out of such activities on the grounds that such work is not likely to

have an adverse effect on the child’s attendance at school, or on

his participation in vocational guidance or training programmes

approved by the Minister responsible for education or by such other

person duly authorised by the said Minister to act on his behalf, or

on the capacity to benefit from the instruction received.

(3) Sub-regulation (1) of this regulation shall not apply in

respect of the employment of children who are at least>

(a) 13 years of age and the employment is for the purposes

of taking part in cultural, artistic, sports, advertising or educational

activities, approved by the Minister responsible for education>

Provided that the employer shall submit a written notification

to the Director prior to employing such children and shall abide

with the provisions of sub-regulation (4) of this regulation<

or who are>

(b) 14 years of age, if they are>

(i) working under a combined work#training scheme

or an in-plant work-experience scheme approved by the

Minister responsible for education>

Provided that the employer shall submit written

notification to the Director prior to employing such children<

or

(ii) performing light work other than that covered by

sub-regulations (2) and (3)(a)of this regulation>

Provided that the employer shall seek written

authorisation from the Director prior to employing such

children.

(4) In issuing the authorisation referred to in sub-regulation

(2), and in the cases referred to in sub-regulation (3)(a) of this regulation,

the Director may, at his discretion, attach such conditions as the Director

deems fit on any issue relating to the conditions of employment of

children, including on working time, night work, rest periods, and breaks,

and it shall be the duty of an employer of such a child to comply fully

with these conditions>

Provided that under no circumstance shall these conditions

be less favourable than the conditions of work applicable to children

referred to in sub-regulation (3)(b) of this regulation.

(5) The authorisation granted by the Director referred to in

sub-regulation (2) and sub-regulation (4) of this regulation may be

withdrawn at any time, and any decision taken by the Director on any

issue related to the employment of children and relating to the conditions

of employment in this regard shall be final.

(1) The working time for a child who is authorised to

work in terms of regulation 3(3)(b) shall not exceed that shown

in Schedule 1.

(2) The working time for adolescents shall not exceed eight

hours a day and 40 hours a week.

(3) Any time spent on training by a young person working

under a theoretical and, or practical combined work, training scheme or

an in-plant work-experience scheme shall be counted as working time.

(4) (a) Where a young person is employed by more than

one employer, working days and working time shall be cumulative and

shall not exceed the working days and working times established by

these regulations.

(b) It shall be the duty of the employer to ascertain

whether a young person is performing work for another employer and

to ascertain the working time in any other employment.

(c) If a young person has more than one employment,

it shall also be the duty of the parent, in the case of employment of a

child, or in the case of the employment of an adolescent, the duty of the

adolescent, to inform the employer of the hours of work carried out for

another employer.

(d) An employer shall not permit a young person to

carry out any form of work on any day on which that young person has

done any form of work for any other employer, unless the aggregate

working time with more than one employer on that day does not exceed

the total time for which such a young person may lawfully work for one

employer on that day according to these regulations.

(5) Whenever an employer employs a young person in

contravention of the preceding sub-regulation, the employer shall be

guilty of an offence and the young person, if he or she is an adolescent,

or the parent in the case of a child, shall also be guilty of an offence.

(6) Whenever an employer is prosecuted for an offence

under this regulation, it shall be a defence for him to prove>

(i) that he did not know, and could not by reasonable enquiry

have known, that the employee had carried out work for any other

employer on the day in respect of which the prosecution is brought<

or

(ii) that he did not know, or could not by reasonable enquiry

have known, that the aggregate of the periods for which the

employee worked on that day exceeded the period for which the

employee could lawfully work for one employer on that day.

(1) No child employed in terms of regulation 3(3)(b) shall Night work.

perform work between 8 p.m. on any one day and 6 a.m. of the following

day.

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-regulations (3) and (4)

of this regulation, no adolescent shall perform work between 10 p.m.

on any one day and 6 a.m. of the following day.

(3) The Director may, at his discretion, and if there are

exceptional circumstances affecting a particular branch of activity or a

particular area of work, grant authorisation for work to be performed

by adolescents in specific areas of activity during the period in which

night work is prohibited>

Provided that in such cases>

(i) the adolescent shall be supervised by an adult where a

risk assessment performed by the employer, to the satisfaction of

the Occupational Health and Safety Authority, has shown that this

is necessary on grounds of health and safety< and

(ii) in any case, no work shall be carried out between

midnight and 4 a.m>

Provided further that an adolescent attending an educational

institution approved under the Education Act shall not be assigned Cap. 327.

any work between midnight and 6 a.m. on any weekday during the

period the adolescent is expected to attend such educational

institution.

(4) The provisions of sub-regulation (2) of this regulation

prohibiting night work shall not apply for work performed in the

following sectors, if there are objective grounds for such work to be

carried out at night and provided that suitable compensatory rest is

allowed and that the principles set out in regulation 1(2) are safeguarded>

(a)

shipping or fisheries sectors<

(b) hospitals or similar establishments<

(c)

cultural, artistic, sports or advertising activities.

(1) Children employed in terms of regulation 3(3)(b) shall

be entitled to>

(a) a minimum daily rest period of 14 consecutive hours

for each 24-hour period< and

(b) a minimum weekly rest period of two consecutive days

in any calendar week, one day of which shall be a Sunday.

