Young workers under 18 : calculate what you are owed

• Young workers (above school leaving age and under 18) usually cannot work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. Those caps are not averaged like the adult 48-hour week, and you do not "opt out" of them with an adult 48-hour form.
• Rest at work: usually a 30-minute break if you work more than 4.5 hours (if possible as one continuous break). Daily rest: 12 hours. Weekly rest: 48 hours.
• Night limits are tighter: staff aged 16 or 17 generally cannot work between midnight and 4am, and usually cannot work between 10pm and 6am (contract can shift that window to 11pm to 7am), with limited sector exceptions and rare emergency cover rules.
• From April 2026 NMW rates: under 18 £8.00; apprentice rate £8.00 (where the apprentice rate applies); 18 to 20 £10.85; 21 and over £12.71. Always re-check GOV.UK.
• Unpaid minutes, unpaid training and truncated clocks still matter for the NMW average at the youth rate.
• Dual tribunal limits for most pay claims: 3 months minus 1 day now (September 2026); 6 months minus 1 day if the clock starts on or after 1 October 2026. Health-and-safety working-time breaches are often enforced differently (HSE / local authority); pay shortfalls go through employer, Acas, tribunal or HMRC for NMW.

GOV.UK maximum weekly working hours: if you are under 18, you cannot work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week. Adult workers face an average 48-hour week (normally over 17 weeks) and may sign a voluntary written opt-out. Young workers do not get that adult averaging / opt-out route for the 8-hour and 40-hour caps.

Practical meaning:

• a single shift should not be rostered beyond 8 hours of working time
• a calendar week should not pile above 40 hours
• two jobs still count toward your limits; tell both employers what you already work

If a manager hands you an adult "48-hour opt-out" to sign at 17, that paperwork does not lawfully unlock adult hours. Get advice before you sign anything you do not understand.

GOV.UK rest breaks for young workers (above school leaving age and under 18):

• Rest break at work: usually 30 minutes if you work more than 4.5 hours. If possible this should be one continuous break.
• Daily rest: 12 hours between working days (adults usually get 11).
• Weekly rest: 48 hours uninterrupted each week (adults can take 24 hours weekly or 48 hours fortnightly).

Adults who work more than 6 hours get a 20-minute uninterrupted break. Young workers hit the break threshold earlier (4.5 hours) and get a longer break (30 minutes). Contracts can give more generous rest; they cannot lawfully cut below the young-worker floor where it applies.

Exceptions and compensatory rest: young workers sometimes lose daily rest or in-work breaks if work must be done because of an exceptional event (for example an accident), but only where no worker over 18 can do it, and the work is temporary and must be done immediately. If those rights are missed, GOV.UK says you have a right to compensatory rest of the same length, taken as soon as possible and within the following 3 weeks.

Breaks do not have to be paid unless the contract says so. Unpaid break time is still rest: you should not be expected to serve customers or stay "on radio" through the whole 30 minutes.

GOV.UK night working hours adds specific rules for staff aged 16 or 17:

• they cannot work between midnight and 4am
• they usually cannot work between 10pm and 6am (this can be changed by contract to not working between 11pm and 7am)
• limited exceptions exist in sectors such as agriculture; cultural, sporting, artistic or advertising activities; hospitals; hotel or catering; retail; and post or newspaper delivery
• in exceptional circumstances they may work at night if no adult is available and they are needed to handle a sudden increase in demand or to maintain continuity of a service or production; the employer must then give compensatory rest of the same length as the extended shift

Adult "night worker" averaging rules (average 8 hours in 24, and so on) sit alongside these absolute young-worker night restrictions. Do not assume a hospitality late shift is fine because "everyone closes at 1am".

These Working Time young-worker rules are aimed at people above school leaving age and under 18. Children below school leaving age face additional restrictions (local byelaws, permitted hours, types of work). If you are still of compulsory school age, check GOV.UK child employment guidance and your local council rules as well.

Apprentices: from April 2026 the apprentice NMW rate is £8.00 an hour if you are under 19, or 19 or over and in the first year of the apprenticeship. After that, apprentices aged 19+ move to the rate for their age (for example £12.71 at 21+). Training time your employer requires often counts for NMW. Keep the apprenticeship agreement and training plan with your pay records.

From 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK rates table):

You must be at least school leaving age to get NMW. The youth rate is still a hard floor. Unpaid opening, closing, till cash-up, mandatory e-learning or "stay to help the adult close" minutes can pull the average under £8.00 even when the sticker rate looks legal.

GBP example (under-18 NMW): You are 17. Payslip shows 20 hours at £8.20 = £164. You also worked 2 unpaid hours of closing across the week. True hours = 22. £164 ÷ 22 ≈ £7.45, below £8.00. Floor on 22 hours: 22 × £8.00 = £176. Shortfall ≈ £12 that week (illustrative).

GBP example (hours breach plus pay): Rostered 9-hour Saturday (breach of the 8-hour daily cap) paid for only 8 hours at £8.00 = £64, while you actually worked 9. Even ignoring the Working Time breach as a health-and-safety issue, the ninth hour is unpaid working time that belongs in the NMW average if it counts as time work. One unpaid hour on a short week is enough to move the needle.

GOV.UK and Acas expect employers to keep working-time records that show weekly and night limits are respected, and that young workers are not working in a restricted period. Keep your own evidence too:

1. Rotas and amended rotas (screenshots are fine).
2. Clock times versus actual start and finish.
3. Messages asking you to stay after 10pm or past eight hours.
4. Every payslip (hours must appear when pay varies with time worked).
5. School or college timetables if your hours must fit around education.

1. Raise it in writing with the manager or payroll: dates, hours, night periods and pound shortfall.
2. Ask a parent, carer or union rep to help if you want support in the meeting.
3. For pay shortfalls: follow Acas unpaid-wages steps, then Early Conciliation before most tribunal claims. For NMW, you can complain via Acas / HMRC; you generally choose HMRC or tribunal for the same underpayment.
4. For pure working-time / night breaches, enforcement is often through HSE or the local authority rather than a simple wages claim. You can still use the same evidence pack when unpaid hours are involved.

Dual regime for tribunal pay claims: most unpaid-wages / similar claims use 3 months minus 1 day as at September 2026. From 1 October 2026, most become 6 months minus 1 day if the limitation clock starts on or after that date. Notify Acas inside the limit so Early Conciliation can pause the clock. Do not wait for "when I turn 18".

• "Everyone does closing." Adult custom does not override the under-18 daily, weekly or night limits.
• "Sign the opt-out and we can roster you like the seniors." Adult 48-hour opt-outs do not unlock the young-worker 8-hour / 40-hour caps.
• "Breaks are paid so you can skip them." Pay does not cancel the right to the break. Skipping rest to help the shift can still breach Working Time rules.
• "Youth rate means we can ignore unpaid minutes." NMW is still tested as an average. Unpaid mandatory minutes can breach £8.00.
• "Parents agreed verbally to late shifts." Night restrictions are statutory. A casual chat does not rewrite GOV.UK night rules.

Young-worker problems are often a rota screenshot plus a simple hour count. Paye Mes Heures helps you total daily and weekly hours against the 8 / 40 caps and check the youth £8.00 NMW average before you speak to payroll or Acas. Use it to prepare figures. It is not a substitute for official advice, parental support or a ruling.

• https://www.gov.uk/maximum-weekly-working-hours
• https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work
• https://www.gov.uk/rest-breaks-work/young-workers
• https://www.gov.uk/night-working-hours
• https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
• https://www.acas.org.uk/if-your-wages-are-not-paid
• https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-tribunal-time-limits