DECREES AND ORDERS
MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SERVICE, LABOUR, EMPLOYMENT AND VOCATIONAL
ORGANISATIONS
Ministerial Order No. 3748 MFPTEOP- DTSS of 6 June 2003 relating to child labor
Article I - For the purposes of this Order, a child is any person under the age of 18 years.
The
age
of
admission
to
work
is
fixed
at
15
years.
This age may be reduced to 12 years for light work carried out within the family and which does
harm the health, morals or normal progress of the child's schooling.
This age is raised to 18 years for dangerous work by derogation of the Minister of Labor.
Art. 2 - The prohibition applies to all establishments whether agricultural, commercial or
industrial, public or private, secular or religious, even when these establishments have a
vocational or charitable purpose, including family businesses and private homes. It is forbidden
to employ children in work that exceeds their strength, is dangerous to them or which, by its
nature and the conditions in which it is carried out, is likely to be harmful to their morals.
Art. 3 - In no case shall children be employed to work for more than eight hours a day. They
shall not be required to do any night work as defined by Article L140 of the Labor Code.
In family businesses or private homes and in agriculture, children shall not be employed in work
that does not exceed their strength, more than eight hours per day.
Art. 4 - In factories, manufactures, mines, pits and quarries, building sites, workshops and their
annexes, children shall not be employed in any night work between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Art. 5 - The minimum rest period for children of 11 consecutive hours shall necessarily include
the night period defined in the previous article.
Art. 6 - In industries where the work is applied to materials which are susceptible to very rapid
alteration, it is possible to temporarily derogate from the provisions of article 3 above, for male
children over the age of sixteen in order to prevent imminent accidents or to repair breakdowns
in the equipment.
Art. 7 - In order to benefit from the derogation provided for in the preceding article, the head of
the establishment or unit is required to give prior notice to the labor and social security inspector
of the jurisdiction area, either by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or by
notebook, or by any other means enabling the notification to be certified and to be dated.
Art. 8 - In factories, manufactures, mines, pits and quarries, building sites, workshops and their
outbuildings, garages and craft units, children shall not be employed, even to tidy up the
workshop, on public holidays provided for by the laws and regulations.
Art. 9 - Children of both gender, placed in apprenticeship or employed in family businesses or in
private homes cannot be required to do any work of their profession on Sundays or legal
holidays.
They may, however, be required by agreement or in accordance with practice, to take part on
Sundays in the tidying up of the workshop; this work shall not extend beyond two hours.
Art. 10 - Children shall be required to undergo a medical examination prior to their recruitment
at the request of the head of the establishment or unit.
Art. 11 -Any recruitment of children shall give rise to the drawing up of a list of names which
shall be made available within eight days to the labor and social security inspector.
Heads of establishments shall also provide the labor and social security inspector with a birth