Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of 1997)

Sectoral Determinations

Sectoral Determination 9 : Wholesale and Retail Sector, South Africa

Part F : Prohibition of Work by Children and Forced Labour

25. Prohibition of work by children

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(1)No person may require or permit a child to work, if the child -
(a)who is under 15 years of age; or
(b)is under the minimum school leaving age in terms of any law.2

 

(2)A person must not require or permit a child to perform any work or provide any services-
(a)that is inappropriate for a person of that age;
(b)that places at risk the child’s well being, education, physical or mental health, or spiritual, moral or social development.

 

(3)A person who requires or permits a child to work in contravention of clause 25(1) or 25(2) commits an offence.

 

(4)An employer must maintain for three years a record of the name, date of birth and address of every employee under the age of 18 years employed by them.

 

(5)Subject to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, all forced labour is prohibited.

 

(6)No person may, for their own benefit or for the benefit of someone else cause, demand or impose forced labour in contravention of sub-clause (5).

 

(7)A person who requires or permits a child to work, in contravention of sub-clauses (1) and (2) or engages in any form of forced labour in contravention of subclauses (5) and (6) commits an offence in terms of sections 46 and 48 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act respectively, read with section 93 of that Act.

 

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2 Section 31(1) of the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996), requires every parent to cause every learner for whom he or she is responsible to attend a school until the last school day of the year in which the learner reaches the age of 15 or the ninth grade, whichever is the first.