The State Labor Service of Ukraine reminds of the basic requirements for the employment of Ukrainian minors because the end of the school year and the desire to help the country and family stimulate more and more teenagers to look for work.

At what age is it allowed to start working and what is the length of the working week?

• from the age of 14 - in free time from studies, with the consent of one of the parents or a guardian and under the condition of performing only light work;

• from the age of 15 - with the consent of one of the parents or a guardian;

• from 16 years old - without restrictions.

It is prohibited to employ children under the age of 14.

In the conditions of martial law, the duration of the permissible working week reaches up to 50 hours.

Types of work prohibited for minors

Teenagers cannot work in dangerous and harmful conditions.

Perform heavy and underground work, such as foundry processing or construction or assembly work, and any other work included in the List of heavy work and work with harmful and dangerous working conditions.

The following are also prohibited: work at night, on weekends, overtime work, and business trips.

For employees under the age of 18, there are standards for the weight of things that are permissible for moving and lifting.

Special conditions of employment

Underage workers in labor relations have the same rights as adult workers. The salary is set at the level of an adult employee. However, a list of benefits has been developed for teenagers:

• limitation of grounds for dismissal – when dismissal is initiated by the employer, consent must be obtained from the children's affairs service;

• the term for which the first workplace is provided must exceed 2 years;

• absence of a trial period;

• additional vacations for taking exams;

• employment quotas.

Employment rules

When hiring minors, a number of requirements must be met:

1. An employment contract must be concluded only in writing.

2. The employee must have no medical contraindications - a certificate must be provided.

3. Annual medical examination before reaching the age of 21.

4. Special registration with the date of birth.

5. The duration of annual leave is 31 days (for the period of martial law, 24 days). Vacation can be taken at any convenient time without having to work continuously for six months before it is granted.