Teenager calling in sick to work

[Penelope18]

Hello, first time I've ever posted anything. I feel terrible. My 15 Yr old son has been working as a pot wash in a local pub for the summer. He generally goes in to work. works hard and enjoys earning his own money. He has however on occasions asked me or his father to call in sick for him (father and I are not together and my son lives with me) each time this has happened one of us has made the call. I think a couple of times he has felt genuinely unwell and a couple of times he has been blagging it! So today he calls me whilst I was out saying that he was meant to be working today . I always take him in but thought he had the day off today. I told him to get dressed I would come straight back and take him to work, he'd be a little late but not by too much. He declined and asked me to call in sick for him. I said No, explained that he needed to make the call himself, just explain there had been a mix up etc etc. He declined and so did I. I wanted him to understand that this is part of growing up and that he needed to be responsible and that if I always made the call he would never build his own confidence up to do such things. His Dad also declined saying I should do it because he did it the last time. Anyway, they let him go as no contact was made. I feel awful for him, as I know he's going to be upset. He is blaming me, I know his dad is too. Should I have made the call. He is nearly 16. I feel sick for him
Many thanks.

Part of having the job is having the awkward conversations like this

I once interviewed someone (mid 20s male) for a professional role who at one point asked how much longer it was going to be as his mum was waiting in her car in the car park for him!

So it is best that you say no to your DS now so he learns to be independent.

Yet another "first time poster" writing about a frothy subject which will get everyone frothing!

Do you think? I know there’s a few ‘unbelievable’ posts here lately, but is a 15 year old losing a part time job washing dishes much to get worked up about. It’s hardly a big deal. Doesn’t seem froth worthy to me. 😅

Serves him right. You’ve really pampered him, haven’t you?
hopefully lesson learned!

@BackToOklahoma perhaps I mean click-baity rather than frothy.

Once you have a job, you don't get your parents to phone in for you! If he had any sense of pride he'd be mortified at the idea. Does he really want his colleagues to see him as a child? It's not school!

Maybe you should point that out to him. A15 year old boy should be embarrassed at his mum phoning work.

Better he learn this at 15 when it's low/no stakes than screwing up his first career job as an adult.

Better to learn it the hard way now.

I voted YABU for feeling bad for him for losing his job when he’s wanting to call in sick when he’s not even sick and would rather be out with his mates.

Oh sorry, I read it as he was out not you, but surely he’d have still lost his job if he rang in sick again if he’s already had multiple sick days over one summer?

My grandmother used to do this kind of thing for her useless sons. Literally 5 fully grown men incapable of supporting themselves thanks to her ensuring they took no responsibility for anything ever.

Wow, my 13-year-old is a lot more responsible in her part-time job. She would never call in sick unless it was true and certainly would not ask me to do it. Could he not send a text to his boss himself?

If a person is sick at work they call themselves not their parents it is not rocket science

Probably on zero hours too

Be clear with him it won't be e just this one incident it will be the other times he called in sick too. Don't let him put this on u.

Lesson learned. Also stop calling in sick for him in future jobs.

Surprised they allowed his parent to call in for him at all honestly

It's a shame he lost his job, but I agree with other posters, it will (hopefully) be a lesson learned. It really doesn't look good if someone else calls in sick for an employee, unless they are too ill to phone of course.
Also, he wasn't sick, so you were doubly right.

My 14 yo worked a volunteer job this past summer (my country is already back to school). The employee handbook made it very clear that the workers have to be the ones to call in, not the parents.

you wouldn’t call in for your spouse unless your spouse were too sick to call themselves. I think the same policy should apply to teens with first jobs.

He shouldn't have been getting a parent to call in sick for him in the first place. He is old enough for a job, old enough to make his own sick calls. It's a lesson for him that with a job comes a certain level of responsibility.