site.btaOver 14,000 Work Permits Granted to Minors Since Beginning of 2025

Since the beginning of the year, 14,933 work permits have been granted to minors, the General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency said on Thursday.

For the same period in 2024, 13,249 permits were granted.

The agency reminds young people that special protection is provided for them, which guarantees them relaxed working conditions. They cannot perform heavy physical labour, as well as perform work related to the impact of physical, chemical and biological agents and which poses a risk to their physical and mental development. The working hours for them are 35 hours a week with a five-day work week, for which they should receive at least the minimum wage. They are entitled to an extended leave of at least 26 days. They are prohibited from working overtime and night work.

Hiring minors without permission from the Labour Inspectorate is considered a crime, which is prosecuted according to the provisions of the Penal Code.

Since the beginning of the year, 2,200 workers without an employment contract have been identified, compared to 2,016 cases for the same period in 2024, said in an interview with BTA the agency’s Executive Director Ekaterina Asenova.