Protection of Young Persons at Work Act
Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (JArbSchG)
Act for the Protection of Young Persons in Employment (Protection of Young Persons at Work Act – JArbSchG) of 12 April 1976, last amended on 31 October 2006
The Protection of Young Persons at Work Act applies to the employ-ment of young people below the age of 18. Pursuant to the Act, a young person is an individual over the age of 15 but below the age of 18. Children are young persons below the age of 15. The provisions for children apply to young persons attending a full-time school. Depending on the Land, full-time school attendance is either nine or ten school years.
The Protection of Young Persons at Work Act protects children and young persons against forms of employment which start too early, are too long, are physically too exhausting, constitute a threat to or are inappropriate for young persons. Young persons must not be employed for more than eight hours per day or more than 40 hours per week. A five-day week also applies to youth. Youth employees must be granted breaks and sufficient time-off for recovery. As a matter of principle, young persons may not perform hazardous work.
The Act prohibits all child labour. Children having reached the age of 13 and young persons attending full-time school may be employed for light and suitable work under certain conditions. Permissible activities are included in a comprehensive list in the Protection of Children at Work Ordinance (Kinderarbeitsschutzverordnung). There are further exemptions for certain events and work in the media.
The implementation of the Protection of Young Persons at Work Act is the responsibility of the Länder. It will be executed by the competent Länder authorities for occupational health and safety (such as the Health and Safety Inspectorates, Occupational Health and Safety Agencies). The occupational health and safety authorities are also responsible for supervising compliance with the provisions of the Act and for providing counselling to the parties concerned.
