Shops Act 1950

24 Hours of employment of persons between 16 and 18

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, no young person between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years shall be employed about the business of a shop for more than the normal maximum working hours, that is to say, forty-eight working hours in any week.

(2) On occasions of seasonal or exceptional pressure of work at any shop, young persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen years may, subject as hereinafter provided, and subject to the provisions of any other enactment, be employed about the business of the shop overtime, that is to say, in excess of the normal maximum working hours:

Provided that in the case of any shop—

(a) when in any year there have been six weeks (whether consecutive or not) in which young persons have been employed overtime about the business of the shop, no young person shall be so employed during the remainder of that year;

(b) no young person shall be employed overtime about the business of the shop—

(i) in any year after he has been employed overtime about the business of the shop for fifty working hours in that year ;

(ii) in any week after he has been employed overtime about the business of the shop for twelve working hours in that week.

(3) In the case of any contravention of the provisions of this section, the occupier of the shop shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every person in respect of whom the contravention occurs.

(4) In this section—

• " shop " includes any wholesale shop and any warehouse occupied for the purposes of his trade by any person carrying on any retail trade or business or by any wholesale dealer or merchant;

• " year " means the period between midnight on the last Saturday night in the month of December and midnight on the last Saturday night in the next month of December.