CELEX: 51993PC0035
Language: en
Date: 1993-02-05
Title: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on the protection of young people at work

18 . 3 . 93                               Official Journal of the European Communities                   No C 77 / 1
                                                                     II
                                                           (Preparatory Acts)
                                                      COMMISSION
                    Amended proposal for a Council Directive on the protection of young people at work (')
                                                             ( 93 / C 77 / 01 )
                                                     COM(93) 35 final — SYN 383
                         (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on
                                                           5 February 1993)
               (') OJ No C 84 , 4 . 4 . 1992, p . 7.
                   ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                         AMENDED PROPOSAI.
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN CUMUNITIES ,                                 Unchanged
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community , and in particular Article 118A
 thereof,
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
 In cooperation with the European Parliament ,
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
 Committee ,
 Whereas Article 118A of the Treaty provides that the
 Council shall adopt, by means of directives, minimum
 requirements for encouraging improvements, especially in
 the working environment, to ensure a better level of
 protection of the safety and health of workers ;
Whereas , under the terms of that Article, those directives
 are to avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal
 constraints in a way which would hold back the creation
 and development of small and medium-sized
undertakings;
Whereas the directives on health and safety at work and
particularly Council Directive 89 / 391 / EEC ('), contain
provisions designed to improve the health and safety of
workers in general ; whereas, in particular, Council
Directive 80 / 1107 / EEC of 27 November 1980 on the
protection of workers from the risks related to exposure
to      chemical ,    physical       and   biological    agents
(') OJ No L 183 , 29 . 6 . 1989 , p . 1 .
 ---pagebreak---   No C 77 / 2                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                               18 . 3 . 93
                     ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAI.                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
  at work ('), as last amended by Directive 88 / 642 / EEC (2 ),
  and Commission Directive 91 / 322 / EEC (3 ) envisage the
  establishment of limit values on exposure at work ;
  Whereas the special situation of young people at work and
  the special nature of the risks to which they are subject, in
  particular in view of their lack of experience, make it
  necessary to have specific additional provisions geared to
  the needs of young people at work ;
  Whereas a fair balance has to be struck between the
  definition of a basis of minimum provisions for ensuring
  the protection of young people at work, in order to avoid
  abuse , and the necessary flexibility of working and
  employment conditions .
  Whereas point 20 in particular of the Community Charter
  of the Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, adopted by
  the Heads of State or Government of 11 of the Member
  States of the European Community at the European
 Council in Strasbourg on 9 December 1989 , states that,
 subject to derogations limited to certain light work, the
 minimum employment age must not be lower than the
 minimum school-leaving age and , in any case, not lower
 than 15 years ;
 Whereas under point 22 of the said Charter, appropriate
 measures must be taken to adjust labour regulations
 applicable to young workers so as to meet their specific
 development and vocational training and access to
 employment needs; whereas the duration of work of
 workers under the age of 18 must be limited — without it
 being possible to circumvent this limitation through
 recourse to overtime — and night work prohibited , save in
 the case of certain jobs laid down in national legislation or
 regulations ;
 Whereas point 23 of the said Charter stresses that
 vocational training for young workers should take place
 during working hours;
 Whereas , in its resolution on child labour (4), the
 European Parliament summarized the various aspects of
 work by young people and stressed its effects on their
 health , safety and physical and intellectual development ,
 and pointed to the need to adopt a Community directive
 harmonizing national legislation in the field;
Whereas, to ensure that young people are not allowed to                  Whereas, to ensure that young people are not allowed to
work before reaching an appropriate age, it is necessary                 work before reaching an appropriate age , it is necessary
(') OJ  No  L  327 , 3 . 12 . 1980 , p . 8 .
(2) OJ  No  L  356 , 24 . 12 . 1988 , p . 74 .
(3) OJ  No  L  177 , 5 . 7 . 1991 , p . 22 .
(<) OJ  No  C  190 , 20 . 7 . 1987 , p . 44 .
