The German Youth Employment Protection Act for employers

Which legal rules do I have to observe as an employer?

Who counts as a “young person”?

The German Youth Employment Protection Act (Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz, JArbSchG) applies in principle to all people who have not yet reached the age of 18. Individual provisions also apply after someone turns 18, though. Children, however, are excluded here. Anyone under 15 counts as a child. On top of that, young people who are still subject to full-time compulsory schooling are treated as children by law, so they do not fall under the JArbSchG.

Youth employment protection targets paid employment, regardless of whether it is an apprenticeship, a side job or casual work. The JArbSchG also applies to internships.

Employing children is prohibited. Only children who are no longer subject to full-time compulsory schooling may work,

• in a vocational training relationship and
• outside vocational training relationships only on light work suitable for them, up to seven hours a day and 35 hours a week.

The German Working Hours Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz, ArbZG) for young people

When it comes to working hours in particular, there are a number of special rules for young people. We have listed them clearly for you here:

• Young people may only work on five days a week.
• Young people may not work more than eight hours a day.
• Young people may not work more than 40 hours a week.
• The two rest days should ideally be consecutive.
• If working time is shortened to less than eight hours on individual working days, young people may be employed for up to eight and a half hours on the remaining working days of the same week.

Working Saturdays: when young people may work despite the JArbSchG

The JArbSchG also sets special rules for employment on Saturdays. Young people may not work on Saturdays. There are exceptions, though:

• in hospitals as well as in homes for the elderly, care homes and children's homes
• in retail outlets, in businesses with retail outlets, in bakeries and pâtisseries, in hairdressing and at markets
• in transport
• in the hospitality and travelling showmen's trade
• in agriculture and animal husbandry
• in a family household
• at musical performances, theatre performances and other productions, at broadcasting recordings, on audio and video media and at film and photo shoots
• at training measures outside the business
• in sport
• in the emergency medical service
• in motor vehicle repair workshops

If young people are employed on Saturdays, at least 2 Saturdays a month must still remain free.  The rest day that is lost has to be compensated, of course, so that young people do not work more than 5 days.

If young people in retail outlets, in businesses with retail outlets, in bakeries and pâtisseries, in hairdressing and at markets cannot be employed for eight hours on a Saturday, the missing working time can be made up on the day off until 1 p.m.

Sunday work for young people: the exceptions the JArbSchG allows

Just as with employment on Saturdays, young people are also banned from working on Sundays. But here, too, the JArbSchG provides exceptions:

• in hospitals as well as in homes for the elderly, care homes and children's homes
• in agriculture and animal husbandry  with work that has to be carried out on Sundays and public holidays by the nature of the task.
• in a family household, if the young people are part of the household community
• at musical performances, theatre performances and other productions, at broadcasting recordings
• in sport
• in the emergency medical service
• in the hospitality trade

Here, too, two Sundays a month must be kept free. In addition, young people may not work on two consecutive Sundays.

Public holiday work for young people: when the JArbSchG makes exceptions

As already laid down in the ArbZG, young people may not work on public holidays either. The ArbZG does set out exceptions here, though. You will find these in the JArbSchG as well, although they are modified somewhat.

On 24 and 31 December, young people may no longer work after 2 p.m.  On all other public holidays, young people may only work if they are also allowed to work on Sundays.  

Breaks and rest periods: special rules for young people in the JArbSchG

Slightly different break rules apply to young people than to adults. After a working time of between four and a half and six hours they are entitled to a break of 30 minutes. For a working time of more than six hours, the minimum break rises to 60 minutes.  

The break time can be split, but it must last at least 15 minutes. Breaks may be taken at the earliest one hour after the start of working time and at the latest one hour before the end. The first break, however, must be granted to young people after at least four and a half hours of work.

For young people, the rest period between work assignments is at least 12 hours.

Special rules on night work apply in the JArbSchG

In principle, young people may not work between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. However, young people over 16 may be employed

• in the hospitality and travelling showmen's trade until 10 p.m.
• in multi-shift businesses until 11 p.m.,
• in agriculture from 5 a.m. or until 9 p.m.,
• in a bakery or pâtisserie from 5 a.m. For young people over 17, they may also work in bakeries from as early as four o'clock  

It applies, however, that if a vocational school day falls immediately after a working day, young people may not be employed after 8 p.m. in the hospitality and travelling showmen's trade, in multi-shift businesses or in agriculture either, if vocational school lessons start before nine o'clock on the school day.

After giving prior notice to the supervisory authorities, young people may also be employed after 8 p.m. (until 9 p.m.) and, in multi-shift businesses, in the case of young people over 16, from 5:30 a.m. or until 11:30 p.m., if this shortens waiting times for transport reasons. That means where it avoids the rush hour or where the connection to public transport is more favourable.

If the work is exposed to extreme conditions such as the effect of heat, young people may, with approval from the supervisory authorities, start work as early as five o'clock in the warmer seasons. That can for example in agriculture.

