AIBU to be pissed off with my employee?

[Fueledwithfairydustandgin]

I have very recently employed a new girl to help with my horses. She wasn't quite what I was looking for in the level of her experience but I liked her and maybe saw a bit of myself in her and decided to hire her and train her on the job. This isn't totally ideal in that I'm busy and this is another drain on my time. It's being going ok but on Tuesday she contacted me to let me know she wouldn't make it in due to the snow. I was a bit annoyed because it wasn't that bad and I could have picked her up from the village as I've done before to save her mum (who drops her off as she doesn't drive). It meant I was left with a yard full of animals in the snow and a toddler on my own. She has just contacted me to say she won't be in this weekend because she went to her granny's to help her out with her horses (45mins away, we live 10 tops) and is now snowed in there. My PILs have just driven home via that way no trouble. I am worried because she needs lots of training which I'm loathe to do if she's going to be unreliable. She wants to bring a horse here which I'm happy with except I would have had yet another animal to look after. I'm worried I will seem like an unreasonable bitch if I sack someone for not turning in when the weather has been so horrific but I feel the whole thing has been a bit unprofessional.

She sounds completely unreliable. I started working part time as a waitress at 14. Got myself to and from there, even at 12.30 am and walked the half hour home in all weather's or paid for my own taxi. She clearly could of got there, had she wanted to, that is evident from the fact she got to her grans further away and in worse weather.

Her parents may not even know you expected her, she could of said you told her not to go in.

Id be having a word saying you find it disappointing she made it to her grans further away in worse weather but doesn't appear dedicated enough to make it to work. You are now doubting her commimtment and are concerned she wont be as reliable as what you need an employee to be.

I agree with Penggwn.
If the roads are dangerous the best option is for the OP to collect her employee if she is able to.
Employees should not need to risk life and limb to get to work. The horses were not left to fend for themselves because the OP was there.

Her response when I had a proper sit down conversation with her abut what has happened (once the snow is cleared) would tell me whether I should keep her on or let her go.

Surely that shoudl be your first step? Wouldn't you want an employer to give you the courtesy of a warning / chance to explain yourself before firing you?

Not caught up yet, but biker of course it depends on the situation.

The horse industry, at every level, expects far more experience and responsibility for a lower wage than a comparable role in almost every other industry. Good employers do their best to pay the highest wage possible and offer lots of perks to try and compensate, and good employees do accept it as just the way the industry is.

However bad employers do take advantage of the general low wage culture to pay teens the same as they'd get in retail or catering, whilst expecting dedication more in line with a £20k salary.

Not to mention that the horse industry has much higher standards for what is considered experienced. A teen with several years knowledge of working in catering every Saturday would be considered as reasonably competent for their age, whereas one with several years of weekly riding and helping at a riding school is a beginner in terms of employment standard.

Clearly op doesn't fit into the group that pay peanuts and expect a standard more akin to a managers role elsewhere, so she does have a right to expect more.

I'm the mum of a 16 year old who works with horses. She dropped out of school and, as long as she is doing something (in her case working part time), there are no sanctions from the authorities that she is not in education or training. From a parent's point of view it's really difficult. We are in a rural area and I have to drive DD to all her jobs (she has 3 pt jobs as well as ad hoc yard work) as well as fitting in my own work and looking after my other children. DD has two horses of her own which also have to be looked after.

If your employee will be 17 soon and able to take lessons and afford a car then you may find everything resolves itself (only a few months for us - can't wait!!) otherwise you may have to accept that a 16 yo will still be reliant on her family for lifts for a little while longer. Only you know whether this particular employee is worth the wait.

I skim read the responses apart from OP so I'd say I'm repeating a few others.
I would have a frank conversation with her about your expectations. Working with livestock is a responsibility and you need to be able to rely on her. If you can't rely on her you'll have to let her go.
With this week's weather, it was an unusual situation. That doesn't make it acceptable, but more understandable, maybe her parents really didn't want her going out in that weather and put their foot down.
Have the conversation and set a clean slate. Hopefully she'll repay your faith.

I'm another with a DD who started working with horses at 16, I would second the need for a chat. You need to spell out what you need in terms of reliability and also the opportunities open to her if she does a good job. It sounds as if working for you could be a really good way into the horse industry for her (assuming that's what she wants) but in your position I would want to ensure she was committed to the role before investing a lot of time in her. Would her horse be on DIY? Because then she would need to be up twice a day to see to it whether or not she was working.

If she’s reliant on lifts then to some extent she doesn’t have control over whether she gets to you or not. So not only do you have to worry about her reliability but that of her family. What happens when her parents go away for a few days, feel unwell or have other plans?

She just sounds a bit too young for the role. You sound as if you need someone more experienced and with the means to be there and get on with the job. By all means discuss it with her but if her mum made her go and help granny then decided to stay on you are stuffed. Snow may be exceptional ( maybe not where you live) but family commitments not.

I would wait for the snow to clear and then see what her work / commitment is like. Have a chat with her about your expectations. Sometimes when dealing with a young employee you also need to speak to the parents.

OP, when you have your chat with her, make your expectations really clear. Being young and new to the world of work can lead to a skewed view of what is acceptable professional behaviour. I've seen young trainees improve drastically when someone senior sets out firmly and politely exactly what they expect of them (that has usually been lacking thus far). They're not always doing it because they are lazy or uncaring - they sometimes just need to be told!

If she continues to piss take after that, you have your answer.

Snow has gone. How are things @Fueledwithfairydustandgin