Protecting young people in the workplace

Definition:
Young person - any person aged at least 15 years and no more than 18 years (H.G. 600/2007, art. 3 lit. a).

The legal provisions regarding the protection of young people in the workplace aim to ensure the protection of young people against economic exploitation, any work likely to harm their safety, health or physical, psychological, moral or social development or to jeopardize their education (H.G. no. 600/2007, art. 1).

Normative acts that regulate the protection of young people at the workplace:

Labor Code (Law no. 53/2003, with subsequent amendments and additions);

Law no. 319/2006 on safety and health at work;

H.G. no. 600/2007 regarding the protection of young people at the workplace, transposes the provisions of European Union Directive 94/33/EC;

Law no. 279/2005 regarding apprenticeship at the workplace.

Employers' obligations:

To protect young people against specific risks to their safety, health and development, risks that result from their lack of experience or insufficient awareness of existing risks;

To implement measures, based on the assessment of existing risks for young people and related to their work;

To inform, in writing, young people about possible risks and about all measures taken regarding their safety and health.

It is forbidden to hire young people for activities that:

Clearly exceed their physical or psychological capacities;

Involve harmful exposure to toxic, carcinogenic agents or that cause hereditary genetic changes;

Involve harmful exposure to radiation;

Endanger health due to cold, extreme heat, noise or vibrations.

Special provisions regarding the working time of young people:

The duration of working time is a maximum of 6 hours/day and 30 hours/week;

Young people cannot work overtime;

Young people cannot work at night;

Young people benefit from a meal break of at least 30 consecutive minutes if the daily working time exceeds 4 and a half hours;

Between two working days, young people benefit from a minimum rest period of 12 consecutive hours;

Young people benefit from an additional holiday of at least 3 working days.

List of agents that may entail specific risks for the safety, health and development of young people:

Physical agents: ionizing radiation, hyperbaric atmosphere;

Biological agents: biological agents from groups 3 and 4;

Chemical agents: toxic, corrosive, explosive or flammable substances.

"Employers need to make more effort to protect young people, and young people need to be more aware of safety and health issues when entering the world of work."
Jukka Takala, Director of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work