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?

Both days of the weekend might also be an issue. A level students for example want to work weekends but will need 1 day at least for study/relaxation.

I am not surprised people don’t want to work. Although I don’t claim or need benefits I have joined some UC sites. As a taxpayer I use for research purposes. The amounts handed over are mind boggling.
Another site I visit people are saying they don’t seek promotion or higher wages due to the extra hassle and deductions.
This is why my DD left the UK 🇬🇧

Dh gets 2-3 Facebook messages a week from people asking for work. His business is very obviously evenings and weekend work only so I assume they want those hours. Lots of messages from 16 years olds but I guess lots of y11 and y13 won’t really be looking for another few weeks and might want more than a few hours if they are off until September. Dh pays 50p-£1 over min generally. It’s mostly 6hour shifts so a 16 year old on £5.50 gets about £5.40 a shift more than min. It’s peanuts but makes a difference to them. You also need to make sure you pay more than macdonalds because they are probably better at letting you pick up extra and being a bit flexible. They are your competition , not long lie ins or x-boxes or family time.

@LastOrdersMaura

But she's not asking for experience. What are all the teenagers doing for jobs these days? I'm sorry but you cannot be an eighteen year old with no experience and expect to get more than MW. I'm on 50p more than that and I am responsible for peoples lives (care work.)

Minimum wage for an 18 year old is £6.50. You’d spend your first hours wages just getting there !

@Shadedog

Dh gets 2-3 Facebook messages a week from people asking for work. His business is very obviously evenings and weekend work only so I assume they want those hours. Lots of messages from 16 years olds but I guess lots of y11 and y13 won’t really be looking for another few weeks and might want more than a few hours if they are off until September. Dh pays 50p-£1 over min generally. It’s mostly 6hour shifts so a 16 year old on £5.50 gets about £5.40 a shift more than min. It’s peanuts but makes a difference to them. You also need to make sure you pay more than macdonalds because they are probably better at letting you pick up extra and being a bit flexible. They are your competition , not long lie ins or x-boxes or family time.

I think line of work is relevant

I work in a college. Assessment period ends next week so y13s will be finished then. It’s common to get an email advertising job opportunities so emailing the careers person at the local college would be a good call.

Is it both weekend days for one post, if so might have better luck splitting it as not many want to work both sat and sun.
Mist uni students are at home so that might impact her recruitment but has she tried contacting uni to advertise job there?
Also what is rate of pay and how does it compare to similar jobs?
Is it remote, would you need own transport?
Has she asked for experience?( ruling out a lot of teenagers)
Lots of factors to consider but yes Im surprised its hard to recruit.

According to other threads teenagers can't get part time jobs for love nor money these days!
It's the wrong time of year to be recruiting uni students for that sort of work, any that have been on campus will be heading home for the summer. A sixth form college / local high school with 6th form would be a better place to advertise or a local facebook group, there's always young people looking for shop / cafe type work on ours.

I can see why not many people would want to work both weekend days- most students would want to work one or the other but not both. Especially as it’s only 6 hours a day, so you’re giving up your day but not getting a full days wages.

She needs to advertise in other places. I hate sites like Indeed.

Are we missing all of those young EU workers who were prepared to work hard? Shift work/weekends/ nights?

It’s not just cafes and hospitality.

@LastOrdersMaura

It's a chain cafe, she doesn't own it, and it's in the middle of a not very hip department store. Unlikely young people will stroll past the poster. It's both days of the weekend but 10-4.

It doesn't sound particularly attractive. NMW, both Saturday and Sunday and not in a central, vibrant area of town.

Is she willing to accept 16/17 year olds finishing GCSEs soon who will need to be trained? They might be more willing.

The hospitality industry has been decimated by the pandemic and lockdowns. People working in the industry have clearly reassessed their situation and some have found other ways to earn money. A lot of European workers who were doing these sort of jobs have left. Some may be worried about a customer facing role at the moment. The cheap labour isn't going to be available to the same extent.
After the past 14 months they have had to contend with, I suspect a lot of businesses won't survive too much longer.

It's a chain cafe, she doesn't own it, and it's in the middle of a not very hip department store. Unlikely young people will stroll past the poster. It's both days of the weekend but 10-4

Nobody wants this. You can work 6am- noon on Saturday in macdonalds and have the rest of the weekend off, then pick up a shift on a weekday night to make your hours up, and take leave when you want etc. Screwing up your whole weekend for 12 hours of min wage isn’t happening.

