to think that actually this was illegal and they wouldn't get away with it now?

[PalmaRossa]

Years ago when I was a teenager I had a weekend job working in a clothing chain. Frequently if we were doing a stock take or the manager wanted any store re-arranging to be done, we would be locked in the store after work and the doors would remain locked until we had finished the job, with no one allowed out. This was in the days before mobile phones and obviously we weren't allowed to use the work phones.

I remember on one occasion I worked an extra day during college holidays to help with a stock take, and again we were locked in. My parents were away overnight and I was staying at home with my 15 year old sister, but I didn't actually get home until 2am despite my shift finishing at 9pm as we had all been locked in, and my sister was upset and worried that something had happened to me.

Of course, as a naive teenager I just accepted it but if one of my DCs had a job as a teenager that locked them in I would go absolutely ballistic and would probably cal the police. They wouldn't get away with it nowadays though would they?

DottySpotty2

Well, I can beat that, I think. My first job paid £297 per year! (Yes, a good few years ago) and when I began to temp after my DCs were born, my hourly rate with Manpower was 48p ph but rose (I was so pleased) to 50p ph.

And I still have the payslips.

My first job paid me (at 16) £2.10 an hour working on the checkouts in a supermarket. Every now and then all the staff were forced to stay for another 3 or 4 hours to do the stocktake after the shop was shut. We were paid, so no complaint about that, but I weren't so keen on walking home at 11pm at night on my own.

I think young people are taken advantage of at work sometimes. My boss withheld pay at Xmas time for me as some kind of punishment for pulling sickies (very bad behaviour I know, but I was 16!) and I don't believe he'd have tried that shit if I were a less naive adult.

I had a Sunday paper round when I was 12 (1998). It was a long round and the papers weighed a ton because of all the supplements. I had a shoulder bag but no trolley; the round took about an hour. I got paid £1.30!

Sarca: You didn't work for an outdoor adventure company by any chance? Similar acts were very common in the one I worked in in 2008! I remember having to clean out a set of lights in a cabin block, got given a step ladder and told to get on with it, nobody else with me, couldn't reach the lights so had to climb on the cabin fences to reach and each time you opened one hoardes of dead flies and moths would fall out.

And on more than one occasion I'd be up in the night due to the kids but would still have to work at 8am the next morning! Sods.

The wage in those places is £80 a week even now, and you're expected to work at least 45hours a week, though many people worked 60+!

A year or so ago when i was a student i worked for a catering agency. We got sent out to various places for work. One of them used to have us workin 12 hour shifts with no breaks or anything to eat and we werent allowed to even sit down in the back. We werent paid to sit down apparently.

We also often had 16 year olds workin til very late at niht/mornin which im sure isnt legal either. I didnt dare say anything because i needed the money so badly. Well i did tell my boss but she just said to get on with it. again...she got comission i think.

My G key isnt working very well...im sure you can tell.

I used to get picked up at 3am by the market man in his big van, we'd drive to Margate or wherever and set up the stall.
he'd go off to the pub and I'd stand serving (selling shoes) til 2pm. For £10

This was in the 8o's

A friend of mine used to do that as well

You are asking if it was lawful to imprison somebody against their will? what do you think?

Confused, your story sounds familiar to me... Did we work for the same company? I look back on it as excellent preparation for working life. Ie, nothing's ever worse...

Ok, my friend works in a cafe. The other day the till was short £10. They couldn't establish who had either taken it/made the mistake, so they all had to pay an equal share of what was missing out of their wages.

Can they do this? When I worked in a shop a couple of years ago, any shortages were recorded and tracked, but we're just chalked up against the profits and we'd all get a slight bollocking and told to be more careful.

Sarco: I'm thinking we may have! Though saying that, there are a couple worse than the one I worked for (the leading one in the UK which is affectionately nicknamed Parents Get Lost!) I went for an interview with another, newer company who bent the truth at interview over pay, made my boyfriend at the time and I travel to Portsmouth for their training three weeks (unpaid) and then told boyfriend to go home as he was too qualified! He had an NVQ2 which meant they couldn't pay him the £60 a week they were offering for more hours than the aforementioned company.

I did love my time at the first company to be fair, it was great fun, but they are dodgy with pay, employee rights, uniforms and H&S at times! I have quite a few stories which could illustrate that! I am actually thinking of going back when my nanny jobs come to their natural end next summer for a season too, I must be insane

I didn't work for parents get lost, or in Portsmouth, but yes similar companies. I'm not surprised you're going back, I often consider it to... As although it's mental (and possibly illegal at times), there is also something truly wonderful about it . perhaps we need help??

There really is something brilliant about it! I'm not sure they'll take me back as I applied and got offered work three times since 2008, but I'd love it if they did! I think we may need serious help!