£3.75 an hour for 14 year old?

[republicofjam]

My daughter and her friend were offered places as Junior Coaches/Helpers at their Gymnastics Club for 'pocket money' They have been working for just under 2 hours a week since September without receiving anything but apparently will start receiving £3.75 an hour from February. Am I unreasonable to think that this is a bit mean or is this standard?

That’s rubbish money. I would challenge it.

Age 16/17 get should get a minimum of £5.28. There is no minimum for younger ages. They're getting experience as much as anything else.

My dd did exactly that at very similar price. In fact I'm wondering if it's the same place.

I didn't think it was too bad. It was fairly low stress work, because she enjoyed being there. They gave her uniform, and treated her nicely all the time, even when she had to drop one session unexpectedly. If she did extra training she got more money, and it gave her a good bit of experience with something not many people do, which looked good on her UCAS form.

But it was next to the school, so she went straight there from school, so no travel costs and that made it easy. I might have felt a bit different if she'd needed to catch the bus or wanted a lift for 2 hours.

I got £3.60 per hour in my first job in 1999 when I was 16 so this seems extremely low to me!

Hm, that’s what I got in a shop age 16 in 1994.

Sounds like exploitation to me if they are actually working.

It's low but they would struggle to find work elsewhere at their age. It's great for a CV or future interview. Sounds like they enjoy it too.

I tend to think gaining experience and skills trumps ££ at a young age.

She isn't 16 though, she's 14 and there is no minimum wage

She goes directly from school too and enjoys it so am happy for her to do it. At the same time a little wary because she and friend will have worked for 6 months without pay already and not sure if the £3.75 would have been forthcoming if myself and the other mum hadn't queried it.

It doesn’t matter what the minimum wage is..that’s not your go to…I wouldn’t offer anyone under 16 less than 5£ an hour for a task

16 yr old does dog walks and charges 8£ an hour and has another job that pays 7£ an hour that is extremely easy he does for 3 hrs per week

if you want something done well you pay a decent wage young adult or not

DD just looked at a job as a swimming lesson assistant for a private swim school, it’s paying £5 an hour - she’s 15. Tbh it doesn’t feel worth my time & effort as there’s no public transport to the swimming pool & requires a 20 min drive from a parent to get her there & back…

That’s so low. As a comparison, 25 years ago (gulp), when I was 15, Sainsburys paid me £3.33 an hour

I would be going in and challenging that, reeks of exploitation to me. I'd consider making a bit more fuss as well if I didn't like the club officials answers too.

You were well paid. I got £2.80 per hour in a shop in 1999 aged 18. It went up to £3 an hour when the minimum wage came in shortly afterwards.

I think £3 ish is ok for a 14 year old although I would expect much better treatment and more leniency than a typical min wage type adult job.

this, there is no minimum wage for 14 year olds .

We pay our 14 yo coaches £10 an hour or £12 after they have done a 1 day course

Hmm, torn on this one. Initially it sounds low but then I remember my 14year old daughter does similar in her tennis club for free, sees it as voluntary experience for her CV,possibly towards D of E etc. She'd love to get paid anything at all. It depends on the demands and expectations on them I think.

At 14 I was getting £5 an hour in an after school job and that was in 1988

Ha my friends 14yo works in our local pub kitchen and is paid £7 an hour

That's interesting, thank you.

If she was horse riding she would have to pay to go (not be paid). Lot of complex factors

I was paid £1.85 an hour (£15 per day) in 2005 when I was about 15. The pay here seems reasonable adjusting for inflation. Learning what I did then was worth way more than the money I earned.

Wow 😱

I got £4 an hour for my Sunday job when I was 14 years old.

But that was in the 1980s!

Surely it should have gone up a bit since then!

That's awful pay though! I got double that as a 14 year old kitchen hand over 15 years earlier!

If she’s happy to do it, I’d support her despite the rubbish wage. It will be excellent hobby linked work experience and her wage will improve regardless once 16.

No regulation at 14 so basically she works for what she is happy to receive and they pay what they value it at. Your daughter doesn't have to do the work and they don't have to pay more. The value to your daughter might be more than the pay, that might be reflected in the actual amount they pay as they known giving her an opportunity to take on responsibility and them to supervise this, has value. But sounds like you are on a mission to me.