To make daughter face her bosses on her own

[krustykittens]

I'll try to be brief! My teenage DD approached a family-run restaurant that was looking for waiting staff and was told that she should come in for an unpaid trial and they would let her know. She did, they called her after and offered her a shift, she turned up for it and was told after three hours, when the rush was over, "Oh, this is another trial, unpaid, you can go home now." She wasn't happy but was desperate to land her first job, so when they offered her another shift, which she confirmed would be paid, she went in and again was told to go home after a couple of hours as the boss's son had turned up and wanted to work. Then, for three weeks, they didn't call her in for another shift, just kept telling her they had no work. A friend told her of a job going at a place she was working in and she got it, did three shifts last weekend. The old place owe her 20 pounds and didn't pay it into her account, instead they told her to come into work tomorrow (an hours journey by public transport) to pick it up and have a meeting with them. They have a track record for being unpleasant as bosses, which she knew before she applied for the job, but she said she would ignore it if it meant getting her first job. Now she is scared they are going to get nasty with her and wants me to come with her. They haven't a bloody leg to stand on with her as far as I am concerned and I think she should just go in and face them and tell them, calmly, that yes, after being left high and dry by them and treated fairly shabbily, she has found another job. She has to learn to be an adult and do things without me at her side. But she is worried sick about tomorrow - should I offer to stand outside the restaurant and go in if she calls me on the mobile to back her up? She is only a kid and these people love to power trip, which is why they are demanding she do a 2 hour round trip for twenty bloody quid! I'll be honest, part of me wants to walk in like Clint Eastwood and demand her money on her behalf! I am driving her in partially because I can do some shopping in the town, partially because I don't want to give these arse holes the satisfaction of wasting her whole morning when she is meant to be revising for exams!

I think it’s a good lesson in life that there will be people like this, but sometimes your energy is not used writing every wrong. You’re best off putting that energy into the next job, the next bigger and better things & making yourself stronger. That’s a better lesson about resilience and saving her precious time and energy for people that are worth it and bigger issues. Their consequence is that they lack integrity and they’ve taught her a 20 pound lesson on who not to be or associate with.

Well done krusty, and great for flagging it up so others don't fall for the same line. Good on you, and your DD for telling them what you thought and getting her pay. Justice is served.

Tell her to send an email advising that she should be paid for ALL hours worked and that is her statutory right whether she agreed to a free trial or not. It's unlawful and also a breach of the national minimum wage regulations. Give them 7 days to pay and if not call ACAS. it will make her feel good and they are in the wrong.not your daughter. She doesn't need to be put in a vulnerable situation by going to a meeting x

Nasty fuckers. I think your daughter should go and you go with her. They won’t be expecting you. I’ve come to notice that many employers treat young people like shit and seem to think they can get away with it. My daughter had a similar experience with a media company. She’s also currently on a zero hours contract with a well known clothing retailer who will give her 24 hours notice of a shift and then expect her to sort out cover if she can’t work it leaving her quite anxious and upset!!!

Sorry, I pride myself on RTFT and hate when people do what I have just done - answer the OP and don't read the updates. I'm only half here and not concentrating.

I would write them an email or letter so that there is clear evidence that they owe money.

Dear sir

Further to our recent communication with you it isn’t possible for me to come in and collect the £20 wages that are due to me, therefore please could I request that these be paid (how ever you want it paid that doesn’t involve a wasted journey).

Thank you for the opportunity to meet with you, however I have found employment elsewhere and therefore I do feel that a meeting would not make the best use of yours or my time.

Please forward monies owed to me within 7 days.

Many thanks

Name

As a secondary teacher I think making kids stand on their own two feet is great, but this already isn’t a fair fight. Getting her to write a letter means she is standing up for herself without having to risk a confrontation. If they refuse to pay then I would take it further by contacting Citizens Advice. I know it’s only £20 but actually how many other kids have they done this to? And they have already conned her out of hours worked.

I would be sure to mention it in online reviews if they are not very nice. Customers are not keen on bullying bosses in restaurants ( aggrieved employees tend not to make a good atmosphere)

I am really pleased to read this outcome. I had a student who worked in MacDonald's in Northern Ireland and got to be experienced enough to train newcomers and was getting a goodish rate of hourly pay. She then came to London and needed to work to support her uni studies and got a job in Surbiton Mcdonalds. They paid her below the minimum wage as they classed her as a trainee and this went on for a long time. She was worried about having no job, so put up with it. I really wanted to make a complaint, but not my place to do so and I was worried it might make things difficult for her.

You should totally cancel the cheque, OP.

Part of me wants to say "just write it off" but as an HR professional, exploitation like this really pisses me off. If this was my DD I would contact ACAS and raise an early conciliation for breach of contract. Claim all of her unpaid hours, and accrued holiday. Additionally, she's entitled to terms and conditions in writing within the first month of joining. She also has to receive a payslip.

If this was in the centre of Glasgow (Merchant City) there's a very well known restaurant there that do this every year around this time. My own DD fell for it on the 1st night but didn't accept the 2nd shift as she realised they were absolute p... takers. I told my friends about it and they have all boycotted this establishment .

I would send them a message saying that it's not convenient to come in as you now have another job and just put it down to experience. But if you're prepared to go with her so she has an adult as a witness and to back her up then it might be worth her asking for the money.

