Employment of Children

There are rules in the Labour Standards Code that concern paying children for work. If you know of a child who works, or if you are an employer with employees who are under the age of 16, then the information below may be important to you.

The Labour Standards Code tells when children may be employed in Nova Scotia. The laws about the employment of children do not apply to people who are 16 years and over.

The law divides children into two groups: those under 14 and those under 16.

Children Under 14

It is against the law to pay wages to a child under the age of 14 to do work that:

• is likely to be unwholesome or harmful to the child's health or normal development
• is likely to keep the child out of school or make it hard for the child to learn at school

It is against the law to employ a child under 14 to do work:

• for more than 8 hours a day
• for more than 3 hours on a school day unless a certificate has been issued under the Education Act to allow the child to work
• for any time during the day when that time plus the time the child is in school adds up to more than 8 hours
• between the hours of 10 pm of any day and 6 am of the next day

Children Under 16

The Labour Standards Code says that no one is to employ a child under the age of 16 in any work that risks the child's well-being, such as

• mining
• manufacturing
• construction
• forestry
• work in garages and automobile service stations
• work in hotels
• work in billiard rooms

Exception

The rules regarding children not being allowed to work in the types of businesses identified above do not apply to a situation where an employer employs a 14 or 15 year old member of his/her own family.

Note
As of April 1, 2007, children between the ages of 14 and 16 are allowed to work in restaurants provided certain conditions are met. See Youth Working in Restaurants for information on this.

Liability of a Parent or Guardian

Any parent or guardian of a child whose employment violates the Labour Standards Code can be fined unless he or she can prove that the child worked without his or her knowledge.