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 have a 16 year old and if somebody exploited her, I would intervene yes. It's getting too common. An interview is now a 6 hour shift! ha! convenient.
I keep hearing about this lately, and I never hear of anybody getting a job that they enjoy out of it.

Help her write a letter demanding her pay. They can post or wire it. If they don't pay; report them.

I would go with her, however, I would not be having a meeting- I would be doing it in public in the restaurant 'hi so and so, just here to collect the £20 unlawful deduction of wages which you are late paying and owe, while we're at it, the public transport cost x'. Nice and breezy. If they refuse, 'yes, only to happy to have a meeting in private, very busy though today, just let me make a quick call to ACAS first to let them know it's still an issue as I've already spoken about this with them and named the company then will be right with you. Such a shame a simple matter has come to this'.

Yes, absolutely go with her.
I don’t understand why you’d consider not too if you know she’s worried.

She did. Yesterday.

And got a result. Yesterday.

Had a similar problem with daughter working at a fairly local gastro pub many years ago when she was about 16/17 they took total advantage of her and basically ended up not paying her for 6-7 weeks gruelling work- I kept on trying to do something to help her but she asked me not to as she wanted to sort it out herself..... in the end they obviously were totally exploiting her and I moved in at her request- got it sorted like only a grown up/mother can! In days! What rubbish some of these employers are!

Bastards. I think I'll advise my DD not to agree to any unpaid work unless it's genuine work experience (where she isn't doing the work of an employee).

This isn't the first time I've heard of this. I'd accompany her and make sure she gets the £20. I don't agree with those saying to chalk it up to experience, she deserves that money and that's like saying they can have free labour and that's not a small amount of money. Considering what she had to do to get it in that place she well deserves it.
The industry is full of places like this, the chains are no better, anywhere they think they can get away with not paying people they will.
Promise to go public if they don't cough up. The threat of bad publicity will make them cough up especially as they're a small business,they can't afford the negative press.

i hate shit like this. absolute liberty. let me know where this restaurant is.i willbe there biggest nightmare of a customer. happily

Read the update, well done.
The meal thing I've never heard of!
Unfortunately unpaid trials are the norm now and it's not a rite of passage at all,these companies want you to think that so they can get away with it.
Glad to hear she got the money and some extra too!

I am glad you went with her!

Well done for getting her paid!

I am in my forties, but I had a similar situation when I was a teen! I also made my dad come with me to collect wages as I was too afraid to go alone as a male owner had also had me clean under tables on my hands and knees whilst sat behind me...

I’d previously been a customer of this ‘restaurant’... I never went in again after making my dad help me end any ties to it!

Go with her to support her but let her do all the talking. Bring the mama bear out only if needed 😉

Oops sorry just read that she got the money. 👍🏼😊

They're getting free labour and are using the 'meeting' to make your daughter feel anxious about turning up so she doesn't show and they keep their money. Dear knows how many other kids they're doing this with too. Not for the sake of £20 but for them to realise this is not appropriate and the threat that you will be taking it further, I think you should go. This is more about you showing your daughter how to deal with situations which are just plain wrong- without you there, she isn't going to learn that.

I would definitely go along. Tell them you are there to help your daughter learn to spot life's arseholes and to make sure they don't try to put the blame on her for their lack of morality.

Name and shame!

Now that she's got the money and a real, paying job at a better place, you really should name and shame.

Plus you should contact Stewart Macdonald with more evidence for his campaign.

Go. Get the money. Give them hell. Support your daughter. It doesn't solve any of the long-term problems of restaurants treating the voiceless like this etc but I wish my mum had done it for me thirty years ago!

Just read the update!

Send a letter telling them unless they send a cheque before the end of the week she is going to put a claim into the employment tribunal for all of the shifts. It will cost them a lot more than £20 to defend it and is literally a form. Fuckers. Then contact acas.

Alternatively plaster it all over social media. I would boycott somewhere that behaved like that.

Don't send your daughter anywhere on her own. She is at a vulnerable age.

Send them a letter saying "from now on I promise to read all OP updates in a thread before replying".

You should back her up, it's sounds to me like they're using her youth against her and will likely bully her into just going away without being paid. You'll still be helping her in the long run.

Having read through several pages of comments, I now see that the issue was resolved. Good, sounds like OP and DD handled it very well, I hope those crappy employers get their comeuppance. It's shameful how some employers are exploiting younger workers.

All these companies should be named and shamed; HMRC does in the media. Years ago when working in a rural Scottish fishing and shooting hotel I dobbed them in to what was then the Wages Council as I did the wages and knew that no one was getting the right amount; we all got a very nice amount of enforced back pay. 😁 I'm now wondering where the OP's rural Scottish rip off merchant is so I can avoid them.