Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act entered into force today, 1 September 2025, raising the compulsory school age to 18 and extending the employment of minors to older young people.

While at present, a 17-year-old can do any job that does not endanger his or her health, the situation will change when the amendments enter into force. 17 year-olds will also be considered to have a learning requirement and will only be allowed to work in light occupations that do not require excessive physical or mental effort.

The change also affects the workload of young people aged 15 and over. While up to now, only 14-year-olds and under were allowed to work 7 hours a day and 35 hours a week during the school holidays, from the autumn, young people aged 15 or over who are obliged to study may work up to 8 hours a day and 40 hours over a seven-day period during the school holidays.

Overtime for minors is not permitted under the current law, but in practice disputes have arisen over the use of aggregated working hours. In order to avoid this, the rules have been clarified - even if working time is calculated cumulatively, the working time of a minor who has fulfilled the obligation to study may not exceed 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

The amendments to the Employment Contracts Act aim to ensure that the employment of young people does not prevent them from obtaining an education and that employers' obligations when hiring a minor are unambiguous.