First jobs · 5 min read
What jobs can I do at 16?
What 16 year olds can legally do in the UK, the hours rules, the £8.00 minimum wage from April 2026, which jobs hire at 16 and how to get one.
The short answer
At 16 you can work in most jobs that aren't age-restricted: shops, cafés, kitchens, leisure centres, warehouses with light duties, care support, and apprenticeships. Until the end of Year 11 the child employment rules still apply, with a council work permit and a 12-hour limit in term time. After that you're a young worker: up to 8 hours a day and 40 a week, and at least £8.00 an hour from April 2026.
Key takeaways
- Until the last Friday in June of Year 11 you count as a child worker: permit, 12 hours a week in term time, nothing before 7am or after 7pm.
- From the end of Year 11 you're a young worker: 8 hours a day, 40 a week, a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours, and no averaging of those limits.
- The 16-17 minimum wage is £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026, and the same rate applies to apprentices under 19.
- You must still be in education or training until 18 in England, but a job with part-time study, or an apprenticeship, counts.
On this pageWhich rules apply to you depends on one date
Which rules apply to you depends on one date
Being 16 isn't the line the law uses. School leaving age in England is the last Friday in June of Year 11. Before it you're employed as a child, with a council work permit and the limits in the table. After it you're a young worker with adult-style rules and a pay floor.
| Rule | Still in Year 11 | After the last Friday in June |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly hours | 12 in term time, 35 in holidays | 40 |
| Daily hours | 2 on a school day, 8 on a Saturday | 8 |
| Earliest and latest | 7am to 7pm | No night work 10pm to 6am, with exceptions |
| Breaks | 1 hour after 4 hours | 30 minutes after 4.5 hours |
| Pay floor | No legal minimum | £8.00 an hour from April 2026 |
| Paperwork | Council work permit | Starter checklist, National Insurance number |
Jobs that hire at 16
The most common first jobs are the ones with a till, a tray or a stockroom: supermarkets, fast food, cafés, cinemas, leisure centres, hotels, hairdressers and independent shops. Kitchen porter roles hire at 16 because no alcohol is involved; serving it usually needs you to be 18. Lifeguarding needs a qualification you can take at 16, and apprenticeships in everything from hairdressing to engineering start at 16 too.
How to get one with no experience
- Write a one-page CV: school, predicted or actual grades, one or two things you've done that show you turn up and finish (a club, a paper round, babysitting).
- Walk in with it. Small shops and cafés still hire the person who asked in person on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.
- Apply to five large chains online in one evening. Their forms are long but they hire 16 year olds at volume.
- Ask three adults you know whether their workplace takes weekend staff. Most first jobs still come through someone who knows you.
What you must be paid
From 1 April 2026 the minimum for 16 and 17 year olds is £8.00 an hour, up 45p on the year. You'll pay no income tax unless you earn over £12,570 a year, so a weekend job should arrive almost whole. If the first payslip shows a tax code ending W1 or M1, hand in the starter checklist and it will correct itself.
Staying in education until 18
In England the duty to participate runs until your 18th birthday, and it doesn't mean sixth form. It means full-time education, an apprenticeship, or a job of 20 hours a week or more alongside part-time study. A 16 year old working 30 hours in a kitchen and doing one day a week at college is meeting the rule.
Illustrative example: the Saturday job that became a direction
A 16 year old takes eight hours a week on a garden centre till. Within a month she's on the watering rota and finds she'd rather be in the greenhouse than at the till. Her next step is asking when the horticulture apprenticeship the manager mentioned starts.
Questions people ask
- Can a 16 year old work full time?
- Once you've passed school leaving age, yes, up to 40 hours a week and 8 hours a day. In England you must also stay in some education or training until 18, so a full-time job needs part-time study alongside it, or you take an apprenticeship, which counts as both. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland don't have the same duty to 18.
- What's the minimum wage for a 16 year old in 2026?
- £8.00 an hour from 1 April 2026 for 16 and 17 year olds, up from £7.55. Apprentices under 19 get the same £8.00. Employers can pay more and many large retailers do. The rate changes every April, so check GOV.UK before you agree a wage.
- Can I work in a pub or bar at 16?
- You can work in a pub, for example clearing tables or in the kitchen, but you can't serve alcohol in a bar without supervision, and 16 and 17 year olds can't work in a betting shop or do work that risks their health. Night work between 10pm and 6am is restricted too.
- Do I need a National Insurance number to start work at 16?
- You should receive one automatically before your 16th birthday. If it hasn't arrived, you can still start work, but apply for it straight away and give it to your employer when it comes. You'll also fill in a starter checklist so your tax code is right from the first payslip.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Child employment · GOV.UK
- Young workers, apprentices and work experience · Acas
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates · GOV.UK
- The National Minimum Wage in 2026 · Low Pay Commission, GOV.UK
How this page is written
Sources support the factual background, not a guarantee that an exercise predicts career fit. Fictional practice material is labelled. Dates record content updates; no independent expert review is implied. More about OffLadder.