A 16-year-old Derry schoolboy yesterday received an out of court settlement from his former employer, who sacked him from his job as a newspaper delivery boy.
Christopher Cunningham, a student at Foyle and Londonderry College, accepted the offer in a test case taken under the new European Directive On The Rights Of Young Workers.
Mr Barry Phillips, of the Northern Ireland Law Centre, who represented Christopher, described the outcome as "a victory for young people".
Christopher, who had a paper run near his Waterside home for several years delivering the Belfast Telegraph, lost his job last August.
"Christopher delivered the paper six evenings a week as had his three brothers before him," said Mr Phillips. "He hadn't had a holiday for a year and when he returned from holiday last August, his employer, W.J. Martin, a distributor for the Telegraph, had given his job to someone else. Christopher was told he'd been sacked because he hadn't arranged cover before going on leave," he said.
Mr Philips said the outcome of the case was "unique and important" for thousands of teenage workers throughout the UK and possibly the European Union. It proved that everyone had rights at work, irrespective of their age. It was the first time a breach of contract claim had been taken by a paper boy.