Child labor is the hired labor of persons who have not reached the age of working capacity. The Law of Ukraine «On the Protection of Childhood» dated April 26, 2001 No. 2402-III states that a child is a person under the age of 18. Also, Article 187 of the Labor Code of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the Labor Code) defines minors as persons who have not reached the age of eighteen.
Taking into account the requirements of Articles 51 and 188 of the Labor Code, the employment of persons under the age of 14 is not permitted under any circumstances.
At the legislative level, the International Labor Organization adopted Convention No. 182 of June 17, 1999 «Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor» (hereinafter referred to as Convention No. 182), which was ratified by the Law of Ukraine of October 5, 2000 No. 2022-III and thus became part of the national legislation of Ukraine.
According to Article 3 of Convention No. 182, the «worst forms of child labor» include:
- all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, and forced or compulsory labour, including the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
- using, recruiting or offering a child for prostitution, the production of pornographic products or for pornographic performances;
- the use, recruitment or offering of a child for illegal activities, in particular for the production and sale of drugs, as defined in relevant international treaties;
- work which, by its nature or the conditions in which it is carried out, may harm the health, safety or morals of children.
The procedure for hiring a minor generally does not differ from the procedure for hiring other categories of employees, but has certain features that both adolescents and employers should be aware of. It should be remembered that such a person must be at least 16 years old, otherwise it is required to justify the need to hire such a person and include in the employee's personal file:
- a copy of the birth certificate (instead of a passport),
- the consent of one of the parents or a person replacing him/her – if the person is over 14
up to 16 years old;
- a document confirming that the person will perform work in their free time from school – if the person is 14 to 15 years old.
Clause 5, Part 1, Article 24 of the Labor Code establishes that employment contracts with minors must be concluded in writing.
As a general rule, a probationary period is not imposed upon the employment of persons under the age of eighteen. However, during the period of martial law, a probationary period may be imposed upon the employment of any category of employees. Establishing a probationary period is not the employer's obligation, it is his right.
It should not be forgotten that a mandatory condition for hiring minors is to undergo a preliminary medical examination (Article 191 of the Labor Code and Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On Labor Protection").
Also, for minors, taking into account the requirements of Article 51 of the Labor Code, reduced working hours have been established, namely:
- 16–18 years old – up to 36 hours per week
- 15–16 years old – up to 24 hours per week
- students 14–15 years old (during holidays) – up to 24 hours per week
If you have students working during the school year, their maximum working hours are halved:
- 16–18 years old – up to 18 hours per week
- 15–16 years old – up to 12 hours per week
- 14–15 years old – up to 12 hours per week.
At the same time, wages for employees under eighteen years of age with reduced daily work hours are paid in the same amount as for employees of the corresponding categories with full daily work hours.
Teenagers cannot work in dangerous and harmful conditions, underground, at thermal and nuclear power plants, at oil and gas extraction enterprises, and in other work involving List of heavy work and work with harmful substances and dangerous working conditions. They cannot be involved in night work (from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.), overtime work, and work on weekends.
Workers under 18 years of age are also not allowed to move or lift objects weighing more than limit values (Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine «On Labor Protection»). In addition, loading work is limited in time - no more than one third of the working time. In other words, if an employee works 7 hours a day, then loading work should not last more than 2.3 hours.
In accordance with Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine "On Holidays", persons under the age of eighteen are granted an annual basic leave lasting 31 calendar days.
At the same time, annual leave for employees under the age of eighteen is granted at a time convenient for them. In the first year of work, it is granted upon their application before the six-month period of continuous work at the enterprise (Article 195 of the Labor Code).
Dismissal of minors occurs according to the general rules of labor legislation, but dismissal at the initiative of the employer is allowed, in addition to observing the general dismissal procedure, only with the consent of the district (city) service for children (Article 198 of the Labor Code).
