Employment of Children Act 1973
| Year | 1973 |
Employment of Children Act1973
1973 CHAPTER 24
An Act to make further provision with respect to restrictions on the employment of persons under the upper limit of school age and to the means of imposing and enforcing such restrictions; and for connected purposes.
[23rd May 1973]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 1.
(1) In this Act, ‘the Act of 1933’ means the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and ‘the Act of 1937’ means the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 .
(2) In section 18(2) of the Act of 1933 and section 28(2) of the Act of 1937, the power of local authorities and, in Scotland, education authorities to make byelaws with respect to the employment of children shall be replaced by a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations for the purposes mentioned in those subsections respectively, any such regulations to be contained in a statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(3) In accordance with subsection (2) above and with a view—
(a ) to making the consequential changes in Part II of the Act of 1933 and Part III of the Act of 1937 which follow from that subsection;
(b ) to extending the powers exercisable under section 18 of the Act of 1933 and section 28 of the Act of 1937 for regulating the employment of children; and
(c ) to increasing the penalties for contraventions of those Acts in relation to employment,
the Acts of 1933 and 1937 shall have effect with the amendments shown in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act.
(4) As amended by subsection (3) above, section 18 of the Act of 1933 is as set out in Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act; and (as so amended) section 28 of the Act of 1937 is also as there set out, but with the differences specified in the note at the end of the Schedule.
(5) Section 19 of the Act of 1933 and section 29 of the Act of 1937 (power of local authorities to make byelaws with respect to the employment of persons under the age of eighteen) shall cease to have effect.
(6) If it appears to the Secretary of State in the case of a local Act that—
(a ) it contains provisions relating to or authorising the making of byelaws in respect of the employment of children; and
(b ) those provisions are no longer required having regard to cognate provisions of any public general Act for the time being in force (and in particular the provision made by subsection (2) above),
he may by order amend or repeal those provisions of the local Act; and an order under this subsection shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
2 Supervision by education authorities.
(1) The following powers shall be exercisable in England and Wales by a local education authority and, in Scotland, by an education authority in cases where the authority have reason to suppose that a child is, or is to become, employed (whether or not in the authority's area).
(2) The authority may by a notice served—
(a ) on the child's parent or guardian or a person who has actual custody of the child; or
(b ) on a person appearing to have the child in his employment or to be about to employ him,
require the person served to furnish to the authority, within such period as may be specified in the notice, particulars of how the child is, or is to be, employed and at what times and for what periods.
(3) If it appears to the authority that a child is for the time being, or is to become, employed in ways, or at times or for periods, which are not unlawful apart from this section but are unsuitable for the child, by reference to his age or state of health, or otherwise prejudicial to his education, they may, by a notice served on any such person as is mentioned in paragraph (a ) or (b ) of subsection (2) above as one on whom a notice may be served, either—
(a ) prohibit the child's employment in any manner specified in the notice; or
(b ) require his employment in any manner so specified to be subject to such conditions (specified in the notice and to be complied with by the person served with it) as the authority think fit to impose in the interests of the child.
(4) Any person who—
(a ) being served with a notice under subsection (2) above—
(i) fails to furnish the particulars required by the notice within the period specified thereby, or
(ii) in purported compliance with the notice, makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular; or
(b ) being served with a notice under subsection (3) prohibiting a child's employment in any manner specified in the notice, employs or causes or permits the child to be employed in that manner contrary to the prohibition; or
(c ) being served with such a notice requiring compliance by him with any conditions, wilfully fails to comply with them,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (4) above shall be liable on summary conviction—
(a ) in the case of an offence under paragraph (a ) of the subsection, to a fine of not more than 20 or, if he has previously been convicted of an offence under that paragraph, to a fine of not more than 50;
(b ) in the case of an offence under paragraph (b ) or (c ) of the subsection, to a fine of not more than 50, or if he has previously been convicted of an offence under either paragraph, to a fine of not more than 100.
(6) For purposes of this section, a person who assists in a trade or occupation carried on for profit shall be deemed to be employed notwithstanding that he receives no reward for his labour.
3 Citation, etc.
(1) This Act may be cited as the Employment of Children Act 1973.
(2) In this Act—
(a ) ‘child’ means a person who is not for the purposes of the Education Acts over compulsory school age, or in Scotland school age;
(b ) ‘the Education Acts’ means in England and Wales the Education...
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