Volunteering & Part Time Work

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and to improve your confidence and self-esteem. It is something you can do in your spare time but you can also volunteer full-time after leaving school, provided you are also undertaking some part-time study or training. Below you will find some useful organisations that can help you find volunteering opportunities.

So, why volunteer? You might choose to volunteer so that you can:

• have fun and meet new people
• try new things
• follow your interests and test your career ideas
• learn new skills
• build up your self-confidence and self-esteem
• gain experience to put on your CV
• get involved in your community and make a difference!

Minumum age

The minimum age for employment is 13 years of age.

Work Children can do

These are some examples of the types of work children of school age can be employed to do:

• Work in shops including on tills
• Shelf stacking
• Delivering newspapers, journals and leaflets
• Office work
• Serving at a table in a café or restaurant
• Car washing by hand
• Light agricultural/horticultural work
• Working in a riding stable
• Shampooing/sweeping up in a hairdressers
• Working in hotels
• Jobs in entertainment

Work children cannot do

These are some examples of work children of school age cannot be employed to do:

• Work in any commercial kitchen such as a café, pub, hotel, restaurant or fish and chip shop
• Serve alcoholic drinks in pubs, clubs or restaurants
• Work in cinemas, discos, nightclubs or theatres
• Work in a factory or industrial undertaking
• Work in a fairground, amusement park or where gambling takes place
• Work in milk delivery or butchers shops
• Telephone sales
• Serve petrol/fuel/oil, or handle any dangerous biological or chemical substances
• Collect money, selling or canvassing door to door or in street trading
• Lift heavy objects

Hours and breaks

No child may start work before 7.00 am or finish later than 7.00 pm. When aged between 13 years and their school leaving date a child may work:

• On school days:
• One hour before school and up to two hours after school. They must not work more than a total of two hours on any school day.
• All Sunday employment is restricted to a maximum of two hours
• Saturdays and school holidays:
• Children aged 13 or 14 years old can work for a total of five hours daily to a maximum of 25 hours weekly
• Children aged 15 years and over can work for a total of eight hours daily to a maximum of 35 hours weekly

A child who works for four hours in any one session must have a break of one hour.

Taken from https://www.norfolk.gov.uk/children-and-families/children-in-employment-and-entertainment