 ---pagebreak---    18 . 3 . 93                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 77 / 3
                   ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
  for Member States to ban work below a minimum age;                 for Member States to ban work below a minimum age;
  whereas any derogation from this ban must be restricted to         whereas any derogation from this ban must be restricted to
  certain specific light work where there is no risk of              certain specific light work where there is no risk of
  harming the health and safety of children ;                        harming the health and safety of children or of prejudicing
                                                                     their attendance at school or their capacity to benefit from
                                                                     the instruction given at school;
                                                                     Whereas a link should be established between education
                                                                     and the labour market so that the minimum age for taking
                                                                     up work corresponds to the age of completion of
                                                                     compulsory schooling;
  Whereas, in order to protect the health and safety of              Unchanged
  young people , Member States should take the necessary
  measures to ensure that a prior evaluation of risks
  affecting young people in particular is carried out and the
  results of this evaluation are communicated to those
  concerned;
  Whereas exposure on the part of young people to certain            Whereas the exposure of young people to certain physical ,
  physical , chemical or biological agents and to certain            chemical or biological agents and to certain processes , and
  processes , and assignment to such work, affects the health        assignments to such work, affects the health and safety of
  and safety of young people; whereas it is therefore                young people; whereas it is therefore essential to place a
  appropriate to place a ban on such work ;                          ban on such work;
 Whereas certain types of activity and certain working              Unchanged
 conditions may affect the health of young people; whereas
 steps should therefore be taken to arrange their working
 conditions and working time accordingly ;
 Whereas working time must be adapted to the specific               Whereas working time must be adapted to the specific
 requirements of the physical development of the young              requirements of the physical development of the young
 people addressed by this Directive; whereas, again with a          people addressed by the Directive; whereas, again with a
 view to protecting the health and safety of young people,          view to protecting the health and safety of young people,
 there should be a minimum set of provisions on night               there should be a general ban on night work for young
 work for young people;                                             people;
 Whereas , although derogations from the bans and                   Unchanged
 limitations imposed by this Directive would appear
 indispensible for certain activities or particular situations,
 applications thereof must not prejudice the principles
underlying the established protection system ;
Whereas it is important to ensure that young workers are
properly protected against accidents at work and
occupational diseases; whereas such protection must
include, in accordance with the provisions in force in the
Member States , cover in respect of these risks ;
Whereas the system of protection envisaged by this
Directive requires, for its effective application, the
imposition of sanctions by the Member States,
 ---pagebreak---    No C 11 IA                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                   18 . 3 . 93
                     ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
   HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
                               Article 1
                                Scope
   This Directive shall apply to all persons under 18 years of         This Directive shall apply to all persons under 18 years of
   age working for one or more employers , except those                age working for one or more employers .
   working on a limited or occasional basis for their family.
                               Article 2                               Unchanged
                             Definitions
  For the purposes of this Directive:
  ( a ) 'employer' means any natural or legal person who has
         an employment relationship with the young worker ;
  ( b ) 'young person' means any person under 18 years of
         age :
         — 'adolescent' means any young person of at least 15             — 'adolescent' means any young person of at least 15
             years of age but less than 18 years of age,                      years of age but less than 1 8 years of age who is no
                                                                              longer undergoing full-time compulsory education ,
        — 'child' means any young person of less than 15                  — 'child' means any young person who is less than 15
             years of age;                                                    years of age or who is still undergoing full-time
                                                                            ' compulsory education ;
 (c) 'working time' means any period during which the                 (c) 'working time' means any period during which the
        young person is at work and carrying out his activities            young person is at work and carrying out his activities
        or duties in accordance with national legislation                  or duties in accordance with national legislation
        and / or practice. Where a young person is employed                and / or practice;
        by more than one employer , working hours and
        working days shall be accumulated ;
 (d ) 'light work' means all work which does not cause any            (d) 'light work' means all work which , as a consequence
        abnormal fatigue whether as a consequence of the                   of the inherent nature of the tasks to be performed or
        inherent nature of the tasks to be performed or as a               of the particular conditions under which they must be
        consequence of the particular conditions under which              performed, neither harms the health and development
        they must be performed .                                          of young people nor affects their attendance at school
                                                                          or their capacity to benefit from the instruction given
                                                                          at school .
                              Article 3                               Unchanged
                      Restrictions due to age
1.        Member States shall ensure that the employer shall
provide young persons with working conditions which are
appropriate to their age and which will , in particular,
avoid damage to their physical              and psychological
development .
2.       Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to
prohibit child work . Such provisions shall not be an
obstacle to :
 ---pagebreak---  18 . 3 . 93                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 77 / 5
                   ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAI.                                           AMENDED PROPOSAL
 ( a ) children pursuing the activities set out in Article 4 ;
 ( b ) children working in an undertaking under a combined
       work / training scheme such as an apprenticeship or
       work experience placements ;
 (c ) children of not less than 13 years of age performing
       light work.
