Broadly, duty of care is your business’s moral and legal responsibility to protect the safety, health, and wellbeing of those individuals involved in your activities. 

Defining Your Workforce: Age Matters 

Your business must distinguish between a ‘child’ and a ‘young person’, as legal protections change at Minimum School Leaving Age:  

• Child: 16 years old and under  

• Young person: Minimum School Leaving Age (MSLA)  

Your business should appoint a Designated Safeguarding Officer (DSO) when working with children and young persons. The DSO acts as the primary lead on all safeguarding policies and is the central point of contact for any concerns regarding their welfare.  

Their role includes: 

• Overseeing the implementation of safeguarding training 

• Ensuring all risk assessments specifically address the needs of employees under the age of 18. 

• Acting as the liaison between the business, parents, and local authorities. 

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA), your business has a duty to take reasonable care of the health, safety and welfare of its employees, regardless of age. The Management of Health and Safety Regulations 1999 (the Regulations) help provide further context to your business’s duties under HSWA.  

Under the Regulations, a key duty is to carry out ‘suitable and sufficient’ written risk assessments where you have five or more employees, and to record and act on your findings.  

In their guidance, Acas describes that an employer’s responsibility for risk management encompasses several key obligations, including:  

• Identifying risks 

• Deciding how to remove or reduce risks 

• Keeping records of risks and associated decisions  

• Regularly reviewing the risks 

• Following a health and safety policy  

Your business also has a duty to provide employees with relevant information on risks; preventative and protective measures taken and give them adequate health and safety training.  

Your business must, as far is reasonably practicable:  

• Provide a safe and suitable working environment (including safe systems); 

• carry out risk assessments and act on findings; 

• provide adequate training for employees to ensure health and safety policies and procedures are understood and followed; and  

• provide suitable instructions and competent supervision; 

On top of your existing obligations under HSWA, there are additional factors that need to be assessed when employing a child or young person:  

You must specifically assess:  

• Inexperience: Lack of awareness of workplace hazards (e.g., heavy equipment, cables). 

• Immaturity: Psychological vulnerability to stress and pressures  

• Physical Capacity: Tasks beyond their physical strength. 

Examples: 

•  A 17 year old production runner might not realise the dangers of standing too close to heavy equipment or moving vehicles on a busy location.  

• A 12 year old child actor on a busy TV set might feel increased pressure and nerves to perform perfectly in fewer takes to avoid delaying a crew of 80 adults.  

Another critical safeguarding measure is requiring Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks where a role meets the criteria for a regulated activity with children.  

DBS checks provide details of an individual's criminal convictions and cautions and support safer recruitment across the screen industries. Once processed, a DBS certificate is issued to the applicant. 

There are three types of check: 

• Basic 

• Standard 

• Enhanced 

Roles that fall under the Disclosure and Barring Services’ definition of 'work with children' are eligible for an Enhanced DBS check.  

A Children’s Barred List check is only permitted if the role also meets the specific legal criteria for Regulated Activity. 

For example, chaperones working on a set with children for more than three days within a 30-day period are eligible for an Enhanced DBS check, as this constitutes regulated activity with children. 

Take the Quiz – Which DBS Check is right for your employee  

Your business must have permit for employing a child.  

Unlike in performance, you cannot obtain a permit for children under the age of 14, unless local byelaws allow for it, providing that the child’s welfare and education aren’t jeopardised.   

To obtain a permit the employment must be lawful, the child’s health and welfare or ability to continue with education must be secure and they must be fit enough to do the work. Permits are also job specific and you will need to amend the permit if the scope of employment changes.  

Note: You cannot apply for a permit online and you must contact your local council instead. More guidance on Child work permits here.  

Unless otherwise permitted by your local byelaws, your business cannot employ a child: 

• Hours: Before 7am or after 7pm  

• School days: On or before the end of a school day, or for more than 2 hours on a school day/Sunday.  

• Non-school days: for more than 5 hours per day  

• 15 and over: for more than 8 hours per day 

• Holidays: maximum 25 hours a week  

• 15 and over: 35 per week  

• Rest and recovery: without a one-hour rest break every four hours worked and 2 week annual break from employment.  

Pay Rates: Children are not entitled to national minimum wage.

Once a person passes Minimum School Leaving Age (MSLA), your business cannot employ a young person:  

• Weekly limit: for more than 40 hours per week. 

• Daily limit: for more than 8 hours in a 24-hour period 

• Rest and recovery: without a break of 30-minutes every 4.5 hours worked 

A Quick Note on Night Work: For film, TV, and advertising where night work is strictly necessary for production continuity, it is only permitted if the work is supervised, does not interfere with education, and the young person is granted compensatory rest. Crucially, work between midnight and 4 am remains strictly prohibited in almost all circumstances. 

Pay Rates: Young persons are entitled to £7.55 per hour, increasing to £8.00 per hour from April 2026.  

A performance includes acting in film or TV shows (i.e., a child actor on a drama set) but also extends to preparation and rehearsal time. To determine if an activity is a performance, consider:  

• Is it on licensed premises?  

• It is a live broadcast? (this includes internet streaming!)  

• Is in a programme service?  

• Is it charged?  

• Will the recording be used in a broadcast or film intended for the public?

Your business must have a Child Performance License if:  

• The performance lasts more than 4 days  

• The child is paid  

• They must take time off school 

You can apply for a license here. 

You will not be able to obtain a license unless the child is:  

•  fit enough to take part 

• provisions are made to secure their wellbeing and to ensure that their education will not suffer.  

Note: A child can perform for up to 4 days without a license only if it is unpaid, involves no school absence, and they have not performed more than 3 days in the previous 6 months. 

Performance Hours and Breaks 

• Under 5s: 7am to 10pm  

• 5 and over: 7am to 11pm  

• Extended Runs: No more than six days in a row.  If they perform for eight weeks (60 performances or more), they must take a two week break. 

Dangerous Performances 

You cannot employ a child in a performance that endangers their life or physical body. Children cannot be employed in dangerous performances unless local authorities grant a specific license with strict training and location conditions.  

Supervision and Chaperones 

A parent or carer should accompany the child in the first instance. If this is not possible, the license holder must ensure that the child is supervised by a licensed chaperone.  

• Role: They act as a substitute parent, ensuring the child’s welfare and making decisions a good parent would make. This includes being responsible for their welfare.  

• Ratio: Legally 1 chaperone per 12 children, though local authorities may recommend small ratios based on age and sex.  

• Check: Chaperones require an enhanced DBS Check. Responsible for the care and control of the child and will safeguard, support and promote that child’s welfare. 

1. Check your local byelaws 

2. Consider age limits  

3. Know the restrictions  

4. Carry out and record the risks 

Looking Towards the Future 

To further safeguard children in employment, the government has introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill 2024-2025, which promises further changes employment terms for children in England, including:  

• New working hours: 7am – 8pm (one hour before school) and more than 2 hours (Sunday). The overall number of hours will not change.  

From securing performance licenses, conducting risk assessments to ensuring the presence of licensed chaperones, these requirements form a vital piece of your overall duty of care. They are the framework that ensures the screen sector remains a safe, supportive and professional environment for the new generation of screen sector employees. By meeting these legal and ethical obligations, your business protects not only the children and young persons it employs, but the integrity and future of its business activities.  

For information on your responsibilities toward employees over the age of 18, please see our separate article on Duty of Care: Employment in the Screen sector. 

For information on your responsibilities toward children and young person’s please see our separate article on Duty of Care: Employing Children and Young persons.