Country profile KNA
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | N/A | C138 & C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4398045,103373"}] | No | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | In an Observation published in 2025, the CEACR observes that the Government has been referring to the enactment of the draft Labour Code since 2011. It urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the draft Labour Code, that shall determine the types of hazardous work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years, is adopted without delay, thus implying that no such law has been implemented yet. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2002-12-31 | C138 & C182 | The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, Chapter 18.10 | [{"link_name":"CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4398045,103373"}] | 16 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | In an Observation published in 2025, the CEACR states that it previously requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the authorization of the performance of hazardous types of work for persons between the ages of 16 and 18 years is subject to the strict conditions of protection and prior training. It noted once again the Government’s information that the provisions restricting the admission of persons between 16 and 18 years to hazardous work shall be included in the draft Labour Code and requested the Government to ensure that the draft Labour Code will be adopted in the near future and that it will provide for all the appropriate provisions ensuring the safety and training of young persons from the age of 16 engaged in hazardous work, thus implying that the minimum age for admission to hazardous work is set to 16 years. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 2005-05-26 | C138 | Education Act - Section 26.1 | [{"link_name":"Education Act","source_link":"https://education.gov.kn/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Education-Act-2005.pdf"}] | Yes | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | Section 26.1 establishes 16 as the age at which compulsory schooling ends, which coincides with the minimum age for admission to work. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2002-12-31 | C138 | The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, Chapter 18.10 - Sections 2 and 4 (1) | [{"link_name":"The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, Chapter 18.10","source_link":"https://lawcommission.gov.kn/wp-content/documents/Act02and09TOC/Ch-18_10-Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act.pdf"}] | 16 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Section 4 (1) of the Law states that no child shall be employed or work in any public or private industrial undertaking, or in any branch thereof, other than an undertaking in which only members of the same family are employed. In the Section 2 of the Text, a child in defined as a person aged above 16 years, thus setting the minimum age for admission to work to 16 years. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 2008-09-24 | C182 | Trafficking in Persons (Prevention) Act- Sections 2 and 3.2 | [{"link_name":"Trafficking in Persons\r\n(Prevention) Act","source_link":"https://www.policinglaw.info/assets/downloads/Saint_Kitts_and_Nevis_Criminal_Code.pdf"}] | Yes | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | While Section 2 of the Act defines "exploitation" as the prostitution of a person or engaging in any other form of commercial sexual exploitation, including but not limited to pimping, pandering, procuring, profiting from prostitution, maintaining a brothel and child pornography; Section 3.2 prohibits the trafficking of children for the purpose of exploitation. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | N/A | C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"N/A"}] | N/A | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | The country has no conscription, implying that military service is only voluntary. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 2008 | C182 | Trafficking In Persons (Prevention) Act | [{"link_name":"Trafficking In Persons (Prevention) Act","source_link":"https://antislaverylaw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/St-Kitts-and-Nevis-Trafficking-in-Persons-Law.pdf"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | The use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities is prohibited by the Trafficking in Persons Act. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2008-09-24 | C182 | Trafficking in Person (Prevention) Act - Section 3. 2 | [{"link_name":"Trafficking in Person (Prevention) Act","source_link":"https://antislaverylaw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/St-Kitts-and-Nevis-Trafficking-in-Persons-Law.pdf"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | Section 3.2 of the Act prohibits child trafficking. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 2002 | C138 | Employment of women, Young Persons and Children Act | [{"link_name":"Employment of women, Young Persons and Children Act","source_link":"https://lawcommission.gov.kn/wp-content/documents/Revised-Acts-of-St-Kitts-and-Nevis/Revised-Acts-of-St-Kitts-and-Nevis-2009/Ch-18_10-Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act.pdf"}] | 12 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | The minimum age for admission to apprenticeship is set at 12 years. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | N/A | C138 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"N/A"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | No provision of the legal framework of Saint Kitts and Nevis determines the types and conidtions under which light work may be carried out. |
| Minimum age for light work | 2002-12-12 | C138 | The Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, Chapter 18.10 - Section 7 | [{"link_name":"-The Employment of Women, Young Persons and\r\nChildren Act, amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, Chapter 18.10","source_link":"https://lawcommission.gov.kn/wp-content/documents/Act02and09TOC/Ch-18_10-Employment-of-Women-Young-Persons-and-Children-Act.pdf"},{"link_name":"-CEACR Observation","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4398045,103373"}] | N/A | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | No minium age for light work is set. However, in an Observation published in 2025, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) noted that the consolidated Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act, Chapter 18.10 as amended by Act No. 20 of 2002, permits children under the age of 12 to be employed by their parents in light agricultural or horticultural work on land belonging to their parents, as well as children between the ages of 12 and 16 years to work in non-hazardous daytime work outside of school hours, specifying a maximum of two hours of work on school days and Sundays (section 7)). |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 12-OCT-2000 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 03-JUN-2005 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The plan aims principaly to improve equitable access to and participation in education at all levels; strengthen the quality and relevance of education at all levels to improve learning outcomes; enhance governance, planning, and management to improve efficiency and effectiveness throughout the sector. | [{"link_name":"Education Sector Plan","source_link":"https://education.gov.kn/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2017-2021-GOSKN-Education-Sector-Plan-.pdf"}] | 2017-2021 | Education Sector Plan | Ministry of education |