 3.      Derogations from point ( c) of paragraph 2 may be           Deleted
 granted for limited periods, taking account of established
 national practice and traditions , provided such derogations
 do not compromise the objectives of this Directive.
                             Article 4                               Unchanged
                  Cultural and similar activities
 The employment of children in cultural, artistic, sports            The employment of children in cultural , artistic, sports
 and advertising activities shall be subject to prior                and advertising activities shall be subject to prior
 authorization , the conditions of which shall be determined         authorization . The procedure leading to such
 by the competent authorities of the Member States .                 authorization and the conditions of work, in particular
                                                                     working hours , shall be determined by the Member
                                                                     States .
                             Article 5                               Unchanged
                   Evaluation — information
 1.     The provisions of Directive 89 / 391 / EEC shall apply
to all young persons addressed by this Directive.
In applying these provisions the employer shall take
account of any specific risk to the physical and mental
health and safety of the young persons as well as the
possible repercussions for their development .
2.      Without prejudice to the provisions of Directive            2.     Without prejudice to the provisions of Directive
89 / 391 / EEC , and in particular Articles 6 , 7 , 10 and 12       89 / 391 / EEC , and in particular Articles 6 , 7 , 10 and 12
thereof, young persons shall be evaluated in relation to the        thereof, and before a young person is assigned to a
nature, degree and duration of exposure within an                   particular job, the employer shall evaluate the nature ,
undertaking of all activity liable to present a specific risk       degree and duration of exposure within the undertaking
of exposure to agents and procedures of which a                     concerned , in respect of any activity liable to present a
non-exhaustive list is set out in Annex I.                          specific risk of exposure to agents, processes or working
                                                                    conditions of which a non-exhaustive list is set out in
                                                                    Annex I.
The young persons shall be informed of the results of this          The employer shall inform the young persons and their
evaluation and of all measures taken concerning their               parents or legal guardians, in writing, of the possible risks
health and safety at work.                                          involved and of all measures taken concerning the young
                                                                    persons' health and safety at work .
 ---pagebreak---  No C 77 / 6                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  18 . 3 . 93
                  ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAI.                                           AMENDED PROPOSAL
                                                                     The employer shall involve the preventive service referred
                                                                     to in Article 7 of Directive 89 / 391 / EEC in the planning,
                                                                     implementation and monitoring of the safety and health
                                                                     conditions of young peoples' work.
                            Article 6                                Unchanged
 Consequences of the results of evaluation and health
                          surveillance
 1.    Where the results of the evaluation referred to in
 Article 5 indicate a risk to the safety or to the physical or
 mental health of the young person , notably an effect on
 his development, the employer shall take the necessary
 measures in terms of working conditions and / or working
 time to prevent such exposure on the part of young
 people .
 2.    Where it is technically or objectively impossible to
 modify working conditions and / or working time, the
 employer shall take the necessary measures to provide the
 young persons with a change of job .
 Exceptions may be allowed for certain specified categories
 of work which are essential to the vocational training of
 adolescents .
 3.    Prior to exposure and at regular intervals thereafter,
appropriate medical surveillance shall be provided for
young workers in respect of whom the results of the
evaluation referred to in Article 5 indicate the existence of
a specific risk to their safety or physical or mental health ,
notably a possible effect on their development.
                           Article 7
                        Exposure ban
Without prejudice to the provisions of Directives                   Without prejudice to the provisions of Directives
80 / 1107 / EEC and 91 / 322 / EEC , young persons may in           80 / 1107 / EEC and 91 / 322 / EEC , young persons shall not
no case be required to perform activities where the                 perform activities where the evaluation has revealed a risk
evaluation has revealed a risk of exposure to agents and            of exposure to agents and processes referred to in Annex II
procedures envisaged by Annex II which would put the                which would put the young person's safety or physical or
young person's safety or physical or mental health in               mental health in jeopardy .
jeopardy .
                                                                    Exceptions may be allowed only for certain specified
                                                                    categories of work which are essential to the vocational
                                                                    training of adolescents, provided that the work is carried
                                                                    out under the supervision of a competent person within
                                                                    the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 89 / 391 / EEC .
