Title edited by MNHQ at request of OP - Advice pls on labour exploitation law (a minor not being paid at work).

[Hedgehogscanclimbtrees]

This summer after GSCEs my son made a CV and went round our town's local cafes and restaurants asking for work. He was 16 at the time (17 now) and most places said no, he was too young. One place took him on, £5 per hour, mostly kitchen help, washing dishes, helping wherever help is needed, some waiting on tables. He has loved doing this, and he likes the boss ("he's like a friend") and the other members of staff. He has been putting in the hours at weekends and holidays, sometimes doing 10 hour shifts! To be clear this is something he has wanted to do and it helps his self-esteem. We have also kept an eye that his schoolwork does not suffer.
However I have found out that the boss is not paying his staff because of cashflow problems! Apparently payday was always "oh next week" etc. then it came out that the owner is opening another restaurant, so didn't have the cash to pay his (young) staff! My son has been paid some, but we added up his hours and he is owed over £1,000! My husband and I are tempted to go to the restaurant to (politely) tell the owner that he cannot withold our son's earnings but son (understandably) doesn't want us to wade in on his behalf. However he is in a vulnerable position, having been working cash in hand. And being so young (he has tried asking for his wages and keeps getting fobbed off). We told him to say that he cannot continue to work if he is not being paid but now they have simply removed him from the Whatsap group where the rotas were sent out. He went in today to ask why he'd been removed and it seems several people have been removed, apparently because the owner is trying to catch up on his debts to everyone by not rota-ing them... I asked who is serving then and my son didn't know, but he did reveal that Sundays have apparently been busy because sometimes it was just my son and the owner who was juggling cooking and front of house!
I have to say I think any business owner who does not pay his staff is probably going under. What recourse does my son have? Are there laws to protect people like him (and the other young people who have also not been paid)?
I would love to hear from any employment lawyers on here, or re 'Modern Slavery' laws!

@Xenia Do not blackmail them which is illegal - eg do NOT say unless you pay £1k I will report to Acas.
Telling someone you will take them to court unless they pay what they owe you is not blackmail.

Also, the son agreed to work for £5ph, the owner agreed to pay £5ph - that is a contract. It need not be in writing.

No but your son and you as his parents who have facilitated this are willing tax evaders. You should report yourselves.

I hope this is hyperbole and you don’t actually think this is what people mean when they say modern day slavery. Exploitation and bad treatment from employers isn’t good but it doesn’t equal slavery.

Does he have a written contract? Can beeven in the form of a message.

Why do people make stuff up like this? In the absence of a written contract Son has minimum legal employment rights and implied contractual terms based on what's been happening to date. That's day one, lecture one of employment law.

However I agree that it's appropriate for parents to step in to help when their 16/17 year old is being grossly exploited. This situation is not going to fix itself, and the business looks like it's on a fast track to liquidation so he should probably stop working and start suing before everyone else does.

@CredibilityProblem please explain how he proves he's employed there? No contract, no payslip, no receipt for payment. Good luck in court

alwaysmovingforward. Your suggestion is the most sensible

Really? How embarrassing for the 17 year old to have mum and dad try and muscle in. Seriously I wouldn't do this , it's cringey.

Lockheart · Today 19:26
Don't take legal advice from strangers on the internet. Speak to a real life employment lawyer.“

this. Nothing more needs to be said (apart from why TAF didn’t you do everything you could to dissuade him from working for £5 ph? How is that in any way, shape or form acceptable?)

Witness statements from workmates, and from any friends and family who went in while he was working. Texts and WhatsApp messages from boss telling him shifts. Photos taken during shifts. The chances of employer getting away with flatly denying that DS ever worked there, after hundreds of hours in a public facing environment, are negligible.

