Working with child actors

For my project I plan on working with children under the age of 18, therefore I had to do my research on the laws, pay and the vulnerability of the matter, as the actors needed would be between the ages of 4-9 years old.

In order to build a working shedual, the first thing I have to find is what working hours I can place for each of the young actors.
Overall in my advert I will have the total of 5 children- 4 boys, all the same age, ideally 2 and 2 brothers, or with very similar appearance to help the audience feel the story more personal, all between the ages of 7 and  9. I would also include a girl between the ages of 4-5 for the second part of my story, ideally looking as familiar as possible to the boys at the start, to build the story better.


Infants <6 months: can be at work 2 hours maximum, acting 20 minutes/day maximum and only between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. or 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Age 6 months to 2 years: can be at work 4 hours maximum, acting 2 hours/day maximum

2 to 6 years: can be at work 6 hours maximum, acting 3 hours/day maximum

6 to 9 years: can be at work 8 hours maximum, acting 4 hours/day maximum during the school year and 6 hours/day maximum during school breaks

9 to 16 years: can be at work 9 hours maximum, acting 5 hours/day maximum during the school year and 7 hours/day maximum during school breaks

16 to 18 years: can be at work 10 hours maximum, acting 6 hours/day maximum during the school year and 8 hours/day maximum during school breaks" (1)

If we focus only on the 2 groups I would need, we see that "2 to 6 years: can be at work 6 hours maximum, acting 3 hours/day maximum" and "6 to 9 years: can be at work 8 hours maximum, acting 4 hours/day maximum during the school year and 6 hours/day maximum during school breaks", therefore having the boys for 4 hours the first day and 4 hours the second day of shooting, and the girl for 3 hours the first day and 3 hours the second day, therefore the shedual would have to be made according these hours.

I would also need a Childs Performance License:

"There are two parts to the application

• Part 1 needs to be completed by the production company or the producer of the production
• Part 2 is completed by the child's parent, carer or legal guardian

Other things you may need:

• A letter authorising absence from school. This is only required if the child will be absent from school. It needs to be obtained from the school by the child's parent, carer or legal guardian
• A doctor's or medical certificate

It is a legal requirement that the child be supervised at all times by their parent/carer/legal guardian or a licensed chaperone." (2)

"Restrictions on child employment
There are several restrictions on when and where children are allowed to work.

Children are not allowed to work:
-without an employment permit issued by the education department of the local council, if this is required by local bylaws
-in places like a factory or industrial site
-during school hours
-before 7am or after 7pm
-for more than one hour before school (unless local bylaws allow it)
-for more than 4 hours without taking a break of at least 1 hour
-in any work that may be harmful to their health, well-being or education
-without having a 2-week break from any work during the school holidays in each calendar year" (3)

I would need to apply for the license via https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-child-performance-licence , and it would need to be done at least 21 days before the event takes place.

"Further limitations on hours of work

All employers need to make sure that:

• a child works only one shift per day
• a child does not start work less than 12 hours after previously finishing work
• a child works for four hours or less on the same day as attending or receiving schooling
• appropriate rest breaks are provided to children. Find out more about rest breaks
• a child does not work later than 9:00pm on a night before attending or receiving schooling
• a child’s combined work and schooling hours during one week is 50 hours or less.

Rest breaks

Children are required to have regular rest breaks during their work day. The minimum requirement for rest breaks is a one hour rest break every four hours.

In addition, within any four hour period, employers are required to:

• provide an appropriate number of breaks
• make sure that the breaks are of an appropriate duration
• take into account the needs of the child and the nature of the work the child is engaged in when providing breaks
• comply with the maximum hours of work allowed. Read more about hours of work.

What is a rest break?

A rest break is when a child completely stops any work activity. If a child is working indoors, a child could go outdoors for fresh air. It might also mean having lunch or a snack, leaving the set or spending some quiet time in another room.
Children should not travel to set, travel between locations, change costumes, rehearse or learn lines during a rest break." (4)

The last resource provided very in-depth information about working hours as well as break times for children working on set. They recommended a 10 minute break after every hour of filming and a mandatory1 hour break after every 4 hours of filming. I also found out that the children can't start work less than 12 hours after previously finishing work, which I would also need to consider in the time she-dual.

If I use the information from the last graph I can also see that the children in my chosen age group can both work between the hours of 6.00am to 11.00pm, however that only applies to a night where the children wouldn’t receive schooling the following day, as the latest time they can be on set until on a school night is 9.00pm. This however wouldn’t interfere in the she-dual, as I plan to set the shooting before noon, and not finish later than 4.00pm to make sure we get as much natural lighting as possible.


(1)https://careertrend.com/the-average-salary-of-child-actors-13655190.html
(2)http://filmlondon.org.uk/child-performance-licence
(3)https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment
(4)https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/children-s-employment/hours-of-work-for-children




Bibliography
https://careertrend.com/the-average-salary-of-child-actors-13655190.html
http://filmlondon.org.uk/child-performance-licence
https://www.mandy.com/jobs/auditions/uk/kids
https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/safeguardingchildren/childemployment
https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/performance-licences-for-children
https://www.channel4.com/producers-handbook/c4-guidelines/working-and-filming-with-under-18s-guidelines
https://www.kidsguardian.nsw.gov.au/children-s-employment/hours-of-work-for-children
https://omni-productions.co.uk/blog/guide-working-children/