 ---pagebreak---   18 . 3 . 93                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 77 / 7
                  ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                            Article 8                                Unchanged
                       Duration of work
  1.      The duration of work performed by children and             1.    The duration of work performed by young persons
  adolescents who are in full-time education shall be               who are in full-time education shall be restricted to 15
  restricted to 15 hours per week and to three hours on a           hours per week and to two and three hours on a school
  school day for light work .                                       day for children and adolescents , respectively , for light
                                                                    work .
 Such work may be performed only outside the hours fixed            Unchanged
 for school attendance and only provided that it is not such
 as to prejudice their attendance at school or their capacity
 to benefit from the instruction given at school .
 2.      Working time for young persons who are not                 2.    Working time for adolescents, young persons
 undergoing full-time compulsory education or young                 participating in a combined work / training scheme or
 persons working during their school holidays may not               young persons working during their school holidays may
 exceed eight hours per day or 40 hours per week .                  not exceed eight hours per day or 40 hours per week.
 3.      The time spent attending school for training as part       Unchanged
 of a combined work / training scheme shall be counted as
 working time .
                                                                    3a .   Where a young person is employed by more than
                                                                    one employer, working hours and working days shall be
                                                                    accumulated .
 4.     Where there are objective reasons for so doing,             Unchanged
 derogations from the provisions of paragraph 2 may be
 allowed subject to the agreement of the authority
 competent to determine the terms of the derogations and
 provided such derogations do not call into question the
 objectives of this Directive.
                           Article 9
                         Night work
 1.     Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4 ,
yoiitig persons may not be employed between 20.00 hours
and 06.00 hours .
2.      Exceptions to the ban on night work set out in             2.     Exceptions to the ban on night work set out in
paragraph 1 may be authorized by legislative or regulatory         paragraph 1 may be authorized by legislative or regulatory
process in specified sectors provided that no work is              process in specified sectors, for adolescents or young
performed between midnight and 04.00 hours .                       persons participating in combined work / training schemes ,
                                                                   where this is essential to achieving the training objectives .
                                                                   In such cases, work must be performed under the
                                                                   supervision of an adult worker . Work shall be prohibited
                                                                   between midnight and 04.00 hours .
3.      Prior to any assignment to night work, and at              Unchanged
regular intervals thereafter , young persons must be given
an assessment , free of charge , of their health and
capabilities.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 77 / 8                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                18 . 3 . 93
                   ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                            AMENDED PROPOSAL
                            Article 10
                             Rest time
 Young persons duly released from full-time compulsory              Adolescents or young persons working during their school
 education or young persons working during their school             holidays or young persons participating in combined
 holidays shall have two consecutive rest days per week and         work / training schemes shall have two consecutive rest
 a rest period of 12 consecutive hours during each 24-hour          days per week and a rest period of 12 consecutive hours ,
 period .                                                           or 14 consecutive hours in the case of children , during
                                                                    each 24-hour period .
 If justified on technical or organizational grounds , the          Unchanged
 weekly rest period may be reduced but may on no
 condition be reduced below 36 hours .
                            Article 11
                            Paid leave
 Young persons duly released from full-time compulsory              Adolescents or young persons participating in combined
 education shall receive annual leave of at least four weeks ,      work / training schemes shall receive annual leave of at
 paid in accordance with the conditions governing the               least five weeks.
 receipt and granting of leave laid down in national
 legislation and / or practice .
                                                                    Pay relating to annual leave shall be determined in
                                                                    accordance with the conditions laid down by national
                                                                    legislation and / or practice .
                                                                    Under no circumstances may the duration of annual leave
                                                                    be less than that granted to adults .
                            Article 12
                           Rest period
 Any working period of four and a half consecutive hours            Member States shall take the necessary steps to ensure that
 shall be followed by a rest period of not less than 30             young people working more than four and a half hours
 minutes .                                                          per day enjoy a rest period of at least 30 minutes .
                            Article 13                              Unchanged
    Protection from occupational accidents and diseases
Member States shall adopt the necessary measures to
ensure that young persons are adequately protected in
respect of occupational accident and disease . Young
persons must be insured against such risks in accordance
with the laws , regulations and administrative provisions in
force in the Member States .
                           Article 14
                            Sanctions
Each Member State shall determine the penalties to be
imposed in the event of failure to comply with the
 ---pagebreak---   18 . 3 . 93                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                             No C 77 / 9
                     ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                             AMENDED PROPOSAL
  measures adopted to give effect to this Directive ; such
 penalties must be effective , proportionate and dissuasive.