I work every second weekend, I don't mind because I get double pay Sunday's which makes a big difference to my income. Working weekends sucks though, I couldn't do it every weekend.

In college, I worked every single weekend for minimum wage. Maybe its a bad time of year to be looking for college students though, they won't want to be tied to every weekend over the summer time. Also, I dont know how things are in UK but here in Ireland every second shop and restaurant has staff wanted signs on the window so there's a lot of choice out there!

Just seen that updated info. She needs to split it into two jobs, one for each day.

@LastOrdersMaura

It's a chain cafe, she doesn't own it, and it's in the middle of a not very hip department store. Unlikely young people will stroll past the poster. It's both days of the weekend but 10-4.

Both days of the weekend will put people off. If you're young, you're going to want to go out at least one night at the weekend, and if you're a student, you would want a day to either study or just relax after a busy week at college. If she were to advertise for one day I'm sure she's get a much better response. At £6.50 an hour she needs to be targeting 16 year olds. Most part time jobs pay at least £7.50 - £8 an hour (well they do where we live anyway).

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

is a bit different from

It's a chain cafe, she doesn't own it, and it's in the middle of a not very hip department store. Unlikely young people will stroll past the poster. It's both days of the weekend but 10-4

So yeah a sign in the window won’t work, but some of the other suggestions will. If no-one is interested it’s either the pay or the hours, there are loads of 16/17 year olds looking for part time work.

Maybe try offering separate days.

A lot of people are saying that it must be the money, and why would people apply if it’s not worth it for minimum wage at the weekend. My DH is a retail manager and has recently advertised minimum wage jobs where weekend working is expected, as well as a shift or two in the week depending on availability (although this wouldn’t have been a requirement). Zero hours contracts. He had 100+ applicants. Many not suitable (poor applications, sketchy work history etc) but some decent enough to interview, and he’s employed 17-20 year old college/uni students who will work most weekends and a bit in the week around their studies. No enhancements for weekend working. DH doesn’t set the terms and conditions as it’s a chain store, but despite it not being particularly attractive they always have a lot of interest in vacancies.

People do want these jobs, so there must be something in the way it’s being advertised. Maybe it is the uncertainty around moving out of lockdown? But a college kid who currently doesn’t have a weekend job probably isn’t too worried about long term job security. Maybe advertise on social media, as well as indeed and maybe local newspapers.

I wouldn't want a job that involved masking, covid rule policing and dealing with the hysterical public in general.

These kind of jobs were bad enough pre covid but now I would definitely be taking the view that the juice just isn't worth the squeeze.

Where is her café? I have 3 kids desperate for work in the Glasgow area. Weekend work is the only type of work that they can do at present. They apply daily! Obviously no experience as no one wants to even give them the opportunity to learn.

10-4 on both days of the weekend is a pretty shit deal.

Split it into 2 jobs and pay above NMW.

I agree with pp. Advertise with local 6th form, also a lot of GCSE leavers now looking for summer work before 6th form. If the job is for Sat AND Sun, advertise for two staff members. Most wont want to work both weekend days. I would have thought minimum wage was pretty normal in hospitality. Plus tips.

It's funny how people on MN view wages. Precious DC's should not have to work for NMW and miss out on their exciting weekend socialising. Who works in care homes, national trust coffee shops, nurseries, preschools? Who serves your children school lunch, books your dental appointments, changes the bed sheets in your mini break hotel? All these people work for little over minimum wage, most work antisocial hours, do they not deserve more?

@Soupforoneplease

It's funny how people on MN view wages. Precious DC's should not have to work for NMW and miss out on their exciting weekend socialising. Who works in care homes, national trust coffee shops, nurseries, preschools? Who serves your children school lunch, books your dental appointments, changes the bed sheets in your mini break hotel? All these people work for little over minimum wage, most work antisocial hours, do they not deserve more?

Is that really so strange to you?

I am a very busy single parent

I have limited time and energy.

So I’ll focus on what I want for my children

And I’ll leave the dentist receptionists etc to fight their own corner

@LastOrdersMaura

But she's not asking for experience. What are all the teenagers doing for jobs these days? I'm sorry but you cannot be an eighteen year old with no experience and expect to get more than MW. I'm on 50p more than that and I am responsible for peoples lives (care work.)

Doesn't matter what other jobs earn. If she can't find anyone to work with the terms she is offering she needs to do something to make it more attractive.