Do countries around the world limit students' overtime hours?

The issue of limiting students' overtime hours has attracted the attention of many people when the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Vietnam released a draft of the revised Law on Employment. According to the draft, students of working age can work overtime but not more than 20 hours/week during the school term and not more than 48 hours/week during the holidays.

There is no nationwide regulation.

Through research, most countries in the world do not have nationwide restrictions, laws or regulations on the number of hours students can work.

In developed countries that attract many international students such as the US, Australia and the UK, the limit of 20 hours of part-time work per week mainly applies to international students.

Developed countries have regulations restricting international students from working in order to ensure that international students do not neglect their studies or, more broadly, to ensure the quality of education. Not to mention, international students working too many hours can affect the employment opportunities of students and local people.

Meanwhile, domestic students in countries around the world are mainly encouraged to work 20 hours/week to ensure balance with their studies.

The regulation limiting 20 hours of part-time work per week mainly applies to international students in countries around the world.

In the US, Australia and Korea, some universities or localities may have detailed regulations or guidelines, encouraging domestic students to only work about 20 hours/week, maybe 35-40 hours/week (equivalent to a full-time job) during the summer break. The goal is to ensure that domestic students have enough time to study.

For students under 18 years old, state governments in the US and Australia have specific laws and regulations on working hours to ensure the rights of minors.

Students working part-time must have a tax identification number.

Nguyen Bao Chau, a former student at the University of Canberra (Australia), said that labor laws in Australia are strictly enforced. Students who work part-time must also provide their personal tax identification number to their employers.

"I was once hired as a sales person for a supermarket in Canberra, but I didn't have a tax code. The supermarket's HR director informed me that I had to go to the tax office to register for a tax code. He also explained that if I didn't have a tax code, the supermarket couldn't hire me," Chau said.

In addition, employers in Australia must have a clear employment contract with students. When recruiting students to work part-time, businesses must clearly state whether the position is permanent or temporary; or seasonal.

All salary payments to employees (whether part-time or full-time) are made through the banking system for management by the authorities.

Therefore, most businesses comply with the law because they do not want to be heavily fined if they let international students work more than 20 hours/week. However, there are still international students who "circumvent the law" and work two part-time jobs at the same time - one is paid through a bank, the other is paid in cash.

Most countries around the world do not have nationwide regulations or laws limiting the number of hours domestic students are allowed to work.

In general, limiting overtime to no more than 20 hours/week depends on the self-awareness of both students and businesses. Authorities can only manage through financial reports and salary payments of businesses, according to Mr. Chau.

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