By Carla Neeson

4 How long can teenagers work and what for?

Unless you are 16 years old and have a National Insurance number, you are not legally allowed to work in a night-time job, or for more than a few hours per day. You can however, find jobs in small working environments that only last for a few hours everyday, after school or at weekends.

A limit of 48 hours per week is set for 16-18 year olds. It is possible to work longer, if you want to. No one can force you to work longer hours, and if you choose to, you must sign an "opt-out" form with your employer. You are also entitled to 1 day off per week and, in a shift of more than 6 hours can take a break. Under 18's cannot work for more than 8 hours per day- which is definitely to your benefit!

When it comes down to wages, we under 18's are less fortunate. There is no set minimum wage, so what you are paid is down to the individual employer. The reason is that we are considered less experienced and usually have to be trained. As usual, nothing is free, and you pay for these new skills with a smaller wage packet. Even though there is no set rate, do not let an employer take advantage- if you carry out your duties properly you deserve to be paid properly for it. On the positive side, the majority of us working guys and gals are paid reasonably well. Working in a shop, you can expect nearly £3/hour, which is only 20p below the 18-21 year old minimum wage! In a lot of jobs, you may be paid per shift, which can work out to your advantage.