Merchant Shipping Act 1995

55 Young persons

(1) A person under school-leaving age shall not be employed in any United Kingdom ship except as permitted by regulations under this section.

(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a) prescribing circumstances in which and conditions subject to which persons under school-leaving age who have attained such age as may be specified in the regulations may be employed in a ship in such capacities as may be so specified;

(b) prescribing circumstances and capacities in which persons over school leaving-age but under the age of 18 or under such lower age as may be specified in the regulations must not be employed in a United Kingdom ship or may be so employed only subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulations.

(3) Regulations made for the purposes of this section may make different provision for different employments and different descriptions of ship and any other different circumstances.

(4) If any person is employed in a ship in contravention of this section or if any condition subject to which a person may be employed under regulations made for the purposes of this section is not complied with, the owner or master shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(5) For the purposes of this section a person employed in a ship shall be deemed to be over school-leaving age if he has, and under school-leaving age if he has not, attained the age which is the upper limit of compulsory school age (in Scotland school age) under the enactments relating to education in the part of the United Kingdom in which he entered into the agreement under which he is so employed or, if he entered into that agreement outside the United Kingdom or is employed otherwise than under an agreement, under the enactments relating to education in England and Wales; and if he is treated for the purposes of those enactments as not having attained that age he shall be so treated also for the purposes of this section.