DOZENS of school pupils across Helensburgh and Lomond are spending their summer holidays doing part-time work – but are their employers complying with the law?

All businesses in the area with part-time workers who are still at school are being reminded that they need a work permit to comply with rules on the employment of children.

All employers with part-time staff who are aged 14, 15 or 16 and are still at school must have a work permit as part of the council's own byelaws put in place to ensure young people aren't exploited by an employer.

The permit is free of charge and the head teacher from the young person’s school must sign it, as well as a parental guardian and the employer.

The main provisions of the byelaws are that children aged 14 to 16 are only allowed to be employed in light work.

Children aged 13 are allowed to work on an occasional basis in certain categories of light work, including:

- agricultural or horticultural work where employed by the child’s parents or carers;

- delivery of newspapers or journals;

- shop work including shelf stacking;

- hairdressing salons;

- office work;

- car washing by hand in a private residential setting;

- in a café or restaurant;

- in riding stables;

- domestic work in hotels and other establishments offering accommodation.

Children aged 14 to 16 are not permitted to work during the following periods:

- during school hours;

- before 7am or after 7pm;

- for more than 2 hours on any school day;

- for more than 2 hours on any Sunday;- for more than 4 hours in any day without a rest break of 1 hour.

They are also not allowed to work for more than 12 hours in any school week.

Visit argyll-bute.gov.uk/education-and-learning/employment-children to find out more about the rules and how they apply.