Youth Employment Protection Act

The Youth Employment Protection Act was created to lay down special regulations for the protection of children and young people in the world of work.

The Youth Employment Protection Act is abbreviated to JArbSchG. The Child Labor Protection Ordinance is abbreviated to KindArbSchV.

The law applies to young people from the age of 15 up to the age of 18. Trainees who are already older than 18 can no longer invoke this law.

Youth employment protection covers paid employment. This can therefore be an apprenticeship, a part-time job or even casual work. The Youth Employment Protection Act also applies to internships.

The Youth Employment Protection Act

In principle, child labor is prohibited and, according to § 5 JArbSchG, children should not work at all. However, there are some exceptions. In the following cases, it is possible for children to be employed after all:

• During a work placement.
• Light work for children over the age of 13 if their parents agree. The working time must not exceed 2 hours.
• Pupils aged 15 and over may work for 4 weeks per calendar year during the vacations.
• Community service” ordered by a juvenile court judge.
• With a special permit, children may take part in concerts, theater or similar events.

The working time

Particular attention must be paid to working hours. These are strictly regulated for underage employees and may not exceed 8 hours per day. In addition, the working week may not exceed 40 hours. In addition, no shift may be longer than 10 hours. Overtime is an absolute taboo in the Youth Employment Protection Act.

The 5-day week applies to young people. This means that Saturdays are generally free for them. Young people are also not allowed to work on Sundays and public holidays. This is also known as Saturday, Sunday and public holiday rest.

The law allows exceptions in sectors such as catering, healthcare, agriculture and transportation. At least 2 Saturdays per month must be work-free.

For young people, daily work may start at 6 a.m. at the earliest and last until 8 p.m. at the latest. There are also some exceptions here, as this is difficult to comply with in some sectors. The exceptions include the following sectors:

• Bakery
• Confectionery
• Agriculture
• Shift operations
• Gastronomy
• Show business

Break times

Break times are also strictly regulated in the Youth Employment Protection Act.

If the working time is more than 4.5 hours per day, the young person is entitled to a break of 30 minutes in total.

If a young person works for more than 6 hours, they are entitled to a break of 60 minutes in total.

The following applies:

• The first break must be taken after 4.5 hours at the latest.
• Each break must last at least 15 minutes.

Vacation

Young people are also entitled to vacation. Vacation ent itlement for young people is staggered according to age. Accordingly, a 5-day week results in the following vacation entitlement:

• 25 working days for under 16-year-olds
• 23 working days for under 17-year-olds
• 21 working days for under 18s