Rejected petition: Lower the legal working age in the UK to 14
Rejected on
Lower the legal working age to 14. This enstates a maximum amount of workable hours of 2 hours/day on weekdays and 4 hours on weekends. All establishments to employ people aged 14 & 15 must apply for a licence to employ, making sure there are no risks of physical, mental or sexual exploitation.
This will take young people off the street during unsocial hours and will discourage theft by providing ample opportunity to save up for and purchase goods themselves, reducing pressure on families which is especially prevalent given the cost of living crisis. This will improve maturity, attitude and behaviour amongst the younger community, preparing them for the responsibility of adult life. This law would be inapplicable to laborious jobs that could prove a threat to physical or mental health.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s not clear what the petition is asking the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Children can already work part time from age 14:
https://childlawadvice.org.uk/information-pages/child-employment/
If you want changes to this, you could start a petition about that.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.