Passage of An Act respecting the regulation of work by children: What employers need to know

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with an aging population, left Québec struggling with a labour shortage—a gap that was filled by young, unskilled workers. In the process, the significant increase in the number of workplace accidents involving workers under the age 16 prompted social reflection and highlighted the lack of any protective framework for work by children. Until now, there have been few guidelines on such work in Québec, unlike in other Canadian provinces. With no minimum age for access to employment, young children only needed their parents’ consent to be allowed to work.

In a report produced by the Comité consultatif du travail et de la main-d’œuvre (the “CCTM”), both employers and unions called for urgent regulation of work by children in Québec.¹ These numerous calls for legislation prompted the Québec government to pass a bill that would respond to the recent issues encountered, with a view to ensuring greater protection for these vulnerable workers.

As a result, Bill 19, An Act respecting the regulation of work by children² introduced on March 28, 2023, wad adopted and assented to on June 1, 2023.

Overview of the Act

An Act respecting the regulation of work by children (the “Act”) amends the Act respecting labour standards³ (the “ALS”), the Act respecting occupational health and safety (the “AOHS”)⁴ and the Regulation respecting labour standards⁵ (the “Regulation”). The Act, which incorporates most of the text of Bill 19, proposes measures to regulate work by children, in particular by setting a minimum age for access to employment, as well as establishing clear guidelines for working hours and conditions and imposing greater obligations on employers to prevent risks to the health and safety of young workers.

As of June 1, 2023, the minimum age for access to employment in the province of Québec has been set at 14 years⁶ and it is now prohibited for an employer to employ a child under the age of 14 years. The Regulation provides for certain exceptions, but the employer must nevertheless obtain the written consent of the person having parental authority over the child or the child’s guardian using the form established by the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail⁷ (the “CNESST”). The form must be kept by the employer and must set out the main tasks, maximum number of hours of work per week and periods when the child is available.⁸ If any of these elements change, the employer must obtain a new written consent.

Exceptions to the prohibition on work by children under the age of 14 are set out in the Regulation and are the following:

1. a child working as a creator or performer in a field of artistic endeavour;
2. a deliverer of newspapers or other publications;
3. a babysitter;
4. a child who provides homework assistance or tutoring;
5. a child working in a family enterprise with fewer than 10 employees if the child is a child of the employer or, where the latter is a legal person or partnership, a child of a director of that legal person or of a partner of that partnership, or if the child is a child of the spouse of one of those persons;
6. a child working in a non-profit organization having social or community purposes, such as a vacation camp or recreational organization;
7. a child working in a non-profit sports organization to assist another person or provide support, such as an assistant instructor, assistant coach or scorekeeper; and
8. a child working in an agricultural enterprise with fewer than 10 employees, where the child performs light manual labour to harvest fruits or vegetables, take care of animals or prepare or maintain soil. ⁹

However, in the cases mentioned in paragraphs 5 to 8, the child must work under the supervision of a person 18 years of age or over at all times.¹⁰

From September 1, 2023, an employer may not require a child subject to compulsory school attendance (aged between 14 and 16) to work more than 17 hours per week or more than 10 hours from Monday to Friday.¹¹ These prohibitions will not apply to any period of more than seven consecutive days during which no educational services are offered to the child, such as school holidays.¹²

In terms of occupational health and safety at work, the Act requires employers to identify, analyze and take into account the risks that may particularly affect the health or safety of young workers aged 16 or under, notably in prevention programs or action plans set up within the company.¹³ From now on, tasks that should not be performed by workers aged 16 and under must be indicated.¹⁴ Finally, it will be possible for employers to obtain financial assistance from the CNESST to support informational, awareness or training initiatives relating to labour standards.¹⁵ These changes have not yet come into force, but we are closely monitoring government’s announcements.¹⁶

Implications for employers

In concrete terms, no later than July 1, 2023, an employer who employs a child under 14 who is not covered by one of the exceptions provided for in the Regulation must send the child a written notice of termination of employment in accordance with the ALS¹⁷ (in money or in time worked). The Act provides for a specific time limit for giving such notice, i.e. one week if the child has between three months and less than one year of uninterrupted service,¹⁸ two weeks if the child is credited with one year to two years of uninterrupted service and three weeks if the child has two or more years of uninterrupted service.¹⁹

An employer who has work carried out by a child under the age of 14 but covered by the exceptions provided for in the Regulation must have obtained the written consent provided for in the ALS no later than July 1, 2023.²⁰

In conclusion, we would like to emphasize the importance of employers complying with the amendments made by this Act within the time limits indicated, as the fines for breaches of the work by children’s provisions of the ALS have been increased.²¹

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¹ Comité consultatif du travail et de la main-d’œuvre, Avis du CCTM concernant le travail des enfants au Québec, December 14, 2022, available (in French) on the Ministère du Travail website: <Avis du CCTM concernant le travail des enfants au Québec (gouv.qc.ca)>.
² Bill 19, An Act respecting the regulation of work by children, 1st Session, 43rd Legislature, Québec, 2023 (assented to June 1, 2023), CQLR, 2023, c. 11. 
³ CQLR, c. N-1.1.
⁴ CQLR, c. S-2.1.
⁵ CQLR, c. N-1.1, r. 3.
⁶ Section 84.3 ALS.
⁷ Section 84.3, paragraph 1 ALS.
⁸ Section 84.3, paragraphs 2 and 3 ALS.
⁹ Section 35.0.3 of the Regulation.
¹⁰ Section 35.0.3., paragraph 2 of the Regulation.
¹¹ Section 84.4 ALS.
¹² Section 84.4 ALS.
¹³ Sections 59, 61.2 and 78 AOHS.
¹⁴ Section 90, paragraph 1, subparagraph 4 AOHS.
¹⁵ Section 39, paragraph 1, subparagraph 18 ALS.
¹⁶ They will come into force on the date or dates set by the government, which may not be later than October 6, 2023 (section 313, paragraph 1, subparagraph 7 of the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime).
¹⁷ Section 16, paragraph 1 Bill 19.
¹⁸ The definition of uninterrupted service provided for in section 1, paragraph 1, subparagraph 12 of the ALS applies, namely: “the uninterrupted period during which the employee is bound to the employer by a contract of employment, even if the performance of work has been interrupted without cancellation of the contract, and the period during which fixed term contracts succeed one another without an interruption that would, in the circumstances, give cause to conclude that the contract was not renewed.”
¹⁹ Section 16, paragraph 2 Bill 19.
²⁰ Section 17 Bill 19.
²¹ Sections 140 and 140.1 ALS.