While previous research suggested that up to 2 million school-age children in the UK had some form of employment, new figures indicate that the numbers are even higher. Child labour has become a vital part of the low-wage economy in Britain. More than a quarter of the children who work during the school year said they were often too tired to do homework.
Teachers report many children falling asleep in class.
Additionally, many of those surveyed work before the legal start time of 7 a.m. and over half had worked after the legal cut-off time of 7 p.m. Some of the young children surveyed reported working seven days a week, and some as many as three hours a day. According to the government's Low Pay Unit, the exploitation of children as cheap labour is increasing in the northeast of England. Again, of those school children surveyed, a quarter were found to be working. However, conditions are worse than even this figure suggests.