An employer may not employ anybody under the age of sixteen, except as an apprentice, and may not take an apprentice under the age of thirteen at all. A contract made in breach of this is void and cannot be enforced against the young person.

Section 11(1) sets the two ages, as amended by section 3 of Act 5 of 2015. Section 11(2) makes any contract entered into in breach of it void and unenforceable against the person purportedly employed, and also voids a contract of apprenticeship with anybody under eighteen entered into without the assistance of a guardian. The Labour Amendment Act of 2023 raised the penalty for child labour offences substantially.

Applies to: Every employer