‘Working in a chippy at 14 made me more confident’

At the age of 14, Caelan started working part-time in a chip shop in Aberdeen.

He thinks getting a job at such a young age made him more responsible and confident.

“When I joined I was very shy,” he says. “But now I can speak to people easily.”

The laws governing when and where children under 16 can work were introduced in the 1930s to crack down on child labour and safeguard their wellbeing.

Children over 14 could be employed in ‘light work’ but many Scottish council areas require employers to also apply for a permit to take on a child.

Now, plans to change the law could make it easier for under-16s to work part-time.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently making its way through the House of Lords with Royal Assent expected in the coming months.

The Scottish Parliament has given legislative consent for the provisions on child employment.

If passed, it would allow teenagers under 16 more flexibility on when they can work.

Caelan is positive about the benefits he gets from being a young worker.

Within a year of getting his job serving fish suppers at the Ashvale in Aberdeen, he says he was able to treat his mum to a holiday in Dubai.

His co-workers Kenzie and Erin both joined the takeaway and restaurant aged 15 and say they have had a similar experience.

Working around school hours gave Kenzie, now 18, the opportunity to save up for a car.

Erin said that although she was “really nervous” when she joined, she now doesn’t “get scared talking to new people” because of her experience dealing with customers.

The new bill looks at all aspects of child protection and safeguarding as well as rules on school attendance.

The section on employment will give young people more opportunity to take on work.

Plans include lifting the two-hour working limit on a Sunday, and allowing work for up to one hour before school and until 20:00 – extending the current limit from 19:00.

Although there is more flexibility on when children can work, the maximum number of hours will remain the same – up to 12 hours on a school week.

The new law will update the rules, which were further complicated by dated local bylaws.

These vary across the UK, with some older than others.

In Dundee, the bylaws from 1973 prohibit working in a ‘coal yard’ or ‘collecting rags’.

In some areas such as Angus and Edinburgh, children as young as 10 can still be employed on an occasional basis in light agricultural or horticultural work under parental supervision.

Others, including Falkirk, had no requirement for permits.

BBC Scotland also found a variation in the number of child employment permits granted by councils.

Freedom of Information responses showed none were issued in 2025 by Clackmannanshire or Inverclyde Councils – while Aberdeen City Council had issued 98.

Most local authority bylaws allow 13-year-olds to be employed in specified types of light work, which could continue.

Dawn Robertson is an employment law specialist at BTO Solicitors in Glasgow. She stressed the importance of safeguarding.

“Children should not be employed in any work that could be harmful to them,” she said.

“I think the most important thing from my perspective is just that the law is not changing on that.

“Children still need to be treated as children, and we have to be very thoughtful and careful about what we do allow them to do in the workplace.”

Dawn said varying council bylaws have make it more difficult for employers to keep track of the law.

“Hopefully after the bill is passed, we’ll be in a position where it’ll actually be a lot easier to give advice across the country to employers about this type of thing,” she said.

“I think that employers generally comply with the rules, as far as they’re aware of them.

“It sounds to me like a very positive approach and a positive development to the employment of children.”

Children under school leaving age are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage, paid holidays or to sick pay. This wouldn’t change.

Stuart Devine is the owner of The Ashvale.

He has employed “hundreds, if not thousands” of children across a 40-year period – and started at the business aged just 15 himself.

He welcomes a potential tweak to the rules.

“It needs looking at because times have moved on,” he said.

“I think it’s important from a business point of view, because obviously there are jobs that young people can fill the gaps. They actually come in generations of families.

“They’re now schoolteachers, nurses, doctors, engineers offshore. I think the employment part has played a vital part in getting them to the next stage.”

A few miles along the road, 15-year-old Harry is starting his evening paper round.

He delivers a few papers before school, more after school – and also works part-time in a chip shop at the weekend.

He says he has no idea what the rules are around when children can and can’t work.

For him, it’s about impressing future universities and employers.

“I think it looks good on CVs and stuff like that and when you’re older and you need to get a proper job,” he told BBC Scotland News.

“In the future, I want to be either a lawyer or work in the stock market.”

Harry would encourage other young people to find work if they can.

“I think if you put yourself out there and you go and constantly speak to any employer at 14, if they’re hiring other 14-year-olds, I think you’ve got a pretty good shot at getting a job there if you’re confident.”

Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, was mostly positive about the changes.

She said older children could gain valuable experience, develop their skills, knowledge and sense of independence through employment.

She added: “While we support a change to the law that offers children greater flexibility in employment, we are clear that they must continue to have their rights protected.

“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which is incorporated into Scots law, emphasises that children must be protected from being exploited and from doing work that is dangerous or could harm their development.

“The UNCRC is also clear that work must not interfere with children’s learning while they are still in education.”