Child work permit (England and Wales)

What this covers

To employ a child in the UK, you may need to get a work permit from your local authority

It applies in England and Wales. Other UK nations run their own regimes — check the equivalent for the nation you trade in.

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Children and Young Persons Act 1933.

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Children and Young Persons Act 1933 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses

1

Penalties

1

Exemptions

1

Duties on businesses under the Act

• Fail to remove cached child-safety content when required Schedule 1A para.4

What happens if you get it wrong

• Fail to remove cached child-safety content when required Unlimited fine

Exemptions that may take you outside it

• Licensed child performers exempt from employment restrictions — The child is employed under the authority of a licence granted under Part I of the Children and Young Persons …

Who issues it

Your local council issues this, acting as the licensing authority for the area you trade in. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales, so two neighbouring authorities can reach you differently.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

Licences that often go with this one

Businesses in the same activities usually need one or more of these too.

Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

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