@CredibilityProblem work experience, volunteering any number of reasons why he was there doing unpaid work. He's been removed from the WhatsApp group so no proof of shifts booked. Industrial tribunals/ court action is ridiculously hard to prove and very costly. Better to just get down there and demand the money and stop him working any more shifts

My suggestion: contact your MP. That means that you will have the protection of the MP, especially as the MP or his/her staff will be very careful to adhere to the law. You need to think about other people who might be exploited by this person. This way will guarantee that you are both pursuing the proper legal route and will receive the proper protection.

Your son sounds like a hard worker. Maybe I suggest he channels his talents/desire to work into creating his own website offering some sort of service? Or I suppose it can be done through a Facebook website. Someone willing to work in these difficult times might do very well for themselves.

I would probably threaten to make a show of him and his business all over the local Facebook groups and every other arena if he didn't pay up

@SnackSizeRaisin
I'd rather a potentially 'cringy' situation than my 17 year old be in a vulnerable position, working for a shark and over £1,000 out of pocket.

The kid in the OP is being taken advantage of. If you'd not step in as the parent and support the situation by making your presence be known because it's 'cringy', well that's up to you and what you consider support I guess.

This

report them to HMRC for non national minimum wage compliance though. You can do it anonymously

they are breaking the working time regulations as well by having a 17 year old work 10 hour days.

MY daughter had this but to the tune of only aorund £380-£400 - she was 17, wanting to be indepedent and didn't want to speak up to the business owner.

I messaged this guy once asking when she would be paid what she was owed, he didn't respond or pay her, I pulled my daughter out of there. £400 is a relatively cheap lesson not to work cash in hand for people who will willingly exploit you.

£1000 is a lot though and should be pursued.

@Tessabelle74 - it’s a bit hard to wriggle out of the evidence provided by a Whatsapp group where the boss shares everyone’s roster.

@Walkaround he's no longer IN the WhatsApp group though, read the posts! He has no proof whatsoever now

Small claims court is not expensive to bring a claim, and self-representation eminently possible. Just starting the process is normally enough to get the guilty party to cough up if the money is available in the first place.

I don’t have much helpful advice. This happened to my dp when he was 16 (10 yrs ago). His grandfather walked into the restaurant and threatened to take the coffee machine in leu of wages if it wasn’t paid. He was given the money there and then. I have studied law, actually it is legal to honestly take something if you believe it makes up for something owed (though I don’t recommend if possible- depends on the community!).

@Tessabelle74 - read the thread. He’s not in the group because he is no longer getting shifts. That doesn’t stop him being owed money for shifts he was rostered for.

Completely wrong.

Industrial tribunals, like the courts when dealing with civil cases, decide on the balance of probabilities. They do not look for proof beyond reasonable doubt. Removing someone from a WhatsApp group simply means they can't see any new posts. Old ones are still available, so there is proof of shifts booked along with all the other things mentioned by@CredibilityProblem. The employer would find it impossible to convince the tribunal that OP's son hadn't worked there.

As for industrial tribunals being very costly, it costs absolutely nothing to make a claim and, unlike most civil cases, you do not have to pay the other side's costs if you lose.

Some people have mentioned the small claims court. Industrial tribunal would be the right place for this case. However, for completeness, small claims are also decided on the balance of probability. Bringing a claim for between £1000 and £1500 would cost £80. As with industrial tribunal, you don't have to pay the other side's costs if you lose.

Nope. NMW at 16 is £4.81ph.

This seems key to me - the owner could have cynically realised that offering £5 cash in hand might seem much more tempting than £4.81, assuming that most people will not work out that they are very unlikely to exceed their personal allowance if they are only earning £5 an hour and would probably only end up with deductions of 12% for National Insurance.

As others have said, modern slavery is a very real and shocking phenomenon. There are plenty of bad and/or inefficient employers without calling them modern slavers.

Should have put 16 olds not people on the sentence about personal allowance - I did actually work out how many hours at £4.81 you would need to work over a year to reach the tax threshold. It's more than most 16/17 year olds working part time would do.

Cba to read all the comments but I was a victim of modern day slavery and sexual trafficking in my teens and think it's disgusting you've equated your sons predicament, to modern day slavery.