To think if you are that short of staff you should employ 15year olds?

[SunsetandCupcakes]

I'm not that old, still old but in the v late 90s I had a job in the kitchens, my brother had a job selling ice creams at 14.
Catering near me is struggling to fill vacancies, it's the summer in a holiday town, two kiosks have had to close as no staff and yet my 15 year old isn't allowed to work.
How can working be more detrimental than sat at home on the PS4, we've ended up with a funny view on teenagers

I have sympathy op. I got my first job in an independent group of newsagents and tobacconists at 13. I simply walked in and said ‘
Do you have any jobs’? I worked holidays and weekends until I left college at 21. Life is much more regulated/complicated now. Maybe some of it is necessary and beneficial but not all.

@GreenLakes I honestly think starting work early makes a difference. I noticed a correlation between those of us who had jobs at 16 and those who tried to gain employment at 22 (after Uni.) I think it's so important, if you don't do a vocational degree, to learn about employment prior to starting your first 'proper' job. One of my friends got sacked for being late and not dressing appropriately, as her whole experience had just been uni where you can usually rock up late and wear joggers every day. Didn't wash in a graduate schedule.

@Lonel

What's the rule that under 18s can't work on the till? Like many pps I worked in a shop from age 15/16. Has the law changed?

Under-eighteens aren't allowed to sell alcohol, tobacco or knives, so if you put a 15/16/17 year old on the till, you need another staff member there who can do all the approvals on age-restricted products.

[quote AiyaNapawithmorenaps]@GreenLakes I honestly think starting work early makes a difference. I noticed a correlation between those of us who had jobs at 16 and those who tried to gain employment at 22 (after Uni.) I think it's so important, if you don't do a vocational degree, to learn about employment prior to starting your first 'proper' job. One of my friends got sacked for being late and not dressing appropriately, as her whole experience had just been uni where you can usually rock up late and wear joggers every day. Didn't wash in a graduate schedule.[/quote]
I didn't work properly until I graduated at 22 and I was never late to work and knew exactly how to dress! You don't need a job at 15 to learn those things lol.

@Lonel

What's the rule that under 18s can't work on the till? Like many pps I worked in a shop from age 15/16. Has the law changed?

If you store sells age restricted products then the checkout person has to authorise the sale. If they are under 18 then they can't authorise the sale and have to have a supervisor be present to authorise the sale instead.

If you work in a book shop or cafe then these issues are unlikely to apply whereas in supermarkets almost every other sale will contain an age restricted product so its not worth putting U18s on checkouts when they have to have a second person present practically the entire time.

Equally, if you work in a small owner run shop then they're more likely to be a bit more relaxed about the age restriction rules (my local shop has the owner sitting in an office in the back so he can "supervise" his 17yr old staff) than large corporate chains.

Interesting! I worked in M & S food hall when I was 17 and I had completely forgotten about the alcohol rule but I suppose there must have been a supervisor.

By the time I was 13 (late 1980s) I had a weekend job in a pub kitchen - cooking, cleaning, washing up, waitressing and best of all cleaning the deep fat fryer using ammonia (I found mixing it with fairy liquid had great results but it gave off awful fumes!!)

I was paid £2.25 an hour probably about £4.75 in todays money plus lunch and I was RICH. Loved payday handed over in cash in a little money bag every fortnight.

Not sure a child would be allowed to do my job now!!

warmfluffytowels:
I didn't work properly until I graduated at 22 and I was never late to work and knew exactly how to dress! You don't need a job at 15 to learn those things lol.
.....
Agreed.

I don't think there is any right or wrong about this. It all depends on the financial situation of the parents and what the teenager wants to do.

My 15 yr old has got a job in a shop & getting loads of hours as she is cheap labour. Worth a try apply online via indeed as well as walk round with cv

YANBU at all OP. I worked in various jobs from the age of 13 in the 90s (starting with a paper round and moving to waitressing etc) and it was great. I feel a bit sad and frustrated that my DC won't have that same opportunity.

@H328

YANBU at all OP. I worked in various jobs from the age of 13 in the 90s (starting with a paper round and moving to waitressing etc) and it was great. I feel a bit sad and frustrated that my DC won't have that same opportunity.

So did I, but I'm not particularly bothered that my kids won't. I didn't see it as an opportunity in that sense.