Son not paid for work at local pub what can I do?

[ThisUniqueLilacBee]

My 16yo son was delighted to get a Saturday job as a KP in a local pub. He did his first shift and said that although it was very chaotic, he wanted to go back each Saturday. However, we did not hear from them, and then he got removed from the work WhatsApp group. Ok, maybe it did not work out. The problem is that it has been over a month, and they have not paid him for the shift. I sent them a nice Messenger message, and the pub blocked me! Then I sent an email, no reply. What can I do now? Even if it did not work out they legally must pay, right?

Was there a contract or something in writing? Was it a one off trial or did they say come in every Saturday? I'd ring them up and have a chat. Or even go in and talk to them.

He did not sign a contract, I did not think 16yo had to sign anything tbh

Of course they have to pay him for the hours he worked. You should go and ask them face to face. I don’t know what you can do if they refuse to pay him other than report them to the police You may have to seek advice from a solicitor. They do half a hour free service.
This really isn’t on and I wonder if there are others that they have done this to by way of getting free labour.
I really hope you can sort it out and get your ds his pay.

Are you absolutely sure it wasn't a trial shift? Some hospitality places are well know for doing this to young people.

I would put it on your local Facebook group page, just a warning ……. Pub doesn’t pay casual staff. They won’t like it, so it may budge them into paying.

There was a cafe notorious for this near me a few years back - local teenagers did a free trial shift (always in the busy season, often very ling hours) and then heard nothing. They ended up getting in trouble gor it, although sadly I can't remember the details.

Sadly, some places do exploit young workers by getting them to do unpaid "trial shifts". It should be illegal imo, but i don't think it is.

If he didn't sign anything, he might be on shaky ground... does he have texts or emails etc about the shift? Screenshots of the WhatsApp group?

Maybe go into the pub with him on a busy evening and ask very publicly whether they are going to pay your son for the work that he undertook in good faith.

For 1 day with no contract (anything written down eg whatsapp?) it may be difficult to get police etc interested. But unless the pub can prove they offered it as an unpaid trial only then they have broken the law on the national minimum wage which you can report to HMRC and to the police.

IMO I'm afraid he has been had. It's going to be treated as a trial shift that he didn't do well enough at to really be considered for ongoing work,and while we all know it sucks, his chances of getting paid are slim to nothing because he didn't have a contract.
Most sensible thing he can do is learn from this and ensure in future he has something in writing, even if just on What's App (copy it) stating what hours he will be working on what date, for what amount of pay. It forms a basic contract that can be enforced.
'We've put you in the work availability group, turn up on Saturday and we'll see how it goes' - doesn't.
It's a hard lesson, but one to learn from.

Turn up with him, his NI number and ID (birth cert /passport) Tell the manager he will be there at the door for the until he is paid with a sign saying saying he was not paid for his work if he is not put through payroll and paid for his hours.

If its a half decent area the manager will realise that type of stealing will loose them trade

I doubt a solicitor is going to offer a free half hour to discuss a matter worth less than a tenth of their hourly rate.

Write a further email giving a 7 day deadline and if they don’t pay by then initiate ACAS Early Conciliation and ACAS will contact them on your son’s behalf which might be enough to make them pay up.

Go and speak to them?

My son spent a full Sunday morning (4 sessions) coaching small kids at Little Kickers. Same thing. It was a trial… no money. He’s got experience coaching kids, enjoyed it and said it went well. Total exploitation.

Apparently these unpaid trial shifts are the norm these days. I think its terrible and when I was young we got paid for this kind of thing.

I was shocked it happened to a friends son and all the teens said all the pubs do it all the time.

Unfortunately this is quite common. My 16 year old had had trial shifts, not been paid and not heard back from them (although one place did feed him).

He didn’t sign anything so you’re not going to get anywhere in terms of payment.

This happened to dd at 16 im a hairdressers, spent 6 hours sweeping/cleaning etc. Was told at end they would be in touch if she was needed again. Nothing, turned out they did this every Saturday.

Report to HMRC for min wage breach and pursue a claim for unpaid wages through ACAS. Does he have any proof he worked - a message inviting him in etc?

I'd suggest going down there and asking to speak to the manager. You could threaten legal action.. The small claims court would be the obvious route if you do want to pursue it - they can award costs if successful - but it would be time consuming and you'd be out of pocket if you lost - so it's whether the principle of the matter is worth it to you and your son, for the relatively small sum involved.

ive been in a situation before where new pub owners weren’t paying the staff they fired when taking over their wages. I emailed and called on a daily basis, looked them up on companies house, wrote to the address listed for the director (pretending I was a “daddy has a lawyer” type) and eventually was sent to a shady shut down different pub to collect the money they owed me. I was about 23 and it was probs dangerous but I felt great walking away with my wages.

Lots of different types of places have wised up to how to get free basic labor and just minimal head counts in nursery rooms/ children's activity places, etc this way.

It's replaced we'll feed you, give you a warm place to be and let you use the washing machine, and leftover stuff will come your way, in exchange for labor, for the desperate.

Best thing parents can do, is wise up their kids to dubious employers and employment practices.

Why would a 16yo not have to sign a contract?

Solicitors won’t do a ‘free half hour’ for this. Try your local community law centre or CAB. They can help to e.g write a stern letter.
May be more difficult with no contract and the potential it was a ‘trial’.

Name and shame the pub on the local Facebook group.