Having to wait for everyone's lifts after work

This. ‘Sorry, but I really can’t do this again - please make sure you’re on time in future.’

The clue is in what you said: "there's no guarantee what time we will finish".
IMHO that is the reason why parents are on time to pock them up.
Why can't you have a guaranteed/agreed on time for them to finish?

Crikey! These are adults and there’s 2 of them. At 19 I was living alone and causing all sorts of mayhem out and about at nighttime 😂 time for them to grow up a bit I think!

There is no "duty" to pay for your employees taxis home!!

Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?!

The pub and hospitality industries are suffering enough, without this kind of financial drain.

If the employees want/need a taxi, then the employee pays!

Finish times are hard to predict in hospitality because of the nature of the business, you never know how many people are going to come through the door or how long they're going to hang around finishing their drinks and getting coats on, chatting, going to the loo etc, stocking up and clear down obviously takes longer if it's been busy and you've been serving right up until time and then being argued with about getting just one more . There isn't a 'drink up time' any more legally so it's not as it used to be as last orders at 10.50pm and everyone out at 11.20, last few bits to finish and out by 11.30, 12 if it's a busy one.

OP I'd prompt them a few times when you reckon you've got 30 minutes left and drop in that you will only be around for the time it takes your taxi to arrive tonight as you need to be away, and after that "Have you rang your mum? We'll be finished soon and I need to be away" unfortunately you've created an expectation now and you need to reverse that and make them realise that arrangements for their lifts are something they need to work out for themselves or they'll be waiting for their parents to arrive without you.

I do think that when we work with young staff that have never had a job before, we don't just teach them to do the job itself but also how to be an employee, and arranging their transport themselves without others having to wait around is part of that learning curve.

These workers are adults. Stop treating them as children.

If they don't want to stand outside by themselves, then they can also pay for a taxi home, or arrange for their lifts to pick them up earlier.

It's really not your problem.

Dress as creepily as you can and then thank their parents for allowing you to have so much alone time with their daughters late at night.

(This is a joke - probably a highly inappropriate one - please do not do this).

Unless the area is incredibly rough, (doesn’t sound like it) give them 10 mins each time, then make sure they have charged mobile phones and ask them to wait outside and that they wait until both lifts come. I bet they’ll get a bit more efficient about calling their parents then!

They are 19- bet they are probably wandering around far worse places when they aren’t at work!

It’s either you or the parents hanging around. Why should it be you. Tell them as from tomorrow you won’t be waiting, so if they don’t want to be waiting on their own they need to arrange that with their parents.

No pay, no stay.

I think giving them the 30 minute notice like you've been doing is enough.

It's nice of you to wait but you don't need to. Especially if you have told them enough times. Next time you are on shift just said "Sarah I need to leave once shift is over so will be locking up. I'll give you 30 minutes notice to call your mam/ dad to collect you" and do it.

I know 'back in my day' yada yada but circa 2010 as a young woman working in clubs I usually walked home at 4/5am from the night club I worked at in uni

OP, at 19 I was walking around late at night in a relatively dodgy area of north London and taking the night bus on my own when it was too late for the tube. You learn to look after yourself in those situations by looking after yourself.

You sound wonderfully concerned and protective, but you're clocking up hours of unpaid time each week because these young women aren't taking personal responsibility for themselves. They shouldn't be doing this sort of work if they can't get themselves safely home each night.

Just message them and say going forward you will no longer be able to keep the bar open until their lift arrives. They won’t think you unreasonable

If they were 15 I'd get you being nervous to leave them, but they are 19 year old adults. They need to be more organised or change how they get home.

I love you're being nice about this, but you can't expect to be paid for something you don't actually have to do. They can literally wait at the door to the pub, with a mobile phone. There's so little risk here.

In situations like this when I worked this sort of role anything finishing after 12 was a paid taxi from work. WOuld this work? There is a duty even though they are over 18 to ensure their safety as a reputable employer

Lots of people saying that knowing their close time should be easy - unfortunately that's just not how hospitality jobs work a lot of the time.

Compare a busy night, with a number of takers for last orders, big restock & tidy for the morning, maybe a till discrepancy to be sorted - with a quiet night, no last orders and bar already stocked & clean by close.

Depending on the licence, it may not be possible to leave one person on the premises to cash & lock up.

These employers are adults - lock up and go. No need to have a word with their parents (you're not a teacher!)

If they can’t be given a fixed end time (seems a bit unreasonable to me) then you should tell them you are locking up in 30 minutes, that gives them time to sort their lift, and tell them you can’t hang around but once you’ve locked up you are leaving.

You are just enabling them. You have been told by your manager to just lock up. You have given the girls plenty of notice to make arrangements for lifts to be there on time. You have done everything you can to ensure they leave on time.

Seems like a them problem if their lifts arent on time. Anyhow, its two 19 year old women, not a couple of 15 yr old girls. They need to grow up

Just give them a set finish time so they and their lift knows exactly what time to pick them up.

Sounds like your manager, and the other team leaders, are happy to lock staff out when they do this shift, so maybe you should do the same.

If you feel you really can't, tell the staff to clock out when you estimate there's about half an hour's worth left of work for you alone. It will still delay you by fifteen minutes, but at least you'll be paid for it.

Snap, @Bluetoe !

I'd give them a fixed finish time. If the close takes longer, I'd be the one to stay. That way at least you get paid for the extra time.

Tell them you need to lock up so can they arrange their lifts for closing time as its adding onto your day and you need to get home

My DD as a teen worked in a rural venue that she needed collecting from - bar restaurant with a lot of weddings etc so finish time was very fluid. The managers were hopeless at giving her any indication/warning of likely finishing time. I always set off for her (10 mins drive) as soon as she let me know she could go. I would have been furious if I'd arrived to find her locked out. However I don't think the managers clocked off until they'd seen all their staff safely leave.

They are two adult women. How is their safety enhanced by having a third adult woman waiting with them? Leave them to it.

Yanbu but you need to kick this higher up. You are acting as unpaid babysitter when you are knackered and want to go home. Being paid for it isn't much of a solution. You need to tell the boss that if it doesn't get sorted you will be seeking a job elsewhere. There are plenty of pubs needing experienced staff. If these young people can't make arrangements to be picked up immediately when it's time to leave then they cannot reasonably have this job. Either they make their parents start coming earlier or they can't work rhere. Someone (probably the parent in question) is making an active choice that their time is so valuable that they can't risk wasting a couple of minutes of it if they arrive before their child's shift finishes. That's a real slap in the face to you that you are expected to sacrifice 20 minutes of your time to prevent the risk of them losing 5 minutes of theirs. You absolutely must not accept this. Stop being nice about it and make it clear it will not happen again. If they don't feel safe waiting outside alone they have to make their parent arrive a few minutes before lockup time - it is not your responsibility to make up for their parent's failure to turn up on time.

The pub - the employer - does have a duty of care to their staff but the OP does not have to accept such a duty to herself unpaid and without her consent. An appropriate duty of care solution would be to only employ people without their own guaranteed transport in shifts rhat aren't very busy where they can clock off half an hour before closing time and wait for their lift while the pub is still open.