To expect my 16 yr old to get full time work for the summer?

[whatthewhatthewhat]

At least 8 weeks until they go back to school for A-Levels. I worked full time at that age. AIBU to think they should get a job for the summer?

Encourage rather than expect? Daily nagging about getting a job when young nearly ruined my DH's relationship with his family. They were very wealthy but just thought he 'should' be working, despite the difficulty of getting decent work at that age.

NCS is brilliant.
Not just because it costs a maximum of £50 to keep the little darlings busy for a month

There are rules on hours and breaks for 16 year olds, so difficult to employ full time. My lot found a bit of hotel restaurant work at that age which they continued to do at xmas easter. DS has worked one shift every weekend in term time for the last two years which is more than enough when they are studying for A levels. It has been good for him confidence wise and given him his own money

NCS is ace. Lack of part time jobs here means her highness the princess of GHD wouldn't be getting out of bed till noon and demanding entertainment money for entertainment without it.

@adaline

Yes, I'm sure you're right. I can imagine that a lot of the jobs would be for the over 18s. I simply don't know - I've just noticed that there are always loads of shops with ads in the window offering jobs.

My hairdresser can't get anyone to wash people's hair, for example. There's a constant ad in the window and it's a lovely salon. Other hairdressers have ads up all the time too, e.g. offering training etc.

The thing is, where I live it's like that, but that is possibly very rare nationwide - each area's different due to so many factors of course.

Every 16 year old I’ve ever known gets a job after their GCSEs to save up some money! Doesn’t necessarily have to be full time though but it’s certeinly good for them IMO.

I worked before, during and after my GCSE’s and really enjoyed earning my own money. My partners were terrible with money. My younger siblings don’t have the same ethic though. My brother literally did nothing all summer and my younger sister who has just finished doesn’t want a job!

There are so many summer jobs where I live as I live in a touristy area.

YABU let him enjoy his youth. I joined the navy at 16 after my GCSE’s. Like other posters say, he’s got the rest of life to work and be part of the ‘machine’. Surely some part time work and fun with friends is ok?

@ineedtogotobedanyway

Actually, I have seen the same as Lazypuppy in the area where I live: loads of shops, hairdressers and cafés offering jobs with ads in the windows.

Not sure why you think people would lie about it?

I'm willing to believe that in your area it isn't the case, if that's what you say.

Not many areas are touristy though.

I'm in London and there are very few jobs for 16 year olds entering the market aftwr GCSE.

Said before, end of August/September is the time to apply. Waitrose are the goal of most kids, same pay as the adults and a bonus during the year !

@Magicroundabout321

That poster hasn't seen cards in windows.

@ineedtogotobedanyway

Oh, you're right sorry - in my mind I hadn't properly differentiated seeing ads in windows vs job adverts eg online. Lazypuppy didn't specify the type of ad.

Anyway, just wondering whether this website might be useful:

www.e4s.co.uk/jobs/1-top-jobs-under-18s.htm

I manage a wedding and Events venue. I have hired 16yr olds in the past, and will be interviewing several 16yr olds for the current vacancies I have.
I am under no illusions that no 16yr old wants a career as a waiter, and that 95% of them do not want a job in any area of hospitality.
I have incredibly low expectations of my summer workers, they need to be of a cheery disposition, and able to carry a plate!
I have just trawled through 85 email applications for a zero hour contract for the summer months.
My best advice would be to make their CV stand out. Obviously they won't have any employment history, but a little bit of character goes a long way.
There is no chance you will find anyone offering a full time job to these young people due to all the reasons mentioned earlier in the thread

My hairdresser can't get anyone to wash people's hair, for example

Hairdressers are usually looking for permanent juniors though - not a random with no interest in hairdressing, and not just for six weeks. I guess you could lie.

I always worked ! Got my first Saturday job aged 14
As a student I did bar work , factory cleaning , canteen work , even toilet cleaning
It was really character building and meant I was able to get a job fairly easily as I had experience if behaving in a workplace and turning up on time
Don’t get me wrong I did get fired quite a few times ! But I knew how to work as well as study
My kids will be made to learn this too , I hope

That said I had minimal worries about the future at that age and no bloody social
Media to contend with

I literally had NO worries and was relatively sanguin about what the future would hold

Is it worse For kids now ? I truly don’t know the answers

I would have given people an eyeroll if they suggested I get a job after GCES as in 'how?' since my summer birthday was the kiss of death for anything barely decent.

