Page 6 | Having to wait for everyone's lifts after work

Tired75643 · 2024-05-06T22:50:45+00:00

I'm a team leader in a pub, I regularly work the evening shifts and have to set the alarm and lock up once everyone has finished and left. Generally it'll be me and one other member of staff at the end of the night finishing, some drive home, some (like me) get taxis and wait at the back of the pub. Recently we've had a couple of new staff start who rely on lifts from parents when they finish, the problem is they are waiting about 20-30 minutes for them once we're finished. Both are younger girls who don't feel safe waiting outside alone, which is understandable. I obviously can't lock the door until they're outside so I have to wait with them but this is adding half an hour onto my shift when I just want to get home and go to bed, my taxi only usually takes 5 minutes to get there. I talked to the manager about it and his answer was just tell them to wait outside and go....but I really don't want to leave 19 year old girls on their own late at night when they don't feel safe. I also don't want to be waiting at work longer than I need to, unpaid, after a long shift. I've tried telling them when it looks like they're half an hour away from finishing so they can call their lifts but there always seems to be a delay, and there's no guarantee what time we will finish so they can't set a specific time. AIBU to ask my manager to either sort something out with the staff members or let me stay clocked in until I can actually lock up and find some extra tasks so I'm at least being paid to be there?

Fraaahnces · 10/05/2024 11:04

You need to tell them that you are not their mother and if they don’t feel safe then they need to find jobs closer to home so they don’t rely on someone waiting behind with them.

nonumbersinthisname · 10/05/2024 11:01

stichguru · 10/05/2024 10:04

That irrelevant. IF the girls or their parents had ASKED OP to wait with them then you are right. However it's purely her decision to wait. She can't change the parents' response to the pick up time. She CAN continue to wait with the girls if she wants, or she CAN give them standard end time. If she doesn't want to do either of these things, that's HER problem, not their parents.

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The girls have asked her to wait. From one of OP’s posts:

”One in particular has been very vocal about not feeling safe waiting outside, the last time I really pushed and said I need to lock and go she looked really worried and started talking about different scenarios and safety issues etc.”

WittiestUsernameEver · 10/05/2024 10:56

followmyflow · 10/05/2024 10:41

everybody is so dismissive of the employees' safety--you'd feel differently if it was your own daughter.
if the pub has uneven unpredictable unsociable hours, then it is also the team lead's responsibility to deal with that, not just the teenage minimum wage employees.

I just wouldn't expect my adult child's boss to organise their safety/lift home/come and chat to me about logistics etc.
I'd expect my adult daughter to be competent enough to sort this out herself ...

Greengrasswalks · 10/05/2024 10:50

Do you allow them to use their phones towards the end of their shifts (30-45 mins before the end of the shift) to contact whoever they need to contact in order to arrange their lifts home?

LookItsMeAgain · 10/05/2024 10:46

As you're the team leader when these particular staff members are on duty, I think it would be acceptable to have a word with them before their shift and say that 30 mins before they are due to finish up, you are giving them permission to make a call/send a text advising their parent of the time to collect them. They finish at X hour, as do you.
By them not sending the text/phoning, they are extending your working time but you're not getting paid for hanging around.
They can do that, or they can expect to be standing around as the pub will be locked up at X hour (when you all finish your shift).

They are the two options available to them.

followmyflow · 10/05/2024 10:41

everybody is so dismissive of the employees' safety--you'd feel differently if it was your own daughter.
if the pub has uneven unpredictable unsociable hours, then it is also the team lead's responsibility to deal with that, not just the teenage minimum wage employees.

WittiestUsernameEver · 10/05/2024 10:40

crockofshite · 10/05/2024 10:21

If the girls can't leave till their mum and dad are there to pick them up, make sure the parents know to be there at a certain time as the building will be locked and the girls will be standing alone outside.

If the girls are old enough to be working at night, then they're old enough to be sorting out their lifts.

Not your responsibility to babysit these girls - it's work not school. You have your own responsibilities and it doesn't include holding their hands.

The adult employees should be telling their own parents this information... Why would me, their boss, be contacting employees parents about their family logistics??

WittiestUsernameEver · 10/05/2024 10:38

froggirl · 07/05/2024 10:22

This. Next time it happens, just pop over to the car and speak to the parents.

Let them know that you can't wait outside with them again and they will have to wait alone if there are delays in future.

It's not your responsibility. They need to sort their own transport.

Your manager won't pay you extra to wait with them, I wouldn't bother asking.

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I wouldn't be talking to any employees parents ....

I'd be telling the actual employees that "I can't wait outside with them again and they will have to wait alone if there are delays in future."

Littlestminnow · 10/05/2024 10:37

Jesus H Christ, firstly these girls are completely taking the piss. You are not their mother. They need to find solutions that don't involve you.

Secondly, is the UK really now so dangerous that girls have to chaperoned every moment of every day?

Bamboobzled · 10/05/2024 10:33

PiscesScot · 07/05/2024 09:11

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!)

Exactly. You can tell who hasn't worked in hospitality.

Bamboobzled · 10/05/2024 10:32

penjil · 07/05/2024 09:49

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!

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No, I worked in bars and hotels for years, it was up to the owner whether they paid a taxi but it costs a fortune for taxis now and it's not sustainable! I never once got a taxi home, because it was a job I took so my responsibility to get home!

Bamboobzled · 10/05/2024 10:29

WhenWillTheSunShineIWonder · 09/05/2024 22:34

Why don’t they have a specific finish time? Then the lift can be prearranged to be there then. It’s not really fair on them to not know what time their shift actually ends.

