How many hours can a UK University Student work?

[berwin]

Is there a law about how many hours a UK student can work?

I am 19 year old male in my first year of University in London. I currently work part time, contracted ONE day a week. I used to work full time for the same company doing the same job working a total of 37.5 hours a week.

I now go to university 3 days a week, a total of 12 hours a week. I want to go back to work 3 days a week, therefore my timetable would be Monday - Wednesday at university and then Thursday - Saturday at work. This means I would be working a total of 22.5 hours a week (7.5 hours a day).

Currently, on the days I don't have university and its busy at work I go in and do a days work BUT this is only when they are busy/short staffed. This is not consistent and its really annoying not getting a steady wage. Sometimes I work 3 days a week for a number of weeks but then months can pass where I have only worked one day a week. This is not enough to live on.

When I asked my manager to change my contract to three days a week he spun me the excuse that students can only work 20 hours a week - which makes no sense as on many occasions I do three days, just two of them are "unofficial" and one is contracted. So is there a law saying that I, a 19 year old university student studying only 12 hours a week, cannot work more than 20+ hours a week?

Other relevant information you might need is I ONLY have a tuition fees loan - nothing else and I still live at home. If there isnt a law on this, can you please (if possible) refer me to some website where I can print off the information and show it to them.

Thanks very much!

[wynn]

I don't think there is a limit, i looked on the government website (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkingHoursAndTimeOff/DG_10029426) and didn't see anything that says anything about university students. There was a helpline number there, you could call that and ask. Also, you could ask at your university.

I found another website which said that immigrant workers can only work up to 20 hours a week, but nothing about home students. (http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/student/working_during.php#hours)

[marq]

There is no limit. Your manager won't change your contract to suit you. All you can do is be available and the extra work might come your way. Other than that, try to get another job. Try night work in hostels, hotels, guest houses, restaurants or pubs. Good luck.