I did miss losing half my Saturdays on my crappy factory job but at least I have something resembling an income though and they let me off during my A - Level exams.

The salon hair washer one though a 16/17 year old can’t do as they can’t work with chemicals unless strictly supervised. So no washing bleach or colours off. 18 plus interested in working in a salon have probably done beauty or hair at college and can get better than a hair washer. Yes I’m the past kids washed chemicals off, some salons may turn a blind eye but if I was trying to run a reputable business I wouldn’t chance employing a kid. Anyone could walk in as a customer and report you and if the kid gets burnt the salon could face a claim and wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.

Mines been trying to find a Saturday job for a while now, it’s next to impossible

He’s also doing NCS and is going to Berlin in 2 weeks with school.

I think he deserves a bit of a break after how hard he’s worked on his exams

@Magicroundabout321 I'm a retail manager and we very rarely employ under-18's. The reasons are generally as follows:

• training people is expensive and time consuming. There is no point is doing that for someone who, for the vast majority of the year, is only going to be able to work 1-2 days a week (we don't open in the evenings so after school jobs are impossible). It's simply not cost-effective.

• we have other, older candidates who already have years of retail experience and who therefore don't need as much training or monitoring.

• lots of tasks are age-restricted to some extent - hiring a 16yo then means they can't do everything the job requires, meaning we still need to hire over 18's for all those shifts too.

• our hours generally aren't compatible with school children. Our core hours are 10-6 during the week and there isn't the option to only work a half day or a few hours in the evening. We also don't offer zero hour contracts so employees need to commit to a minimum of x days/hours per week on a permanent basis.

For us anyway, it makes very little financial or business sense to hire someone under the age of 18.

All the people posting when I was a lad just don’t get the world and law has changed. Yes some 16/17 year olds can do something but every one I know recently has needed to turn 18 before MacDonalds etc would give them a 0 hours contract. My friend’s daughter was expected to work late at night/ through the night at MacDonalds, she could because she was 18 but a younger child legally can’t. If you are a manager with a 24 hour drive through to man it’s much easier to just have 18 yr olds who can work more hours, need less breaks, use chemicals etc.

Is getting a full time job that easy for a 16 year old?

Please don’t be like my mum. I did odd jobs from about 12 to raise money to go on holiday with school. At 15 I got a Saturday job, and I worked full time during the schools hols at 16, working part time all school year (a level year) My results weren’t as good as expected (no shit. I was working 20 hours a week and doing 4 a levels.

In the summer holidays I worked 830-530 in an office, and then in a shop 3 evenings and all weekend. I remember I took a days (unpaid) holiday from my day job and my mum went apeshit that I was being lazy and not out earning money. Meanwhile she had been a SAHM my entire childhood.

I didn’t end up with a brilliant work ethic or stellar career due to all that work. Just anxious and depressed with low self esteem due to never being good enough

Until I read your post, I had no idea how angry I was about this.

Retired teacher here. I think part time work over summer is best. They need both time to recharge their batteries over the summer and also, if possible, the chance to earn some pocket money so that they can have some fun/clothes ext without hard pressed parents having to constantly provide.

However parents/students need to beware focusing too much on earning once term starts. Students who had one day's work in year 12 ...Saturday or Sunday ...usually did well if they put the homework/study in on the other day. Unfortunately I found that students who worked more than this struggled with the academic work load. Realistically ...working more than this just didn't leave enough study time at A level and some didn't stay the course. Some worked weekends and some evenings as well and they and their parents were totally surprised when the couldn't pull out good results with a little bit of last minute revision as clever students had sometimes managed this at GCSE level. Sadly some good students missed out on university and a professional career for a little extra spending money.

People of aged 16-18 are not always very wise or foresighted and need guidance from parents about getting the right work/study/fun balance.

People of aged 16-18 are not always very wise or foresighted and need guidance from parents about getting the right work/study/fun balance.

Indeed, and unfortunately (as evidenced on this thread) many parents are pretty clueless themselves.

Mammylamb Sorry you had such a horrible experience, you have every right to be angry.

I hope the suggestion of charging a 16 year old rent to live in their family home was not serious. They are school children at that age not adults. It's a basic part of parenting to house, feed etc your kids. No issues with a part time job to pay for extras but not basics like a roof over their head.

I understand where you're coming from but I'm in my early 20's and know how hard I found it to find anything at 17. Please be easy on him- finding work for that time scale will be hard!

That, and the interview process might take a month-6 weeks