A minor worker in the labor market - when can a person under 18 years of age be employed?

A minor employee is an employee who has reached the age of 15 but has not yet reached the age of 18. In Poland, the employment of such an employee is absolutely possible, although it requires the fulfillment of certain conditions and the provision of appropriate working conditions for him. However, we cannot employ a minor for all types of work.

So, when can you hire a minor worker?

As a rule, a minor worker can only be hired if he has completed at least eight grades of elementary school and presented a certificate from a doctor confirming that the work he will be doing does not pose a threat to his health.

Under the conditions established for minor workers, it is also possible to employ a person who has not reached the age of 15 (but has already completed eight years of primary school) in the calendar year in which this person turns 15 years old.

A person who has completed eight years of primary school may also be employed in the period preceding the calendar year in which he reaches the age of 15, but only if he obtains consent to such work from his legal guardian and a positive opinion from a psychologist. - pedagogical consulting center. With such an employee, after fulfilling these conditions, it is still possible to conclude only a contract for vocational training.

The employment of a person who has not yet completed the eighth grade of primary school and has not reached the age of 15 is also allowed, but such employment can only take place in the form and for the purpose of training such an employee for a specific job in the future. Therefore, it is impossible to treat such an employee on an equal footing with an adult employee (or even a minor who has already completed primary school and has reached the age of 15) cannot be treated.

Suitable working conditions

For the employment of a minor worker, it is necessary to ensure appropriate working conditions, including, in particular:

• the care and assistance necessary to adapt to the proper performance of the job;

• employment for vocational training or light work;

• Employment contract for an indefinite period (if the employer does not employ more minors than required by his needs: then it is possible to apply an employment contract for a fixed period);

• the dismissal of such an employee from work for the time necessary to participate in educational activities related to additional education (including in the field of eight-year primary and secondary school and other extracurricular forms), before the employee reaches the age of 18 years;

• Termination of the contract with a minor employee with notice only for good reasons (such as declaring bankruptcy or liquidation of an enterprise, reorganization of the workplace, declaring a minor unfit for work and failure to perform his duties);

• The working time of a minor is not more than 8 hours per day (and in the case of a minor under the age of 16 - not more than 6 hours per day), provided that this working time also includes the time of study in the compulsory school curriculum (regardless of whether whether it happens during working hours);

• Inability to work a minor worker at night;

• a break in the work of a minor, including at night, for at least 14 hours;

• Weekly break from work 48 hours of uninterrupted rest;

• The right of a minor to leave in the amount of 12 working days after working 6 months from the date of entry into the first job and 26 working days after one year of work;

• Obligation to provide a minor employee with leave during school holidays;

• Prohibition of the use of underage workers in prohibited jobs.

List of works prohibited for minors

When deciding on the employment of a minor worker, it should be borne in mind that the Polish legal system covers such a worker with a unique protective umbrella. Behind this umbrella, in addition to the above conditions of employment, there are a number of professions that are simply prohibited for minors and allowed only under very strict conditions.

These works include, among others:

1. Work associated with excessive physical effort;

2. Work that requires a constant forced and uncomfortable position of the body (for example, work performed in a bent position, squatting or kneeling);

3. Work that threatens proper mental development (for example, work related to the production, sale and use of alcohol and tobacco products, work in hospitals (and wards) for the nervous and mentally ill);

4. Work that exposes you to harmful chemical, physical or biological factors;

5. Jobs that involve the risk of accidents (i.e. work involving fishing, operating mechanical hammers, presses, rollers, scissors, slicers, woodworking, contact with wild or poisonous animals, etc.).

A complete list of work prohibited for underage workers (or whose performance is subject to additional conditions) can be found in the Decree of the Council of Ministers of August 24, 2004 on the list of work prohibited for minors and the conditions for their performance. their employment in some of these jobs.