Children Act 1972

1972 CHAPTER 44

An Act to secure that the minimum age at which children may be employed is not affected by any further change in the school-leaving age.

[27th July 1972]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Minimum age of employment.

(1) Notwithstanding any change in the age governing the time when children may leave school, the minimum age at which, under section 18(1) of the [1933 c. 12.] Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or section 28(1) of the [1937 c. 37.] Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937, it is lawful for a child to be employed shall remain the age of 13 years.

(2) Accordingly in each of those sections for subsection (1)(a) there shall be substituted the paragraph—

“(a) so long as he is under the age of thirteen years”;

and in subsection (2) (which allows the general rules in subsection (1) to be modified by local authority bye-laws) for paragraph (a)(i) there shall be substituted the sub-paragraph—

“(i) the employment of children under the age of thirteen years (notwithstanding anything in paragraph (a) of the last foregoing subsection) by their parents or guardians in light agricultural or horticultural work”.

2 Short title, repeal and extent.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Children Act 1972.

(2) The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in column 3 of the Schedule.

(3) Nothing in this Act extends to Northern Ireland.

SCHEDULE Enactments Repealed

Chapter	Short Title	Extent of repeal
7 & 8 Geo. 6. c. 31.	The Education Act 1944.	In Schedule 8, the entry relating to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, section 18.
8 & 9 Geo. 6. c. 37.	The Education (Scotland) Act 1945.	In Schedule 4, so much of the entry for the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 as relates to section 28 of that Act.
11 & 12 Geo. 6. c. 40.	The Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1948.	In Part II of Schedule 1 the entry relating to the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 section 18(1)(a).
1963 c. 37.	The Children and Young Persons Act 1963.	In Schedule 3, paragraph 29(1).