No one wants weekend work

[LastOrdersMaura]

My friend has a cafe. It's in a central location with a good bus route, cycle route and ten mins walk from a huge university campus.
Despite the jobs being on Indeed and advertised on a local job site, no one is applying. Or they apply but say 'is there any negotiation on the days?' Why doesn't anyone want weekend work anymore? I would have thought there would have been college students, Uni students, mums/ dads who can only work when partners are home, retired people who are bored. Why is it so difficult to recruit?

Given most people working in coffee shops around where I live and work used to be from continental Europe, I can only assume BREXIT is your answer. At the time of the vote it was always mentioned that post Brexit there would be no one to make your coffee, clean your house, look after you children, pick up your fruits and vegetables at the farm...
Project fear is now becoming a reality and people have to live with the consequences.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Paying more for 'antisocial' hours is standard. ha! No it isn’t, hasn’t been a thing since the 90s.

Exactly - it petered out when eastern European countries started entering the EU and travelling to the UK to work, because the huge influx of labour willing to work and hours at rock bottom pay meant there was zero competition for workers and employers were able to reduce what they offered.

Interestingly, this is filtering into degree-entry health care.

I'm a HCP, and since Brexit, along with an increasingly hostile government and rabble rousing red-top press dissing the NHS, and the removal of the NHS training bursary, all creating a perfect recruitment storm..... we're now recruiting 'variously trained' people from much further afield as the EU professionals have gone.

Our Trust has had to, over the years, offer incentives that go above and beyond Agenda For Change to attract and retain staff. They've now realised the 'new workers' will put up with any number of hours, any amount of short-staffing, any amount of coerced over-time, they don't demand training or competencies before undertaking any work; and they work agency on any days off. So they're stripping any perks out, like the guarantee you won't be rostered every weekend. And a HCA on site OOH so you're not lone working. And three people to given areas, now down to two. And incentivised pay to perform overtime lists. All gone.

The new workers are here purely to earn the cash to send home.They have little investment and no loyalty. Which is all understandable. But it has lead to an exodus of the old school staff as the additional extra 'perks' (if you call enhanced safety measures 'a perk'...) have been taken away (as the new staff will put up with anything); and the creation of a role of, effectively 'complaints handler' as the Datix pile up.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

There is a staff gap in ghe industry because lots of left. Bbc or guardian had articles on the effect of europeans leaving on hospitality. Maybe the people who used to tell me "pf, I wouldn't do this job" might change their mind? (Not joking, was told that number of times). Maybe not. It's not JUST about wages. I wasn't sneered at for working in takeaway place (not a chippy even, they get it much worse from customers because people just assume you are stupid) due to wages, but due to it being percieved as a low class job🤷🏻

And agree with indeed. Never had much luck there with hirees, but it was still SO much better than when we advertised on job centre site.

Has she put up poster on the door? That's how we always got ours. And post on our social media, of course. Also there are always some facebook local job groups.

Agree with uni careers centres. They can let students know.

It might not JUST be about wages during covid, but are you seriously telling me that you couldn't get toilet cleaners or washer-uppers for £1,000 a day? Of course you could. £999 a day - yes too. It is basic capitalism - the employer needs to keep upping the offered wages until someone says yes, and if they get to the "unprofitable" point before they have a willing worker then they have a terrible business model! (Or are working under a nasty form of extreme right wing capitalism that needs abolishing ;-) )

Admittedly I’m old and things may be totally different now but When I was at uni weekends weren’t a big deal. We were far more likely to go out to bars or clubbing on weeknights (much cheaper and just as busy in places popular with students). Weekends were when people did their part time jobs and I quite often stayed in on a Friday or Saturday night.

@Coconut2010

Given most people working in coffee shops around where I live and work used to be from continental Europe, I can only assume BREXIT is your answer. At the time of the vote it was always mentioned that post Brexit there would be no one to make your coffee, clean your house, look after you children, pick up your fruits and vegetables at the farm... Project fear is now becoming a reality and people have to live with the consequences.

I voted to remain, but maybe this is a good thing, and there will be plenty of work for students again? And they'll learn a work ethic.

Given they can't go overseas to work anymore unless they can find an EU passport down the sofa, it would be good if there was an abundance of student-type jobs in the UK for them.

@tattleandbagels

Recruitment for weekend jobs or worst including weekends is traditionally awful. People do not want to work weekends.

"People" don't. But 6th formers and students do. I had Saturday jobs from 15 to 18 (and occasionally worked Sundays if a shop was open or did weekday hours in the holidays), but when I went to uni it was the early 90s recession and there wasn't anything unless you'd eg worked in Woolworths at home and could get a transfer.

Having a Saturday job was normal, but I wonder whether the "family time" thing has put paid to that as the #blessed parents want to have quality time with the #famalam every weekend.