                              Article 15
                    Amendments to the Annexes
 Adjustments to Annexes I and II as a result of technical
 progress , changes in international regulations or
 specifications , and new findings in the area covered by
 this Directive , shall be adopted in accordance with
 the procedure laid down in Article 17 of
 Directive 89 / 391 / EEC .
                              Article 16
 This Directive may not have the effect of reducing the level           This Directive may not provide grounds for diminishing
 of protection afforded to young persons at work as                     the level of protection afforded to young persons at work
 compared with the situation which exists in each Member                as compared with the situation which exists in each
 State on the date on which this Directive is adopted.                  Member State on the date on which the Directive is
                                                                        adopted .
                              Article 17                                Unchanged
                           Final provisions
 Member States shall bring into force the laws , regulations
 and administrative provisions necessary to comply with
this Directive by 31 December 1993 at the latest . They
shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.
When Member States adopt these provisions , these shall
contain      a   reference   to   this   Directive  or   shall  be
accompanied by such reference at the time of their official
publication . The procedure for such reference shall be
adopted by Member States .
                              Article 18
This Directive is addressed to the Member States .
                             ANNEX I
NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF AGENTS, PROCESSES AND
             WORKING CONDITIONS (ARTICLE 5 )
1 . Agents
      Physical agents
     Direct or indirect manual handling of loads involving a
     risk , particularly of back injury
     Work in a high-pressure atmosphere ( for example:
     pressurized containers , diving)
     Extremes of heat and cold .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 77 / 10                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                18 . 3 . 93
                 ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                           AMENDED PROPOSAL
    Biologicai agents
    Biological agents belonging to groups III and IV within       Biological agents belonging to group II within the meaning
    the meaning of Article 2 (d ) of Directive 90 / 679 / EEC     of Article 2 ( d ) of Directive 90 / 679 / EEC on the
    on the protection of workers from risks related to            protection of workers from risks related to exposure to
    exposure to biological agents at work .                        biological agents at work.
     Chemical agents                                              Unchanged
    Hydrofluoric acid
    Fuming nitric acid
    Arsenic and compounds thereof
    Thiophosphoric esters
    Mercury and compounds thereof
    Methyl bromide
    Free silica
    Carbon monoxide
    Chlorine
    Asbestos .
2.  Work
    Work involving the use of work equipment with a
    specific risk within the meaning of Article 5 of
   Directive 89 / 655 / EEC
   Manufacture and handling of machinery, fireworks or
   other objects containing explosives
   Work with fierce or poisonous animals
   Work involving dangerous feats of strength or
   contortionist exercises
   Glass-blowing
   Animal slaughtering
   Work involving the handling of equipment for the
   production , storage or application of compressed ,
   liquified or dissolved gases
   Work with vats , tanks , reservoirs or carboys
   containing toxic, harmful or corrosive flammable
   liquids , gases or vapours covered by Directive
   67 / 548 / EEC
   Undergroud work
   Work at a height
   Demolition work
   Work involving a risk of electrocution
   Work involving:
   — the driving of agricultural or forestry tractors not
       equipped with roll-over protection structures ,
 ---pagebreak---  18 . 3 . 93                                Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 77 / 11
                     ORIGINAL COMMISSION PROPOSAL                                           AMENDED PROPOSAL
      — the driving of combine-harvesters and other
           multiple-function or multiple-movement
      — the      driving    of earthmoving      equipment    and
           vehicles ,
      — constraints due to the pace of work , particularly in
           respect of work involving payment by results .
                              ANNEX II
NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF AGENTS , PROCESSES AND
              WORKING CONDITIONS ( ARTICLE 7)
1 . Agents
      Physical agents
      Ionizing radiation .
                                                                      Biologicai agents
                                                                      Biological agents belonging to groups III and IV within the
                                                                      meaning of Article 2 (d) of Directive 90 / 679 / EEC on the
                                                                      protection of workers from risks related to exposure to
                                                                      biological agents at work.
      Chemical agents                                                 Unchanged
     Hydrocyanic acid
     Lead and compounds thereof
     Neurotoxic chemical agents
     Substances classified as carcinogenic,           mutagenic
     and / or toxic for reproduction
     Substances classified as liable to cause serious damage
     to health by prolonged exposure ( R48 )
     Chemical agents in Annex I to Directive 90 / 394 / EEC
     on the protection of workers from the risks related to
     exposure to carcinogens at work.
2.   Processes
     — Industrial processes in Annex I to Directive
          90 / 394 / EEC .