Vacation entitlement under youth employment protection: statutory rules and special rules

Young people are entitled to paid vacation too. The following requirements have to be met:

• At least 30 working days if the young person is not yet 16 at the start of the calendar year.
• At least 27 working days if the young person is not yet 17 at the start of the calendar year.
• At least 25 working days if the young person is not yet 18 at the start of the calendar year.

In underground mining, a special rule grants three additional working days of extra vacation, regardless of age group.

Vacation must be given to vocational school students during the vocational school holidays. If that is not possible, the days on which the student has to attend vocational school count as normal working days and are not deducted from the vacation account.

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Which health aspects do I have to consider as an employer?

In some cases, young people have to undergo a medical examination before starting work. These cases are:

• Young people entering working life may only be employed if they have been examined by a doctor within the last fourteen months (initial examination) and present the employer with a certificate issued by that doctor.
• One year after starting their first job, employers must have a doctor's certificate presented confirming that the young person has had a follow-up examination (first follow-up examination). The follow-up examination must not have taken place more than three months ago.
• Nine months after the young person starts their first job, the employer is obliged to point out to them emphatically the date by which they have to present the medical certificate, and to ask them to have the follow-up examination carried out by then.
• If this does not happen in time, the employer is obliged to point it out again after one month. This request must, however, be made in writing and refer to a ban on employment. The letter must also be sent to the person with parental custody, the works council or staff council and the supervisory authority.
• If 14 months have passed without a follow-up examination, a ban on employment applies.
• Further examinations are voluntary, but the employer should still inform young people about them.

If a young person changes employer, the new employer may only employ them once a certificate of the initial examination is available – or, if that is more than a year old, of the first follow-up examination.

Depending on what these medical certificates say, the employer has various obligations:

• If the doctor's certificate contains a note about work whose performance the doctor considers a risk to the young person's health or development, the young person may not be employed on such work.
• The employer must keep the medical certificates until the condition of employment, but at most until the young person turns 18, and present them for inspection to the supervisory authority and the employers' liability insurance association on request.
• If the young person leaves the employment relationship, the employer must hand the certificate over to them.
• The employer must release the young person from work to have the medical examination under this section carried out. No loss of pay may result from this. The cost of the examination is borne by the federal state.

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Youth protection during vocational training

As a rule, the employer must release young people to attend vocational school lessons. The employer may not employ young people:

• before lessons that start before nine o'clock; this also applies to people who are over 18 and still required to attend vocational school,
• on a vocational school day with more than five lessons of 45 minutes each, once a week
• in vocational school weeks with scheduled block teaching of at least 25 hours on at least five days; additional in-company training sessions of up to two hours a week are permitted

For the working hours calculator, the following figures add up on vocational school days:

• for days with at least five lessons of at least 45 minutes each, eight hours count as working time
• weeks with scheduled block teaching of at least 25 hours on at least five days are counted as 40 hours of working time

This time may not have any negative effect on the payment of wages. Time at vocational school may therefore not be deducted from pay.

Examinations and training measures outside the business

The employer must release young people from work if

• they have to take part in examinations and training measures that, under public or contractual provisions, are to be carried out outside the training establishment. In this case the time spent taking part, including breaks, counts as working time.
• on working days that immediately follow a written examination day. In this case eight hours are credited to the apprentice's working time.  

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What has to be observed in terms of occupational safety?

When it comes to occupational safety, too, there are special rules for young people set out in the JArbSchG. In principle, young people may not carry out

• work that exceeds their physical or mental capacity.
• work in which they are exposed to moral hazards.
• *work associated with accident risks that young people are assumed to be unable to recognise or avert because of a lack of safety awareness or a lack of experience.
• *work in which their health is endangered by extreme heat or cold or heavy wet conditions.
• *work in which they are exposed to harmful effects of noise, vibration or radiation.
• *work in which they are exposed to harmful effects of danger points within the meaning of the German Chemicals Act (Chemikaliengesetz).
• *work in which they are exposed to harmful effects of biological agents.

The rules marked with * have exceptions, provided that

• this is necessary to achieve their training objective,
• their protection is ensured by the supervision of a qualified person and
• the airborne limit value for hazardous substances is not exceeded.

If young people are employed in a business that is required to have a company doctor or an occupational safety specialist, their occupational health or safety support must be ensured.

As a rule, when setting up and maintaining the workplace it has to be taken into account that young people may lack safety awareness and  lack experience. The young person's stage of development must also be taken into account without fail. That is why thorough briefings at the start of work and whenever something changes are essential.

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Legal consequences of breaches of youth protection rules

Compliance with the German Youth Protection Act (Jugendschutzgesetz) is monitored by various supervisory authorities. These are tasks of the trade supervisory office (Gewerbeaufsichtsamt) and the occupational safety authority, for example. In mining it is the task of the mining authority (Bergamt). So that young people can inform themselves about their rights under the JArbSchG, the employer must pass on to them the addresses of the responsible supervisory authorities.

Breaches of the JArbSchG are treated as an administrative offence (Ordnungswidrigkeit) or, in particularly serious cases, as a criminal offence. A breach of the JArbSchG can be penalised with a fine of up to €15,000. This fine only applies to administrative offences, though. Criminal offences can be punished with financial penalties as well as prison sentences.