My 16 yo has taken a job that has turned out to voluntary!

This really isn't on. It is nothing short of free labour.

My DD used to work P/T at a local swim school. The first 6 weeks were unpaid, but after that she did receive payment.

6 months is taking the mickey.

He needs to ask how many people in the same role as him have been there longer than 6mo.

Quit and report them.

I think the Govt are trying to cut down on this ' slave labour' type arrangement.

It's the same with internships, with graduates working for free for unlimited periods of time in the hope that they get ahead of the queue when a real job gets advertised. This is used a lot in popular work areas like the arts and publishing.

It unfairly favours young people from rich families who can support them living in London for 6 months unpaid for example; 'opportunities' that are just not realistic to most graduates and families.

If he's a poolside helper then he needs a contract to show what he is responsible for. Is it just tidying up discarded towels or is there any sort of lifeguarding stuff? If the latter then need to know that this club has proper liability, proper trained people and so on. If they don't, your son should stay away.

Well done him on looking for a job and, he thought, getting one. But this is a volunteer post and he should only continue if he's happy with that and you are happy with the responsibilities on both sides that should be set out in writing.

It's a growing trend. Even LInkedIn is pushing adverts for "internships" which are - usually - clearly non paying positions.

I'll be prepared to give the benefit of the doubt when I read an AIBU in which someone took a position they thought was voluntary but then had a paycheque forced on them as they were going to leave.

As he has no contract, I'd tell him to stop immediately.

Seconded. Even voluntary posts often have a simple Company-Volunteer agreement or behavioural agreement, which is recommended practice (and having seen some charities that didn't have these to begin with, they are often needed and the lesson is learned in less pleasant ways, unfortunately). As safeguarding training was also necessary to go into the role, I would have expected the club to make this explicit as part of an agreement with an individual, too - it's slightly odd ground to have this just as a verbal 'Yes, they got training'.

(edited to add the Safeguarding sentence).

I think some sports clubs do this and just start again with another 16 year old after the 6 months. I know a soft play area near me only hires 16 year olds and after their unpaid probation, they just hire a new 16 year old! It's terrible.

Has your son quit? He should just not turn up.

How are they getting paid and who is funding the running of the pool?

Why should you son give up his time for free when the people he is working with are getting paid?

It dishonest not to be very clear that it was never a job to begin with.

If he is not being paid its a hobby.

It's exploitation, plain and simple.

My DD got a job at 16. They didn't want to give her any holiday pay, saying that they pay was better than other similar employers.

Unfortunately for them, I'm know my stuff, as a HR professional and I knew they were wrong. I sent them the information and offered to assist them with HR matters, to ensure they comply with the law.

All of a sudden, they decided to pay her and asked why she got her mum involved. She asked then and they tried to intimidate her.

They could see if your son was any good after one or two months. They're taking the pi$$.

He should leave.

Most youth sports clubs are run by volunteers such as scouts, guides, football, netball, hockey etc, with the only paid people being the referees, for example, in football.

Also, if your son used to swim for this club, wasn’t he aware that the poolside helpers were volunteers?

So I’m a little on the fence on this whether he is being used as free labour, or whether he signed up for a voluntary role, with a view of doing his qualifications further down the line.

Why would they "deliberately" mislead? There's no benefit to them of appointing, training and checking a new volunteer only for them to leave when they find there's no money.

This is it for me as well. Deliberately misleading and hoping he'd just take it as he's 16. It should have been clearly laid out before he started in writing.

Its the dishonesty that I'd be so angry about. It' snot a "misunderstanding". They've gone ahead with this knowing perfectly well he didn't know he wasn't being paid.

As he has no contract, I'd tell him to stop immediately.

Does DS know the other poolside helpers and have any of them been there more than 6 months? It sounds like a dodgy way to make up numbers that used to be filled by volunteers. If it has always been a volunteer role why is there now suddenly the “opportunity” for a paid role in 6 months time?

A friend’s DD did this and whilst it wasn’t paid, in Summer holidays from college and university the leisure centre did employ her a lot as a life guard, I don’t think she did 6 months though. It did help towards qualifications and she did go into teaching PE.

Free labour from kids too excited and inexperienced to understand when they're being exploited.

Might be worth seeing a solicitor.

There are definitions of 'work' and 'volunteering'.

Actors have won cases against production companies using 'volunteer' actors - when the circumstances have actually been classed as 'work' .

The government also publishes a list of companies who have been caught not paying minimum wage. It won’t let me post the links but Google “national minimum wage name and shame list”, there’s one published 2025 and another published 2024.

Might be worth having a look through and seeing if they’ve been caught out before.

It’s unreasonable to start a job, do training & work without ever actually asking how much it pays. Lots of clubs seem to do this for the younger ones, ours does similar it is volunteering & they then put you through a qualification.

I agree with others that this sounds like a bit of a scam.

However, was your son expecting cash in hand? Did they not take any bank details, ask for national insurance number , talk about pay at all? I appreciate it’s his first job but these are the basics. If you look through all the documentation and there is no evidence that this is voluntary only then I think you should take it further as doesn’t sound legal. Also should there not be a transparent process of what targets he needs to meet to be employed at the end of the 6 months. Being “good enough” is extremely subjective. Nonetheless it’s so hard for people to get any work experience that I would say 6 months even if unpaid will look great on his CV he could continue this until he finds a paying job? Wouldn’t cut off your nose to spite your face.

Six MONTHS is an absolute pisstake and a con. No doubt in my mind that they ditch the kids when they hit the paid stage and swap for a new one.