The Regulations of Employing Children & Young Persons In Malaysia

Section 2 (2) of the Children & Young Persons Employment Act 1966 states that Children may be engaged to work in any of the following :

(a) employment involving light work suitable to his capacity in any undertaking carried on by his family;

(b) employment in any public entertainment, in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted in that behalf under this Act;

(c) employment requiring him to perform work approved or sponsored by the Federal Government or the Government of any State and carried on in any school, training institution or training vessel; and

(d) employment as an apprentice under a written apprenticeship contract approved by the Director General with whom a copy of such contract has been filed.

Section 3 of the Act states that a young person may be engaged in any of the following :

(a) any employment mentioned in subsection (2); and in relation to paragraph (a) of that subsection any employment suitable to his capacity (whether or not the undertaking is carried on by his family);

(b) employment as a domestic servant;

(c) employment in any office, shop (including hotels, bars, restaurants and stalls), godown, factory, workshop, store, boarding house, theatre, cinema, club or association;

(d) employment in an industrial undertaking suitable to his capacity; and

(e) employment on any vessel under the personal charge of his parent or guardian:

Definition

The Act defines Children and Young Person as :

Children refers to a person below 14 yrs old

Young person refers to a person below 16 yrs old

Number of days of work

No child or young person engaged in any employment shall in any period of seven consecutive days be required or permitted to work for more than six days.

Hours of work for children

Section 5 (1) No child engaged in any employment shall be required or permitted—

(a) to work between the hours of 8 o’clock in the evening and 7 o’clock in the morning;

(b) to work for more than three consecutive hours without a period of rest of at least thirty minutes;

(c) to work for more than six hours in a day or, if the child s attending school, for a period which together with the time he spends attending school, exceeds seven hours; or

(d) to commence work on any day without having had a period of not less than fourteen consecutive hours free from work.

(2) Paragraph (1)(a) shall not apply to any child engaged in employment in any public entertainment.

Hours of work for young persons

Section 6 (1) No young person engaged in any employment shall be required or permitted :

(a) to work between the hours of 8 o’clock in the evening and 6 o’clock in the morning;

(b) to work for more than four consecutive hours without a period of rest of at least thirty minutes;

(c) to work for more than seven hours in any one day or, if the young person is attending school, for a period which together with the time he spends attending school, exceeds eight hours:

Provided that if the young person is an apprentice under paragraph 2(2)(d), the period of work in any one day shall not exceed eight hours; or

(d) to commence work on any day without having had a period of not less than twelve consecutive hours free from work.

(2) Paragraph (1)(a) shall not apply to any young person engaged in employment in an agricultural undertaking or any employment in a public entertainment or on any vessel under paragraph 2(3)(e).

Source : Children & Young Persons Employment Act 1966