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?

It took my son all summer to find a job between his GCSEs and A levels. He started looking when he'd finished his exams, he already volunteered and wanted paid work. He eventually managed to get himself a Saturday job which started in September - you may want him to get a job but it's not easy. Most established companies have rules about employing 16 year olds, a lot of companies won't even entertain it.

*My son has just started his first day labouring today.

He finished GCSEs last Friday and has his prom this weekend.*

His employer is acting illegally if he is starting today.

Mine have worked 12 hours a week since the age of 16...more in the holidays

YABU. Fair enough a little part time thing selling ice creams or whatever but no one is going to hire a 16 year old for 8 weeks only, with no experience. It just doesn't work like that anymore. Even dog walking you need insurance for now and babysitting requires first aid and life saving certificates. They sure as hell shouldn't be going door to door washing cars now like we did when younger. I think the world has changed from how we recall it.

I work in a large supermarket, we used to take on summer temps but for some reason don't do it anymore.

Dd did some voluntering in the local library for the Summer Reading Challenge. But they had more volunteers than library clients most days!

Agree with pp that if OP's DC doesn't already have a job where they can pick up extra hours, they will struggle to get work over the summer unless it's a very touristy area with lots of seasonal work, or parents have connections who can facilitate va job for DC. I ended up volunteering in the summer after A levels as there was no paid work around. Teemp agencies generally want a lot of experience.

I think that temp jobs can be very hard to find in some areas. Unless demand goes up in the summer as it might do in a tourist area why would they employ a 16 year old for six weeks when they can employ someone who is older permanently and just make them redundant when they don't need them anymore. It's not as if people have any employment in this country for the first two years.

It's not as if people have any employment rights in this country for the first two years.

Nobody is saying that finding a bit of part time work is impossible (though it's not as easy as in the past). I think people are just reacting to OP's unreasonable expectations and pointing out the difficulties they/their DC have had.

But that's my point @Sakura7. People are equally out of touch with the job market if they get to "finding a bit of part time work" and their imaginations stop there.

Who says that full-time work is one job with one employer? The employment market has changed and it is much more about stringing the part time jobs together, and filling in the gaps in an enterprising way, to make a whole. The gig economy but more.

Who says that full-time work is one job with one employer? The employment market has changed and it is much more about stringing the part time jobs together, and filling in the gaps in an enterprising way, to make a whole.

You are right that the employment market has changed but if anything that can make it harder to string together part time jobs rather than easier. Many people are on casual contract where their hours change from week to week and the employers expect to dictate what those hours are i.e you may only get a few hours work but you are expected to be available 24/7.

YABU. I think that generally most 16 year olds should have some form of part time job, but full time in their holidays? Why? They have their whole adult life for work, let them enjoy their freedom for a little longer. Plus, it's not that easy to be honest, so I can't imagine he would be able to find a full time job anyway.

Ds turned 16 today and has been applying for lots of jobs since he finished his GCSEs a week ago. He's had no luck so far - I will encourage him to re-apply now he's actually 16 but many places aren't interested until they are 17+

Plus, he's competing with all the uni students etc home for the holidays. I can't fault his commitment but it isn't like it was in my teens when you could just walk into a job from the age of 15!

If he gets something, great. If he doesn't I'll have to suck up the financial hit for a summer and encourage him to have fun with his mates and enjoy his freedom. And then next summer he can work!

Knew it wouldn't be long before someone mentioned "snowflakes". 😂 Very few people on this thread are advocating coddling a 16yo; they're mostly pointing out the realities of trying to get a job at that age (or most ages!) nowadays.

I'd be gobsmacked if a 16yo could walk into a temp agency with no experience and get FT work for the summer.

PT is perfect if they can find it, and as someone else said it will be useful when they start A levels to keep a weekend/evening job going. Every one of my friends had a job during sixth form - all in retail/hospitality - but none of us did full time work after GCSE's!

I didnt expect my DS to work but he chose to, did shelf stacking in supermarket during the summer and then after school and weekends once he went back, now my 15 yr old DD does Saturday work and afterschool at the hairdressers where she did her weeks work experience, her choice but i'm certainly happy she can now pay for the mountain of make up and hair products she wants 🤷🏼‍♀️

They will also have longer working lives than their parents so does one year not working really matter in the light of a whole lifetime

It's not even a year, it's a few weeks.

How does a 16 year old get a labouring job?
Not many 16 year old s are goung to have a valid CSCS card or be able to get one.
And I wouldn’t want my child to work for anyone who was going to pay cash in hand without one.

Another one saying that the world has moved on since you were in your summer holidays I just don't think you're being realistic or fair why shouldn't they get to enjoy some of the holidays they're only young once

*I didnt expect my DS to work but he chose to, did shelf stacking in supermarket during the summer and then after school and weekends once he went back8

Where I live shelf stacking is done during the night so the employees are all over 18.

I didnt expect my DS to work but he chose to, did shelf stacking in supermarket during the summer and then after school and weekends once he went back

Where I live shelf stacking is done during the night so the employees are all over 18.

Who says that full-time work is one job with one employer? The employment market has changed and it is much more about stringing the part time jobs together, and filling in the gaps in an enterprising way, to make a whole. The gig economy but more.

That is becoming more of an issue for some working adults, yes, but I'm not sure how this applies to a 16 year old looking for work in the summer holidays. They'll be doing well if they manage to get one part-time job, and they don't have any need to string 'gigs' together to make a whole at that age.

Also, many people in the gig economy are freelancers, remote workers, etc. To be able to do that you need solid experience to sell to your clients; a 16 year old just doesn't have that. It's hardly out of touch to suggest that their best bet is still to apply to shops, cafes, etc, but it does need to be recognised that those jobs are not as easy to come by as they once were.

You are right that the employment market has changed but if anything that can make it harder to string together part time jobs rather than easier. Many people are on casual contract where their hours change from week to week and the employers expect to dictate what those hours are i.e you may only get a few hours work but you are expected to be available 24/7.

Absolutely, Dungeon. Which is why I keep referring to being enterprising to fill in the gaps. Finding something that you can do as and when you have the time.

Sakura7

No a 16 year old probably doesn't need to string gigs together to make a whole at that age but they can if they want to.

You're still looking at it through too narrow a viewpoint. A job in a café could be one of the 'gigs'. As could mowing the neighbours lawn, doing a paper round, or coming up with a game and booking stalls at every local fete and fair over the summer. I wasn't suggesting they suddenly became a Deliveroo driver.

It's hard enough to find part time summer jobs. There aren't very many full time ones. Also, even if you could find one, I think you would be very unreasonable to force him to work full time during his holiday. It's meant to be a holiday - I assume he's been in, and will be going back to, education? Just let him relax and enjoy his summer! Poor kid.

The thing is, he isn't likely to get full time work for 8 weeks. there are people available for longer term full time hours at the sorts of jobs he will apply for, who are regularly given far fewer and wildly irregular hours at the whim of management who see them as Human Resources not individual people.

you might expect him to apply for work at all, but expecting him to be given anything more than part time hours, varying as to numbers and timings each week, but all of which will conflict with the few times you actually want him to be with the family for some reason, is much more reasonable.