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

@theheartofthematter if you choose to work for someone who doesn't follow the rules you can't then complain that they aren't following the rules.

A 16 year old supervisor

Whilst I agree that there will be 15 year olds who can work responsibly and do a good job, I can understand given child protection laws why any company would require a minimum age of 16, and that it means a child with a summer birthday could miss out.

It's not the best answer to the cause, which is the insecurity of seasonal work.

@SunsetandCupcakes

I get what everyone is saying about 'The Rules' but how can this help anyone?

Safeguarding? Protecting children so that they aren’t taken advantage of? Plus the amount of complaining parents and children do about rules at school would make me want to avoid employing under 18’S let alone under 15’s.

@theheartofthematter

Also my daughter is left on her own to work and supervises others, sending the team in breaks etc but can't be paid as a supervisor until she is 18🙄

That’s a pretty irresponsible employer making her do that. She’d get longer breaks than any of them too.

www.gov.uk/child-employment/restrictions-on-child-employment

Working time directive for children is complicated

Yanbu. I worked in a shop aged 15 and many peers worked in shops and cafes. It was good experience, I earned a bit and learned the value of work & earning.

@NoIDontWatchLoveIsland

Yanbu. I worked in a shop aged 15 and many peers worked in shops and cafes. It was good experience, I earned a bit and learned the value of work & earning.

Presumably this was before all the rules surrounded children working were tightened?

@pinkcircustop

At that age, especially in hospitality, they’re more of a hinderance than a help.

Rubbish

By 15 my dd's were itching to go out and work and until 16 did loads and loads of babysitting. The HT wouldn't agree to them working on a Saturday because it would interfere with their learning (hung up on me when I asked if learning didn't happen during work then why did the school insist on work experience).

Only reason I called was one of them had been given the chance of a million to do some work in the theatre that was fully licensed and would mainly include the holidays and set hours on a weekend.

Funnily enough when months later the school wanted to exploit many of the students to rehearse and perform across London, which would have interfered with the school day, this was fine. Never mind. performances not ending until after 11pm on a school day and they had to be back at 8am, regardless of their age.

Yes their school was relieved when they left lol.

I also want to say that it’s a bit of who you know too, I got my first job at 14 because I went to work with my mum in a pub.

My siblings now go to work with my mum as a cleaner (large age gap between us)

@canigooutyet

By 15 my dd's were itching to go out and work and until 16 did loads and loads of babysitting. The HT wouldn't agree to them working on a Saturday because it would interfere with their learning (hung up on me when I asked if learning didn't happen during work then why did the school insist on work experience).

Only reason I called was one of them had been given the chance of a million to do some work in the theatre that was fully licensed and would mainly include the holidays and set hours on a weekend.

Funnily enough when months later the school wanted to exploit many of the students to rehearse and perform across London, which would have interfered with the school day, this was fine. Never mind. performances not ending until after 11pm on a school day and they had to be back at 8am, regardless of their age.

Yes their school was relieved when they left lol.

Why did you need the school's permission for your dd to do Saturday work?

@Hellocatshome we didn't realise they were not good with breaks etc when she got the job. I can't deal with it for her as much as I would like to. She is 16 and she needs to tell them. She is also 16 and wants to keep her job 🤷.

Unfortunately society has regressed so much that kids at age 13 can't boil an egg or operate an oven or a washing machine. The amount of parents that still do school drop-offs when their kids are 10/12 even older! I was walking to school by myself at 8, sometimes with a friend or two. Sometimes just myself. Starting dinner after school, and cooking dinner at 13. Nowadays parents are driving their kids to school when they're 12 and hiring a babysitter for a 14 year old after school, when when I was a kid we were all babysitting at 14 and earning money - not being babysat ourselves.

How did we regress so much that we are babying tweens/teens? That a 14 year old teenager needs a babysitter, a 12 year old needs to be driven to school? That they can't even cook a family meal at 14? It's quite frankly, very embarrassing.

I remember the school having to give permission for Saturday jobs. Some kids managed to get jobs where the employer didn't bother about such things and 'school never knew.

My husband had a Saturday and holiday job for a long time, his school gave permission for it and he enjoyed it. I never had a job when I was at school, I wanted my free time to really be free but I knew some who worked, usually in a shop, and were quite happy to do so.

But why? The 15 year old I know are nocturnal, much rather work late than get up early
I’m not saying I agree with all the employment laws, just that they make it so employing under 16’s isn’t viable even if short staffed. I work in hospitality and we couldn’t employee someone that couldn’t ever work after 7pm, longer than 4 hours without an hour break and only 2 hours on a Sunday.

I also think having local teenagers babysit is a thing of the past regardless of gender.

Stopping 15 year olds being exploited isn't unnaturally extending childhood op. 15 year olds are, quite literally, children.

I live in a holiday place too where they are struggling for staff. Loads of them employ school age kids, and loads of those kids are getting covid and the places are having to shut.
So it's front line stuff for these children.
A pub here recently advertised for "kids looking for pocket money", which I think is offensive. It's not pocket money, the employers aren't doing the kids a favour. Quite the reverse. The kids, getting paid "pocket money" are essential staff to keep that business running. They should be paid as such.
As for them being a bit useless.......... having worked a bit in cafes etc as an old fart I can guarantee that each fast thinking, fast moving, till system whizz kids is 5 old gits...... but getting a fraction of our
hourly rate.

@HaveANiceFuckingDay

I know a15 year old that works in a chip shop they pay here £2.50 an hour as there isn’t a pay bracket under 16;

I got 2.80 working in a chippie at 15 25 years ago

The insurance is different and more expensive plus, they don't want. Hold employees

Child*

And I worked at 14 I. The mid-2000s. Times have changed. They don't want kids because if they get hurt the business is fucked legally.

@ChocolateTeapot4444

Unfortunately society has regressed so much that kids at age 13 can't boil an egg or operate an oven or a washing machine. The amount of parents that still do school drop-offs when their kids are 10/12 even older! I was walking to school by myself at 8, sometimes with a friend or two. Sometimes just myself. Starting dinner after school, and cooking dinner at 13. Nowadays parents are driving their kids to school when they're 12 and hiring a babysitter for a 14 year old after school, when when I was a kid we were all babysitting at 14 and earning money - not being babysat ourselves.

How did we regress so much that we are babying tweens/teens? That a 14 year old teenager needs a babysitter, a 12 year old needs to be driven to school? That they can't even cook a family meal at 14? It's quite frankly, very embarrassing.

Was it uphill in the snow both ways?

I worked in the summer holidays from 15 in the head office of a building society, 8 til 8 and all day Saturday and Sunday. (Time and a half after 5 and double time at the weekend) It was when they used to send out the statements. There was a group of us, all 15-20. The money was great!
I had a Saturday job at Boots from 16, and did waitressing in a cafe too. I managed to do this while studying for my O levels and A levels. I was lucky in that they were all decent employers.
My daughter waitressed from 16, and did bar work, cleaning and hospitality through uni.
I think it's good to have a work ethic instilled early.

Two of my friends that had jobs in kitchens while they were at school ended up badly hurt. One got cut so badly she need a transfusion and the other was badly scolded and needed skin grafts. Most of my friends worked in shops or at the sports centre and these were the only two hurt in work.

I suspect that the blanket ban on children working in commercial kitchens that many local authorities and most chain restaurants have is based on high accident data. It isn't simply about some employers being exploitative. Some jobs are riskier and may well be significantly riskier for younger people because of a lack of maturity. It isn't unreasonable for the state to protect children from riskier areas of employment even if some of them will be just as capable as some of the less mature adults. If only because it's not possible to screen for that maturity with certainty.