(2) Adolescents shall be entitled to>

(a) a minimum daily rest period of 12 consecutive hours

for each 24-hour period< and

(b) a minimum weekly rest period of two days in any

calendar week, which shall if possible be consecutive and which

in principle, shall include Sunday.

(3) The employer may, in exceptional circumstances and

where justified by technical or organisation reasons, submit a written

request to the Director for authorisation to reduce the minimum weekly

rest period referred to in sub-regulation (1) and (2) of this regulation,

but this may in no circumstance be less than 36 consecutive hours. Such

authorisation by the Director shall be given in writing>

Provided that the employer shall give the reasons for his

request and keep a copy of the authorisation.

(4) The minimum rest periods referred to in this regulation

may be split up in the case of activities involving separate periods of

work spread over the day or are of short duration.

(5) Subject to objective reasons, the provisions of sub-

regulation (2) of this regulation shall not apply for work performed in

the following sectors>

(a)

shipping or fisheries<

(b) hospitals or similar establishments<

(c)

agriculture<

(d) tourism industry, hotels and catering<

(e)

activities involving periods of work split up over the

day>

Provided that the employee is granted appropriate

compensatory rest time and that the purposes of these regulations

set out in regulation 1(2) are safeguarded.

A child employed in terms of regulation 3(3)(b) shall have an Annual rest.

aggregate minimum of 21 days free of any work during the child’s

school holidays.

(1) An employer shall not require or permit a young person Breaks.

to work for any period exceeding four and a half hours without an

uninterrupted break of at least 30 minutes.

(2) A young person shall not be entitled to be paid in respect

of the break specified in sub-regulation (1) of this regulation.

An employer may, in unusual and unforeseeable circumstances Work by

adolescents in the

beyond the employer’s control, or as a result of exceptional events the event of force

consequences of which could not have been avoided despite the exercise majeure.

of all due care, allow adolescents to carry out work and be exempted

from the provisions of regulations 4(2), 5(2), 6(2)(a) and 8>

Provided that>

(i) such work is of a temporary nature and has to be

performed immediately<

(ii) that adult workers are not available to replace the

adolescents< and

(iii) that the adolescents are allowed equivalent

compensatory rest time within the following three weeks.

(1) An employer who employs a young person shall>

(a) before employing the young person, require the

production of a birth certificate, or other satisfactory evidence

attesting to the age of the young person<

(b) before employing a young person, obtain the written

permission of a parent of the young person< and

(c) maintain a register, or other satisfactory record,

including, in relation to every young person employed, the

following particulars>

(i) full name<

(ii) date of birth<

(iii) the time the young person commences and finishes

work each day<

(iv) the rate of wages or salary due to the young person

for his or her normal working hours each day, week, month

or year, as the case may be< and

(v) the total amount actually paid to each young person

by way of wages or salary.

(2) An employer shall keep, at the place where a young

person is employed, such records as are necessary to show that the

provisions of these regulations are being complied with. Such records

shall be retained by the employer for at least three years.

(3) Where>

(a)

there is a dispute between an employer and employee,

or

(b) there is a prosecution for an offence under these

regulations,

and the records required to be kept by an employer under the preceding

paragraphs are not available, apart from being guilty of an offence in

terms of the provisions of sub-regulations (1) and (2) of this regulation,

the onus of proof that the provisions of any other regulation has been

complied with shall lie on the employer.

(1) An employer who contravenes or fails to comply with Offences.

any of the provisions of these regulations shall be guilty of an offence

against the Act.

(2) The parent of a young person who aids or abets an

employer in contravening any provision of these regulations shall be

guilty of an offence against the Act.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under these regulations

shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) of not less than two

hundred and fifty liri (Lm250) and to a further fine (multa) of not less

than fifty liri (Lm50) for every day during which the offence continues

after conviction>

Provided that an offence under this regulation shall continue

to subsist until the offender shall have conformed and complied with

the infringed provisions of these regulations.

These regulations supersede any less favourable relevant Repeals less

provisions in any regulations, orders or other subsidiary legislation made favourable

provisions.

under or kept in force under the Act, and any such relevant provisions

are hereby being revoked.

Schedule 1

Regulation 4 (1)> Working time for a child

Description of work

Age (years)

Working time

(a) Sub-regulation 3(3)(b)(i)>

work performed under a

combined work and, or training

14-16

eight hours a day and 40 hours

scheme, or an in-plant work-

a week<

experience scheme>

(b) Sub-regulation 3(3)(b)(ii)>

light work performed during

14-16

two hours on a school day and

school term-time outside the

12 hours a week<

fixed school hours>

Provided that the maximum daily 14- up to 15 (a) seven hours per day<

working time shall be>

over 15-16 (b) eight hours per day<

(c) Sub-regulation 3(3)(b)(ii)>

light work performed during a 14- up to 15 seven hours a day and 35 hours a

period of at least a week during

week*<

school holidays>

over 15-16 eight hours a day and 40 hours a

week*.

* The specified working time shall be without prejudice to the provisions of these

regulations

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press