Netherlands to put 16 years age limit on working for rapid grocery delivery services

The Netherlands will ban children under the age of 16 from working as drivers for rapid grocery delivery services, Minister Karien van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment announced in a letter to parliament. The ban will take effect this year.

“It is forbidden for children to deliver means, and I would add a ban on rapid delivery,” Van Gennip said. “It can be dangerous to navigate through traffic on an (electric) bicycle under time pressure, for example, to deliver groceries, which is why I ban this work for children under the age of 16. Children are allowed to earn some extra money under certain conditions, but of course, they must be able to do so safely.”

The dangers of other types of increasingly popular work for children, such as vlogging and influencing, are less clear, the Minister said. “Think of pressure to always make videos for followers, always being ‘on’ and negative reactions online.” This also includes very young children featured in their parents’ vlogs.

Research by the Minister showed that the current laws and regulations for child labor are insufficient to cover these new forms of work. The Minister is working on updating these laws to modernize, clarify, and tighten them. The starting point will be the protection of the child, which will include the positive aspects of working, she said. She’ll have more information for parliament on this in the first half of 2024.

In the meantime, Van Gennip will also adjust the times at which children are allowed to work on non-school days. Soon, children will also be allowed to work from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., on the strict condition that they don’t lose rest time and their parent or guardian gives permission. Children under the age of 16 will also be allowed to work on Sundays under these same conditions.