@FightingtheFoo

All the people who blame Brexit - so you think it's fine that the cafe owner isn't paying a decent enough wage for Brits but that if it hadn't been for Brexit that same shitty wage would be fine for Eastern Europeans? Isn't that incredibly racist?

I think it's more that people are saying that treating staff like shit is harder when you haven't got as many desperate people from much poorer countries in your potential workforce.

I don't see that as in any way supporting treating people badly.

It's both days of the weekend but 10-4

That’s why.

I don’t know anyone-either my friends when we were teens/students or my own kids’ friends who worked big chunks of both days every weekend. I bet you if they split it into Saturday OR Sunday with the option to work more in the summer holidays, they will fill the job.

but I wonder whether the "family time" thing has put paid to that as the #blessed parents want to have quality time with the #famalam every weekend.

or maybe teens and students are already doing so much, sports, hobbies, volunteering, coaching.. that they have less free time for minimum wage jobs that don't bring much on their CV.

Independent cafes round here put jobs wanted in their window and on facebook. It would not occur to me to look on Indeed for a minimum wage weekend job.

One more thing - just because you worked weekends 30 years ago it says little to nothing about what young people today want to do.

And whilst I agree with instilling a work ethic, it is also worth encouraging "working smart" which, IMHO means things like working hard at school or uni in order to achieve the best pay in the mid to long term, and not working your arse off for a stingy minimum wage boss for a trivial short term income boost.

FWIW I had my first job aged 12 - literally shovelling literal shit for £2 an hour for two hours on a sunday.

I have kids. Childcare is hard. I’d work weekends if I was paid a weekend bonus. Which seems fair as places can be busier on the weekend.
Tips are not a sufficient bonus.

When I was a student I found it impossible to get a job because they wanted you to work all year, but my rent was only for term time. If she wants students she might have to show flexibility like that.

@Gymsmile21

I think covid has made people realise they work too much and don’t have enough “life”

This has a huge amount to do with it.

I have heard pubs are really struggling to hire staff, or keep them if they can get them.

Post pandemic, I think we have moved past people doing pub/restaurant /cafe work for a bit of extra spending money. We have learned to appreciate our personal time.

@LastOrdersMaura what area? My teen is desperate for a job, any job that will fit round sixth form.

But that's the point. We had Saturday jobs not Saturday and Sunday jobs. 2 middle of the days shifts are particularly awful as they stop you from doing anything else with your weekend.

I think it shows an exceptional student who can work part time alongside studying and still get good grades. My cousins have all worked (youngest is in Uni) and they all have great careers and got good grades. They all managed to socialise too.

My daughter really wants a job exactly like this but can’t find one!

@Egghead8118 June is the absolute last date that schools can upload their centre assessed grades to the exam boards. We stop assessing the students before that as there has to be moderation at several levels. We already have a lot of work and data we are using to evidence the grades, plus some extra assessments they’ve done this half term.

I promise you my year 11s, like most others, finish next Friday!

I've found that all jobs atm say flexibility including some weekends.
Maybe that might be better than just advertising for weekend.
So one member does one saturday, the following week somebody else does it.
The same for sundays if open.
I'm looking for work but no way would I agree to every weekend, maybe one in four.

It's both days of the weekend but 10-4

Agree this is part of the reason why she is finding it hard to fill the vacancy. It takes out a whole weekend but only pays 2 x 6 hours (is she giving them a break?)

She might do better to try to get two different people to do either day, and maybe extend the daily hours?

[quote Fallulah]@Egghead8118 June is the absolute last date that schools can upload their centre assessed grades to the exam boards. We stop assessing the students before that as there has to be moderation at several levels. We already have a lot of work and data we are using to evidence the grades, plus some extra assessments they’ve done this half term.

I promise you my year 11s, like most others, finish next Friday![/quote]
I dont agree most finish on Friday

Most here finish on the 11th June and some are the 18th- we have 10,000

Getting off the topic of jobs here but yesterday’s Teacher tap poll (thousands of teachers answer every day) gives this...(hopefully image will attach)

Brexit

Many custmer service roles were taken by Europeans, they have all gone back home.

Covid
Many young people living in cities have returned home to live with parents rather than stay immured in tiny house shares. Students are living at home too. Young working holiday people are not here either ie Australians.

It's going to be really hard to staff up hospitality.

[quote Fallulah]@Egghead8118 June is the absolute last date that schools can upload their centre assessed grades to the exam boards. We stop assessing the students before that as there has to be moderation at several levels. We already have a lot of work and data we are using to evidence the grades, plus some extra assessments they’ve done this half term.

I promise you my year 11s, like most others, finish next Friday![/quote]
However legally they cannot work until after 25th June unless the employer applies for a licence and even then they can only do 2 hour on Sundays.