If you live in London, do your teenagers have jobs?

[TheScenicWay]

Neither my dc or their friends have been able to get jobs at 16/17 even though they're bright, active and have volunteering experience. The 18 yr olds were able to find part time work.
Is this just the way it is or is it worth them still trying at 16?

DS got a job at 16 and yes we're in London although the job is outside London and he needs to get the train there.

It was hard to get a role at 16 though. His manager said she prefers 18 year olds so they can serve at the bar as well. But he won her over with how enthusiastic he was!

18 year olds are also preferred because they can work at night.

And the insurance often .eans they can do more at 18 than 16... My nephew worked at Costa at 16/17, but wasn't allowed to serve hot drinks!

And there's limits to allowed hours at 16... All pita for the employer.

www.studentjob.co.uk/ages/jobs-16-year-olds

Mine both had Saturday jobs before they were 18. One in a hairdressers, one in a shop (that did not sell alcohol anyway, so no issues with what he could sell at the till).

Is there a farmer's market near you? My one has been good at employing under 18s and there are no booze/hot drinks issues...

Yes, SE London. DD worked Saturday in a garden centre, DS1 did 12 hours a week at Tesco and DS2 works Saturdays at a tutoring centre.

Could be because there are more restrictions on under 18s, in terms of working hours, breaks and serving alcohol. Also there is the issue of having actual work experience, regardless of volunteering. Remember lots of uni students will have returned home for summer holidays, if they have experience, require less training and supervision then it is more likely that they will be considered for jobs.

How much are your 16 year olds paid for their roles? DS has a job in the kitchen at the local golf club... it just pays £6.40 an hour which is minimum wage. Not a lot!

Lifeguarding is a brilliant job for 16 plus and pays well. Some pools will provide the training too

Second life guarding!
My DS did that and then qualified as a swimming teacher which he still does part time

Well, what wage does he expect to have as an unskilled 16yo working in a kitchen? Genuine question.

Well some of his friends are paid around £7.70 so he was hoping for that.

This is a good rate for an unskilled child in my opinion!

Remember it's important to have the pay commensurate with the skill level or it would cause disaffection amongst higher skilled employees. The impact of which would be devestating on business and economies.

Not saying it isn't OK, I was just interested in what other jobs pay 16 year olds.

My 18yo travels 25 miles via train to work as all local places didn't even reply

@Popfan ah right. Ah right I read the sub text as you saying it wasn't ok because you said 'it wasn't a lot' . Then you said his friends got more. So both of these points you made gave me the impression that you think his wage isn't fair.

No worries, £6.40 isn't a lot really but it gives him some experience and something to put on a cv to help get better paying jobs in the future. There isn't much out there for this age!

Still interested to know what other 16 year olds are paid though!

Both of mine got their first coaching badges at 16 and worked every weekend at tennis courts/cricket nets.

of their friends, the ones who earnt the most were the ones who did the football reffing badge - they could ref loads of under 9 matches in a day as they were so short!

Not in London but DD had 2 jobs at 16 both paying around £10 an hour plus holiday pay initially (on zero hours contracts but plenty of work), one was at a university helping serve the formal dinners at events and the other was at a boat tour company and first job was cashier then they trained her to do the tours which pays more and lots of tips. That is commission based with a £10 an hour minimum plus tips and holiday pay.

Supermarkets are paying far more than this.

For doing what?