The social affairs ministry has unveiled a package of reforms covering work and the under-16s and is also looking into how to better protect young influencers.

The measures include banning the under-16s from working for superfast grocery delivery services because of the danger posed by cycling at high speed in traffic, social affairs minister Karien van Gennip told MPs in a briefing.

Since July 2020, 13, 14 and 15-year-olds have been banned from working for meal delivery firms and MPs had campaigned to extend the ban to cover grocery delivery companies such as Flink.

The rules covering other work open to young teenagers are being relaxed slightly so they can work up to 8pm on non-school nights or during the holidays. But they will have to have one day off a week in the interests of homework and social activities, the minister said.

Van Gennip is also looking into the position of children working as so called influencers on social media channels.

Th situation is complicated because it is hard to define when a hobby becomes a commercial activity, she said. ‘We need to better tackle the way children are being used as a way of earning money by their parents or companies,’ the minister told MPs.

One option would be to include social media work under the same rules as apply to young actors, which sets a limit to the number of days they can work a year, as happens in France.

Some 30% of 13 and 14-year-olds in the Netherlands have some form of job, as do 60% of 15 and 16-year-olds, according to figures from family spending institute Nibud.