What are the rules when it comes to kids doing paper runs?

Doing the paper run around the local neighbourhood is a rite of passage for many young people.

For some, it’s a good way to earn pocket money and develop a strong work ethic.

But every so often, there are questions about the pay and conditions of the work.

This week, an Auckland woman posted to a Facebook community group, expressing concern about her niece being asked to deliver an extra 35kg of cat food samples alongside her normal 35kg of pamphlets, for the same money.

The aunt said, when her parents questioned it, she was told to resign.

So what are the rules when it comes to paper runs?

How old do kids have to be?

There is no minimum age to start working in New Zealand, but there are some limitations on when, what and how you work if you are of a certain age.

Distribution companies have their own age requirements for paper runs – Reach Media, for example, requires people to be at least 11 years old.

Pay

If a child is under the age of 16, there is no minimum wage and it is up to the employer to set their pay rate.

Last year, there were media reports that some kids were being paid as little as $2 an hour.

People have reported earning about $20 a fortnight for three to six hours’ work.

Hours worked

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokesperson Simon Humphries said school-aged children under the age of 16 must have working hours that were outside of school hours and not between 10pm and 6am.

This meant they had a shorter timeframe to do their paper runs, and needed achievable routes and a reasonable delivery workload.

How much can they be made to deliver?

Employment lawyer Kimberly Jarvis said, under the Health and Safety at Work Regulations 2016, employers had a duty to ensure that so far as it was reasonably practicable, no worker under 15 years was required to lift any weight or perform any task if it would be likely to be harmful to the worker’s health.

If a child was unable to carry or push the weight of their deliveries, they would need to speak with their employer.

But are they actually employed by the company?

Some might be considered employees, while others might just be contractors, depending on the company.

Jarvis said the general rule was that contracts of service, such as employment agreements, were enforceable against those under 18, but other contracts, such as contracts for services like contractor arrangements, were unenforceable against minors.

“My guess is that they’re probably employees…If they’re employees, then the specified hours of work will be set out in their employment agreements, as will the pay.”