Have you worked in hospitality? It's explained during interviews that it's unsociable hours and you work to when you work.

Bamboobzled · 10/05/2024 10:27

OldPerson · 08/05/2024 20:32

Not really seeing why there's a problem with times? Their shifts surely finish at a set time? Why do they have to call parents to let them know what time to collect them?

I think, if not in place, you need to agree a set finish and depart time, with parents waiting outside.

If the pub is not tidy and prepared for the next day, at that time, you either all go home, or you alone finish tidying and charge for your time.

But you need to throw this one back at your manager to sort it out. I'm assuming you work for a chain, which also has an HR department?

I worked in bars and hotels for 10 years, rarely ever had a set finishing time. I usually got finished after clean down etc, if I finished early it was a bonus but you are usually told its unsociable hours. It's just how most places work!

Bamboobzled · 10/05/2024 10:24

When I was their age I had a job and walked home mostly alone at 3am. Crazy now I think about it but I had to do it. I don't see the harm in those girls waiting outside for their lift but can't they wait out the front or somewhere lighter? Usually round the back of pubs etc is dark and gloomy! Now I'm in my 30s I would probably do what you do and wait, but I don't think it's fair on you long term!!

Fraaahnces · 10/05/2024 10:24

You need to push back and tell them that you gave them plenty of notice to call their parents and get their lifts organised. Let them know that you will not be waiting after work from now on.

crockofshite · 10/05/2024 10:21

If the girls can't leave till their mum and dad are there to pick them up, make sure the parents know to be there at a certain time as the building will be locked and the girls will be standing alone outside.

If the girls are old enough to be working at night, then they're old enough to be sorting out their lifts.

Not your responsibility to babysit these girls - it's work not school. You have your own responsibilities and it doesn't include holding their hands.

Timeforachocolate · 10/05/2024 10:19

As adults they can choose to:
learn to drive and sort own transport
book a taxi
ensure their parents are there when they need a lift

a few nights on their own, in cold/wrt weather they may Keane to book their lifts at the right time?

followmyflow · 10/05/2024 10:16

why dont you share a taxi home with them? youll each only have to pay 1/2 of the taxi and it will prevent anyone from waiting out alone.
it's true that it's not safe to wait alone at night and its caused by your own policy of not having a set time for their shift to finish.

Greengrasswalks · 10/05/2024 10:06

They are adults. This is not your problem to solve.

stichguru · 10/05/2024 10:04

nonumbersinthisname · 10/05/2024 09:24

I’d recommend reading all the OPs posts. This is hospitality where it is normal for the end time to vary because the close up routine depends on the number of customers that evening. The OP has given the girls a heads up 30 minutes ahead of predicted finish time to call for their lifts and the girls have chosen not to do so. If the girls can’t organise their lift home with 30 minutes notice then that’s their problem, not OPs.

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That irrelevant. IF the girls or their parents had ASKED OP to wait with them then you are right. However it's purely her decision to wait. She can't change the parents' response to the pick up time. She CAN continue to wait with the girls if she wants, or she CAN give them standard end time. If she doesn't want to do either of these things, that's HER problem, not their parents.

Gonnagetgoingreturnsagain · 10/05/2024 10:02

nobodysdaughter · 10/05/2024 09:20

They are NINETEEN. Why are you waiting with them? I worked in a south London pub at that age, and cycled/got the bus home after my shifts. How long do they intend to live like this for? At their parents, needing someone to wait with them? Till their 20s? What's the cutoff point?

Ha! Exactly. I know countless people who at 18 upwards worked in pubs, bars, restaurants etc in dodgy areas and they managed to sort their own transport out.

As I said before it’s worrying that they need all this hand holding. I mean it’s nice of their parents to pick them up but I hope they’re preparing them for the real world and no lifts!

Thegoodbadandugly · 10/05/2024 09:36

To be frank it's not your problem they took the job on, they are grown ups their parents could arrive earlier, just lick the door and go.

Floppyelf · 10/05/2024 09:25

If they are 19, they need to get their CV’s in order and find another job where they don’t feel unsafe to wait outside. The parents picking them up is facilitating the business. When they quit and your manager has to find two new employees maybe the penny will drop.

nonumbersinthisname · 10/05/2024 09:24

stichguru · 10/05/2024 09:06

You can't set up a situation and then have a paddy because people's responses to it aren't what you want. Clearly if the parents felt that the girls waiting wasn't ok, they could get there early and read, sew whatever in their cars until the girls were done. They don't seem to feel like this. You can't change that. YOU have set up this situation by deciding the girls don't get to have a set end time. If you want the parents to be there when the girls are done give them a set end time. If you don't want to do that, wait with them if you want to, or not if you don't, but don't criticise the parents for a normal response to a situation YOU have created.

I’d recommend reading all the OPs posts. This is hospitality where it is normal for the end time to vary because the close up routine depends on the number of customers that evening. The OP has given the girls a heads up 30 minutes ahead of predicted finish time to call for their lifts and the girls have chosen not to do so. If the girls can’t organise their lift home with 30 minutes notice then that’s their problem, not OPs.

nobodysdaughter · 10/05/2024 09:20

They are NINETEEN. Why are you waiting with them? I worked in a south London pub at that age, and cycled/got the bus home after my shifts. How long do they intend to live like this for? At their parents, needing someone to wait with them? Till their 20s? What's the cutoff point?