Wage Inspectorate Victoria (WIV) will be conducting inspections across hospitality venues, such as restaurants, cafés and fast-food businesses these school holidays to ensure compliance with Victoria’s child employment laws.
Kids are more likely to be working during the school holidays, particularly in holiday hotspots where many businesses need to recruit staff quickly to meet seasonal demand.
Employing kids under 15 can be a win-win, with businesses getting additional help during peak periods, and kids getting valuable experience and earning spending money. However, it must be done safely and legally to prevent harm.
Businesses employing kids under 15 must have a child employment licence and must adhere to strict conditions around the type of work the child may perform, supervision, working hours and rest breaks.
The rules around when children can work and for how long, are different during school holidays compared to the school term.
During school holidays, children can work up to 6 hours per day and 30 hours per week.
WIV Authorised Officers will be inspecting businesses right across Victoria – we can’t be everywhere, but we can be anywhere at any time.
Businesses found to be in breach of child employment laws can face penalties exceeding $200,000.
