To expect more than £4.50/h for a 15 year old?

[Hedgehogsaremything]

My son is working in a local garden centre for the pre-Christmas season - netting Christmas trees, carrying them to cars and doing general tasks in their outside yard. It's physically demanding but he's tall and pretty strong for his age.

He was told at the end of his first shift that he would be getting £4.50/hour.

When I was 15 in 19-bloody-88 I was on £3 / hour... working in a pub. That was 35 years ago!!?!

AIBU to expect him to be earning a little more than that?

My dd and her friend used to help out at dance classes for younger children (they went to classes for their age group with the same company) when they were under 18 (so 16, 17). They got paid £5 an hour. This is in London and they were still doing it earlier this year.

I doubt he could get much more unless he finds an unusually generous employer. If he does a fair number of hours, he should get a decent amount for what is really just pocket money presumably.

Admittedly though, my older dd did babysitting years ago - aged probably 16, 17 - and got a lot more. She would suggest £7 an hour if they asked, but often got paid £10 . But it's easier to pay more if you aren't running a business and it's an occasional thing for you.

Life guarding is a great in demand skill.

Well worth pursuing.

He sounds like a great boy.

Whilst poorly paid in this job, encourage him to take the opportunity, his work ethic will drive him on to be a great success in life.

You cannot run gymnastics ckasses unless you are a level2 coach and you need to be 18 for that

I like it. It teaches kids the value of money and how much work actually goes into the phones etc they tend to ask for regularly, but not necessarily appreciate.

Hate this idea that because people are younger they deserve less for exactly the same job. How dare they! Minimum wage the same, for everyone.

£4.50 isn’t great but as has already been said many times - employers can so they will. Good on him for getting stuck in and earning some extra cash 😊 Hopefully he comes out of it with a bit extra cash and a glowing reference which is great for a younger person to have. It’s the unfortunate realities of that kind of work - age dictates wage, even when doing the same job. But he’ll be gaining so many people skills and confidence interacting with people which will benefit him greatly in the future.

Im a retail manager and can’t tell you the number of university students I’ve interviewed or given work trials for summer work etc to who refuse to approach a customer and offer assistance because it’s “embarrassing” 😅 and have no idea how to work with colleagues of different ages etc as they’ve never worked during school etc.

Agree with others, get him to look at lifeguard options for future work 😊 a great skill to have.

Well done , you have a son who wants to work. You have obviously been a really good parent & your sons willingness to go out into the cold to earn some money is brilliant.

He will gain experience & contacts , good workers get noticed & he could even get another job offer.

Some parentsdon't want their kids to work , so when they eventually get their first job it is a struggle for them . Your son will be equipped for the work place & is already showing his potential.

You are a good parent and your son is not workshy.

Brilliant idea then no one will employ the young people with no track record, references and life experience. Its hard enough already to get a foot into the job market without making it harder.

It's great experience, but yes wages have significantly stagnated.

My 16 year old gets £5.28 an hour and he’s really happy with that ! We all have to start somewhere

Yes, it does sound like a lot for 1988! I was on £2.30ph in 1998, working in a small local shop. I remember being overjoyed when I turned 18 and was eligible for minimum wage (£3 an hour! 😁).

Why would you assume a garden centre hasn't done this already?

If they need him and he's good at his job, he could negotiate a wage increase. Or be prepared to walk away. He doesn't have to work hard for next to no money. But if he does stick at it, he's going to find it easier to get better paid work once he turns 16 as he'll have a good track record.

OP will know this as she will have had to sign forms for the council. My DC had to do this for a leafleting job. He was given a very strict set of instructions about insurance and he could do the work and a load of paperwork.
Our local garden centre/Christmas tree centre won't employ under 16s for this job (my 14 year old DS asked), so it would not surprise me if this garden centre has not gone through the correct procedure.

I remember being offered less than £3 an hour for a job in the early 2000's at 16 so not sure it is a bad wage.

Yep YABU.

I worked for a large supermarket chain when I was 16 (less than 15 years ago) so NMW rules applied and I was on less than £4.50ph.

Sounds like he has learned the value of hard work and the only way is up for him once he reaches 16.

I'm another one who doesn't think it's right that people are payed less for their age. Pay less for lack of experience, sure, but a 25 year old with no experience doing the same thing your son would be paid more than double what your son is, and I can't see how that's remotely justifiable.

My first job was at 16 in 2011 (also in a garden centre), and I know I was paid less than adult colleagues, but not by the proportion your son must be. I resented it hugely, because I was doing considerably more work than most of colleagues who were paid more for the same job. As it is, I can't say that it taught me any particular valuable life lessons. I'm a hard worker, but I was anyway, and not a single employer since could have given a damn about my experience working really hard for shit pay when I was sixteen.

It may well be " character building" for your son but, let's be real, £4.50 for an hour of physical work in cold weather is a great opportunity for his employer, not him.

It's more likely that a 25-year old is trying to support themselves and maybe even a family on that wage, so it needs to be good enough to survive on.
What do you think would be fairer, pay everyone £4.50? Or pay everyone a tenner?
Would you also remove the protection young people have in their working hours at the moment? That would mean maybe losing their job if they went to school instead of working a shift.
Companies would just stop employing young people if there was no wage incentive and many would not be able to afford to pay a tenner to everyone.
There's no perfect solution but I am generally in favour of minimum wage increasing with age.

They definitely still exist. I see the kids on their bikes on my way to work at 7.30am, in the dark and cold. This is in Edinburgh.
No way would my kids be doing it - the working life is bloody long enough - but each to their own and hats off to the kids.

Because 15 year olds are children, live at home and attend school meaning there are limits on their capacity to work. They also by definition have little experience whereas the 50yo could have 35 years of work experience. It's not the same.

There will be some things 15yos are not legally allowed to do - driving the fork lift truck, or whatever is used, or operating some kinds of machinery. So in that respect they are not worth the same as an older person who can do those things, or be trained to do them. They may not be allowed to work unsupervised at certain tasks. They may also not have the physical strength of a 25yo.

I think it’s a bit low a £5 would have been better.
Lots of employers of teens do just pay minimum. DD is in sixth form and lots in waitressing and local primary school aftercare are on minimum wage £5.28.
Best pay is McDonalds where mine works she’s on £8.40 at 16 and 17 and will be £10.60 at 18 or £13.60 overnight.
Babysitting going rate is £10
Those with a skill are in best position - referees of junior football or lifeguard.

@Hedgehogsaremything definitely try the lifeguard route. I got DS to pick the lifeguard qualification for his 6th form college enrichment. It was only £100, far cheaper than paying externally. He's learning so much about first aid.

I have a paper delivered twice a week. Paper girls and boys still exist in towns.

This is like a step down memory lane. I was working on a restaurant from 14 for £3 something an hour. But then I was a cleaner and nanny on £5 an hour as an adult!!

Why not, what harm would it have done them ?

I think it will be good experience for him and its not easy to get work when under 18, let alone 16. It will put him in good steady when he applies for his next job. And at least he's getting a few quid in pocket money and learning how long it actually takes to earn when he buys stuff.

A lot of lessons I've learned have been from less good experiences rather than good ones.

Well done your son on his great work ethic