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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that £4.92 per hour is ridiculous?

149 replies

Chocolocolate · 03/01/2011 00:03

My DSil has recently completed her NVQ in childcare and works full time in a nursery.

She is 19. My DBro is 21. They pay all of their bills etc between them.

Their rent is £500 per month for a rubbishy little flat (although they have made it their own).

DSil told me over Christmas that she only gets paid £4.92 per hour - the national minimum wage for 19yos. AIBU to think this is very low? Not just for her - the national minimum wage is low.

Why is it less for a 19yo than a 21yo? They have all of the same responsibilities etc of an older couple.

If she wasn't with my DBro (who gets paid barely more than the national minimum wage himself) how could she afford a place to live?

They are both v. hardworking people, as are many who get national minimum wage, should this not be higher?

OP posts:
classydiva · 03/01/2011 00:06

She can earn £6.12 an hour in Asda, my son of 17 did.

classydiva · 03/01/2011 00:07

People pay it becaues they can get away with it its a disgusting amount of money an hour, she would earn more as a cleaner they get in some cases £7 an hour.

maighdlin · 03/01/2011 00:07

this is the exact reason so many rely on benefits that getting a job. whats the point?

scurryfunge · 03/01/2011 00:09

Perhaps she should think about getting a different job.

She is 19 and £500 rent a month is pretty good between them. We all lived on low wages until qualifications and experience allowed us to achieve more. She has an NVQ and does she really expect more pay?

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 00:11

could it be lower for under 21's to try and encourage them into further education/dissuade them from leaving school?

ninah · 03/01/2011 00:12

she has better prospects at a nursery than at asda. she can do level 3 then professional qualifications. If she loves what she does encourage her to train and progress. Childcare is a healthy industry atm.

mumcanihavearabbit · 03/01/2011 00:14

I work in childcare, level 3, and I am 25, the money is pathetic! All over childcare to be honest, really low.

Original poster
Chocolocolate · 03/01/2011 00:16

She does love what she does and has worked very hard at it. She has completed level 3.

I'm sure it will get better eventually but I still can't believe quite how little the national minimum wage is.

Why encourage all young people into university. Surely we also need childcare providers?

OP posts:
classydiva · 03/01/2011 00:19

Some people work at something because that is what they want to do, its a vocation and they arent in it for the money.

scurryfunge · 03/01/2011 00:20

University graduates are earning the same minimum wage at the moment, if they are lucky.

DurhamDurham · 03/01/2011 00:20

I think it would do more harm than good to raise the minimun wage, lots of small employers wouldn't be able to meet the costs and people would end up out of a job, or businesses would go under.

tethersend · 03/01/2011 00:22

It is a ridiculously low wage for childcare IMO- a skilled and important job. Children should be more valuable than tins of beans.

TheMeow · 03/01/2011 00:23

And yet you don't get a discount on your taxes just because you are under 21.

This subject has really aggrieved me for years.

Well since I was 16 and was being paid bugger all compared to 18 year olds (who were being paid less than 21 year olds).

classydiva · 03/01/2011 00:24

scurry

depends on the degree they have taken, if they take a silly micky mouse one then more fool them.

those taking proper degrees that are worth something in the job sector can earn in excess of 100% more than a non grad worker.

a lot of banks wont take someone without a degree.

ninah · 03/01/2011 00:24

Good for her. I still think there is a future in childcare. If she is already level three she is doing fantastically. Childcare is bloody hard work (inc paperwork) for relatively low pay BUT I believe that it's a good platform for a career if you are good at it. I know lots of people that are great with children but scared by paperwork - so if she's a 3 she's conquered that one. How about moving into an early years unit? teaching? I think you should be v proud of her actually. I am a graduate in a different discipline who retrained in this field and respect to her, incl making the flat their own she sounds great

Original poster
Chocolocolate · 03/01/2011 00:25

Why is it, that it is legal to pay a younger person less money to do the same job?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 03/01/2011 00:25

Don't think it should be legal to pay younger less. A minimum wage should be just that.

ninah · 03/01/2011 00:27

sorry to answer your question yanbu
same job same cash! thanks expat I was wandering off in admiration of dsil

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 00:28

childcare costs have to be less than wages or else tehre would be no sense in people working, that's why childcare is so low paid.

Original poster
Chocolocolate · 03/01/2011 00:28

Thanks ninah she is great. She struggled with the paperwork initially but worked hard. She even helped my DNan who has been child minding for 25years complete her newly necessary paperwork.

OP posts:
scurryfunge · 03/01/2011 00:29

I agree that it depends on the degree taken but there are too many degrees these days that are more micky mouse than anything else. I also have many graduates entering my profession who earn the same as the average 19 year old without qualifications.

WimpleOfTheBallet · 03/01/2011 00:29

Childcare should be one of those things for which people are VERY well paid...it's a majorly important job! Like caring for the sick...

mamatomany · 03/01/2011 00:31

Before minimum wage came into effect people were paid the same at 16 as at 21, I know because I was a waitress at 16 and somebody tried to take my tips off me and the manager pointed out I was on the same crap wages as she the much older woman was.

ILoveItWhenYouCallMeBoo · 03/01/2011 00:33

i agree wimple but people aren't going to pay out more than they earn. it doesn't make financial sense to work for a loss.

A1980 · 03/01/2011 00:33

When I started out as a trainee solicitor in my mid twenties, my salary was £13,000 per year which was law society minimum at the time.

I had a degree and post grad law school under my belt and a heap of debt to repay.

She's 19, in her first job with an NVQ in childcare as her qualification. YABU. I see well qualified older graduates earning similar.