A major issue amongst teenagers today, which some expert groups regard as an epidemic, is …show more content…
Laws have been specifically made for youth employment to prevent exploitation and ensure that education is prioritised. Legal regulations revolving around youth employment and working hours can be observed in the Child Employment Act 2014 (Qld). It explicitly highlights, ‘an employer can not require or permit a school-aged child to perform work when the school-aged child is required to attend school’ (Child Employment Act 2014 (Qld) s11). Specific limitations regarding working times can be found in Child Employment Regulation 2006 (Qld). Section 5 of this Regulation states that school-aged children under the age of 16, must not work more than 12 hours on a school week, and more than 38 hours on a non-school week. Moreover, they cannot work any more than 4 hours on a single school day or 8 hours on a non-school day. Also they cannot work for anymore than one shift in one day. Therefore, if an employer allows a school-aged child to work during school hours and goes against the above regulations, they are disobeying the law and may be fined 100 penalty units($11