Child labour

[ThankYouVeryMuch]

I’ve name changed as this might be outing and I don’t want it linked to my other posts.

I saw a job ad on Facebook that specifically asked for under 16 year olds, the pay was £4 per hour rising to £4.50 after 4 weeks “training” so I commented on it asking why only 14-16 year olds could apply and I got loads of replies saying along the lines of some kids don’t know how lucky they are, £4 is a good wage etc.

IABU to not believe that some people think like this, it’s obvious the company only want kids so they don’t have to pay them much and can keep more profit for themselves and that just because you didn’t earn much when you were young doesn’t mean kids shouldn’t be paid the minimum wage?

Is that legal? I hate companies with shabby ethics, I wouldn't use this one.

I don’t think you can specify an age without a good reason, so you could ask for applicants over 18 to work in a nightclub but I don’t think you can ask for young people just because you don’t want to pay much. And minimum wage is £4.20 for under 18s so I think the “trading period” is a bit dodgy.

What was the job? This could easily be a way for someone to make social media contact with teenagers - very dubious indeed.

It was a production line type of job, but I couldn’t see any reason it couldn’t be done by someone of any age. I think you could be right @Pengggwn

Sometimes businesses work with organisations providing training and work experience ls nad there are requirements attached because of the funding. It doesn't have to be sinister. Some businesses do it to save some money and have cheap workforce, not good. Some do it because they want to help young ones get the work experience and better chances when they will be entering the fight for full time jobs. Was it as an apprentice? The wage is lower because someone has to allways be with them.

@OftenHangry they didn’t make any reference to any kind of training organisations or apprenticeship and it was described as putting their product into the packaging so I seriously doubt it would give them any transferable skills other than turning up on time and doing what they’re told.

It's either perves or cheapskates in my opinion

I can't see why a fifteen year old would need 'work experience' at this level. They're going to be in education until 18 anyway, so there really isn't a need for it.

That does sound bit dodgy. Report them. If they are fine, they won't get into trouble. If they are not... Well, they deserve it.
Most places don't actually mention the organisations they work with.

@pengggwn Many leave school early and even if they stay until 18 it is always good to have something on your CV since that gets you ahead of the crownd and gives you advantage against competition. Same goes if they want part time jobs before finishing school

I got my first job at 16 and that was about 20 years ago and I think I was paid £4 an hour then!

I just can’t really understand the mindset some people have of “I didn’t earn £4 and hour when I was young so kids now should just suck it up”.

OftenHangry

They don't need jobs packing for people too cheap to pay the minimum wage. It's very unlikely to be about giving poor, disadvantaged children a leg up, and almost definitely about cheap labour.

@OftenHangry I’m not really sure who I should report them to though?

My DS recently went for a job in a cafe not asking about the pay until he arrived. The owner told him it would be £15 for 9 hours work which I thought was pretty bad considering he's almost 17. Don't think it worked out any more than around £1.60 an hour which when he factored in his bus fare there and back he'd only really be getting £1 an hour. He accepted the job not thinking and called back to decline when I told him it seemed a bit low. I do think some places employ under 18s as they don't need to be paid as much considering this owner had a few 13-15 year olds working there too.

If you feel it is dodgy, age discrimination or anything else. And as someone pointed out, it's below Nmw if it wasn't an apprenticeship.

On what grounds are you considering reporting though?

Year 2018
£7.83 - 25 and over
£7.38 - 21 to 24
£5.90 - 18 to 20
£4.20 - Under 18
£3.70 - Apprentice

goldfish I would be reporting that £1.60 to the local council BUT tips are included as wages - that's how they get away with low rates

@NewYearNewMe18 I’m the grounds of age discrimination and paying below the minimum wage, but I think you have to be personally affected to complain to the authorities.

@goldfish1980 £15 for 9 hours work!? That’s got to be a joke! Surely no one would work for that?

I think some people look at teenagers and genuinely think they should work for £2 an hour, maybe because they had to?

You don't have to be personally affected. You can really just report them for this ad. IMHO it's despicable when businesses pay below minimum wage and they should be reprimanded and shamed for it.

Bear with me on my thought process whilst I think this through …. right so there are established rates of minimum wage pay dependent on age, yes? So, whats to stop an employer advertising a job at a set wage without specifying an age?

School age children (so 15 and under) are not entitled to the national minimum wage and employers don’t have to log them on payroll or make NI contributions on their behalf. We employ 2 where I work though they are paid £5 ph for light cafe type duties on short 4 hr shifts, pretty sure they’re not allowed to work 9 hour days though!

@NewYearNewMe18 if someone older that your advertised rate of pay applied you couldn’t legally not give them the job because of their age and if you gave them the job you’d have to pay them the legal minimum for their age bracket, of course you’d have to be pretty stupid to outright tell someone you weren’t employing them because of their age!

The owner also advertised it for people "school age" as a Saturday and Sunday job and to be honest most of the waitresses are young teenagers. She must have been trying her luck because I don't honestly believe anyone would work for that either.