Those that have been glued in to the final stages of X Factor may have noticed that many of the young contestants are working long hours and being exposed to lots of pressure and stress, particularly in the latter stages.
For the younger contestants, some of who are only 17, is there a legal duty on Simon Cowell and his colleagues to provide extra care for younger employees or is this just child labour in the entertainment industry?
Those involved in the X Factor are surely “working” more than the hours they should be but in reality they are not employees, they are contestants. Even when they set out on the much publicised X Factor Tour, they will not be employees.
Children as young as 13 can be employed provided that there are local by-laws authorising their employment, although generally speaking 14 is the youngest age children can be employed. Even then, provided that they don’t do anything other than “light work” and for those who are under 15, work only 2 hours on a school day, 5 hours on a non school day and 2 hours on a Sunday, (2 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non school day and 2 hours on a Sunday if they are 15-16), other than the normal duties of an employer, there are only 2 additional duties.
The first is to keep a register of all employees under the age of 16 and their birth dates and the second is to ensure that any risks to their health and safety as a consequence of their lack of experience or absence of awareness of potential risks is taken into account. There is no minimum wage for employees under the age of 16, at which age employers must pay a minimum of £3.57 per hour.
And before you ask, you are not allowed to ignore these rules just because they perform some songs in the office at lunchtime.
For the younger contestants, some of who are only 17, is there a legal duty on Simon Cowell and his colleagues to provide extra care for younger employees or is this just child labour in the entertainment industry?
Those involved in the X Factor are surely “working” more than the hours they should be but in reality they are not employees, they are contestants. Even when they set out on the much publicised X Factor Tour, they will not be employees.
Children as young as 13 can be employed provided that there are local by-laws authorising their employment, although generally speaking 14 is the youngest age children can be employed. Even then, provided that they don’t do anything other than “light work” and for those who are under 15, work only 2 hours on a school day, 5 hours on a non school day and 2 hours on a Sunday, (2 hours on a school day, 8 hours on a non school day and 2 hours on a Sunday if they are 15-16), other than the normal duties of an employer, there are only 2 additional duties.
The first is to keep a register of all employees under the age of 16 and their birth dates and the second is to ensure that any risks to their health and safety as a consequence of their lack of experience or absence of awareness of potential risks is taken into account. There is no minimum wage for employees under the age of 16, at which age employers must pay a minimum of £3.57 per hour.
And before you ask, you are not allowed to ignore these rules just because they perform some songs in the office at lunchtime.
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