My dsis had this not (even a teen) a company i cant quite remember what they did called her to do a trial day with them

She did it then heard nothing from them a couple of months later as she was still looking for work they phonedher again asking if she wanted to do another one! Clearly just to get free labour when they needed to cover a shift

This happened to me once and I went in with a friend to collect the money: they try this on with young people knowing full well they won’t call in for the cash. I think you should go with your daughter and don’t leave till they take the cash out of the till and place it in your hand. You won’t get any joy asking for a bank transfer with these chancers.

TinklyLittleLaugh
My oldest worked 3 days in Carluccios, she left as manager was horrendously rude (yes threw things at staff) she never got paid for those three days.

There is a website called Glass Door that’s the equivalent of Trip Advisor.

I wish I’d taken heed of the comments about a company I worked for.

Reading this thread makes me want to give a public shout out show of appreciation to the organisation that gave my two DD's their first job. But perhaps I shouldn't identify so I will say it is a small privately owned pub group with just four pubs in our area. I am very grateful that they have both had really positive, enjoyable first job experience with a company that values its employees.

I am also slightly smug with them that it is thanks to my twitter addiction they got the job.i saw they had a recruitment morning, updated wrote DD1's cv, dragged her out of bed whilst she was on GCSE study leave and pushed her through the door first thing. They offered her a trial shift (not sure if that was paid/unpaid) and she started work the next weekend. She matured so much, made some great friends among the slightly older students, had a wine tasting training day, learning about wine and how to present and upsale, they have regular staff incentives and she often won anything ranging from a bottle of her choice up to a meal for two at their smartest pub/restaurant. One of her friends won a weekend away. They have regular staff parties in one of the private bars in town. They're totally flexible about work so since leaving for uni she has emailed when she is home and grabbed a few random shifts. They always get a good meal on a long shift eg a Sunday roast. Yes it's minimum wage but they get good tips. And DD1 noticed a discrepancy (mistake) on her contract for a slightly higher hourly rate which she challenged and they honoured. And she was amazed and delighted to get paid annual leave.

All that said, the economy being what it is there are signs of being less generous these days, staff parties less frequent for example and prizes less generous.
Still, I am very grateful, they know what a decent employer looks like, they have learnt great people skills, how to negotiate and plan their shifts and lots of general hospitality skills and get a good reference thrown in.

I really feel for teens being exploited and having a miserable time. I know a duff job is a rite of passage but it's lousy for confidence and probably leads to much negativity rather than incentivising them to try for something better.

Well done OP and well done your DD who did everything right and stood up for herself. I hope she enjoys her new job.

I think i would just advise her as her mum that they should have paid her and to call them over the phone or email them and politely say "Well , I am really sorry but can't afford to work for free, which essentially I did in good faith that you'd pay me, which you did not, so I can't come to a meeting about a job when I need to pay for with no money (which u promised you'd pay me)& travel for an hour on a word I cannot trust in. I've been forced to get another job so I'm sorry I can't come. I hope you understand."
Why is advising her what to do bad? Is telling her they are being unfair and taking her for a ride bad parenting? I get that ypu want her to make her own decisions but she's not an adult yet and you need to set an example 4her to not be walked on 4 the rest of her life and she'll look 2u 2 help and guide her and kuds learn by example. Don't go with her just talk to her and tell her she owes them nothing.

Genuinley thought you lived near me and you were talking about where my cousin (though she's approaching her 50 and not so young) worked.

The woman there who owned it is horrendous. Almost every review on trip adviser and their facebook page is 'lovely food, but the manager/owner was incredibly rude' in varying forms.

My cousin quit midshift after the owner SCREAMED at her midshift for allowing a child to sit in the middle (she demands they're sat by the door as she doesn't like them in) and dressed her down and then starting on the family. The owner made it a full on performance in the middle of the cafe!

The way she's going, her reviews and the shitty responses to said reviews - I'll be surprised if she's still open come Christmas.

Glad it worked out for you OP, you are a heroine, I would have done the same and it’s part of life learning for your DD.

Mine had a shitty first job, but she did get paid! The shitty job gave her the CV experience to get a part time retail job in River Island which wasn’t brilliant as a career but for a sixth former was highly sought after.

this in turn helped her get her place at uni as a radiographer and she is now a fully paid up, professional member of the workforce, back to the bottom of band 5 NHS but with career prospects.

You are both great!

My MP (MP for Glasgow South) has tried to introduce legislation to ban unpaid work trials (having been given so many examples buy constituents and others of how it is abused for what is effectively slave free labour ), using a Private Members Bill.

The Conservatives filibustered it out but promised that they would look at addressing it . Of course they lied

He's continuing to campaign and naming and shaming those companies that do it.

OMG flashback. The same thing happened to me once upon a time. I went it and they managed to only give me half of what was promised. When my dad, waiting in the car, saw the pay envelope - he flew in on my behalf. I don't know what he said but he came back out with what was owed, plus tips. He said the bullies were terrified.

Honestly - if you're game, Id go in and get it for her and give them a piece of your mind if she's only young.

Still campaigning www.stewartmcdonald.scot/news/worktrialsontrial/one-year-on-mp-vows-to-step-up-campaign-against-unpaid-work/

He's currently calling out the BBC, who had promised that they would stop the practice last year yet are advertising for unpaid "volunteers" for Wimbledon www.stewartmcdonald.scot/news/worktrialsontrial/unpaid-work-mp-slams-bbc-director-general-for-lack-of-action/

I would write them a letter saying "I didn't RTFT"

That's interesting, thanks for posting that prettybird.