A young person’s school attendance and work schedule

A young person is required to go to school under the Education Act until:

• the last day of the school calendar of the year they turn 16

or

• June 30 of the year they will graduate from high school, if they are under 16 years of age

Work schedule for a young person who is required to attend school

Throughout the school calendar, a young person who is required to attend school must have:

• a work schedule that allows them to be:
  • in class during school hours
  • at home between 11 p.m. at night and 6 a.m. the following morning (including in the summer, on weekends and during holidays)

and

• a maximum of 17 hours per week, with a maximum of 10 hours from Monday to Friday. This schedule does not apply to periods of school leave where there is no school for more than 7 consecutive days, such as:
  • the holiday season
  • spring break
  • summer holidays

The obligation to allow the young person to be at home at night does not apply if they no longer have to attend school or if they :

• deliver newspapers
• create or interpret works in a field of artistic endeavour referred to in section 1 of the Loi sur le statut professionnel des artistes des arts visuels, du cinéma, du disque, de la littérature, des métiers d’art et de la scène
• work for a social or community organization, such as a vacation camp or a recreational centre, if the young person’s conditions of employment require that they be housed at their place of employment and if they are not required to go to school the following day
• do occasional babysitting

Example of the work schedule of a young person who is required to attend school

Nicolas

Nicolas works in a restaurant. He will turn 16 on July 18, 2024.

Nicolas has to attend school until at least June 2025, since he will turn 16 during the school year in progress. He is therefore prohibited from working nights between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. until  the end of the school calendar in June.

He may work during that school year but not more than 17 hours per week, with a maximum of 10 hours from Monday to Friday, except during periods when there is no school for more than 7 days, such as the holiday season, spring break or summer holidays.

At the end of the school calendar in June, he will be able to work nights and work more than 17 hours a week, since he will no longer be required to attend school.