At 15, you can legally work part-time in the UK. The law allows light work from age 13, but hours are tightly limited while you are still at school, and the national minimum wage does not apply until you reach school leaving age. The realistic options are paper rounds, shop and café Saturday jobs, dog walking, babysitting and helping in family businesses.
The legal rules, in plain English
You can start light part-time work from age 13 in England, Scotland and Wales. Until you reach school leaving age (the last Friday in June of the school year you turn 16), child employment rules apply:
- No work during school hours, and no work before 7am or after 7pm.
- In term time, a maximum of 12 hours a week, with no more than 2 hours on a school day or Sunday.
- In school holidays, 15 year olds can work up to 35 hours a week (13 and 14 year olds up to 25 hours).
- You cannot work in factories, on building sites, or in most jobs classed as industrial.
Most councils also require your employer to apply for a free child employment permit before you start. Your school or council website explains how.
Jobs that genuinely exist at 14 and 15
These are the roles that actually hire under-16s:
- Paper rounds — the classic first job, usually early mornings before school.
- Saturday jobs in local shops, cafés and hairdressers — shelf stacking, clearing tables, sweeping up. Ask in person with a parent; small independent businesses hire this way far more than chains.
- Dog walking and pet sitting — neighbours pay £5 to £10 per walk in many areas.
- Babysitting for family friends — informal but real money, and it builds trust-based references.
- Helping in a family business — allowed and common, though the same hour limits apply.
- Car washing, gardening and odd jobs — cash-in-hand style work for neighbours is fine at this age as long as it stays light and safe.
Big supermarkets and high-street chains almost never hire under 16, so do not waste hours applying to them yet.
What about pay?
There is no minimum wage for under-16s, so pay is whatever you agree. Typical going rates are £4 to £7 an hour for paper rounds and Saturday jobs, and £5 to £10 per task for dog walking or babysitting. Once you turn 16 and leave school, the under-18 minimum wage applies — £8.00 an hour from April 2026 — so your pay jumps the moment you reach 16.
How this sets up your first real job at 16
Employers hiring 16 year olds look for exactly one thing: evidence you are reliable. A year of paper rounds or Saturday work proves you turn up on time, which matters more than any qualification at this stage. Keep a note of what you did and for how long — it becomes the first line of your first CV.
When you hit 16, read our guides to jobs for 16 year olds and teen jobs, and try ways to make money as a teenager for ideas that work right now. Shine's free career quiz at /career-quiz can also point you at the kind of work that suits you before you start applying.