Want a holiday but 16 year old can’t get leave

[Irishmama100]

So my 16 year old has a retail job, 8 hour contract and has been refused leave for when we went to go on our summer holiday. Can’t leave them at home on their for 11 nights

1)I am unreasonable - I should just scrap the idea and no one in the family gets a holiday.
2) I am not being unreasonable - I Should just book it anyway and they can quit and get another job

Have you asked the dc?

Depends on the job as well really. If it’s difficult to come by low contracted hours locally, convenient, they don’t hate the actual work and have friends there, I would be reluctant to burn all their bridges.

Can he swap the shifts? I assume it's the holidays, so could he work extra before/ after the trip?
Plus, instead of 11 days could you go for 5- 7 days?

Why shouldnt the employer be able to refuse a holiday?, just because the kid only works 1 day what happens if they already have staff off on that day?. I used to be a retail manager and if someone tried to threaten me with 'give me my holiday or ill leave', I'd accept the resignation...oh and as a parent please dont ring up demanding the leave on their behalf.

Assuming your 16yo wants to come on the holiday they’ll just have to tell the retail job that they have a holiday booked so they won’t be able to come into work on X date. I’m sure it won’t be the end of the world to lose a 8 hour pw job (if they do actually lose the job- might be more hassle than it’s worth to get rid of a staff member and have to recruit and train someone new).

“Gap in their cv” at 16?! Can’t really see them at interview in a few years time being questioned about why they stopped their Saturday job at Tesco after their GCSEs.

It might not be in a few years time, retail apprenticeships start at 16, straight after GCSEs. It all depends on the 16yo
https://www.aldirecruitment.co.uk/apprenticeships

A PT retail job is only easily disposable if you plan on further/higher education

At their next job they'll presumably be asked why they left their last one

Presumably the leave has been refused because other people have requested and been granted it first? When I was that age in weekend retail most of us had 8 or 12 hour per week contracts and worked Saturday and/or Sunday because that's when we were needed.

Obviously not all the weekend staff could have taken the same weekend off, just like any other job minimum cover was needed for each day. Requests were first come first served, much like they are in my current full time professional job.

Of course your DC could quit and go on holiday but it won't help instill a solid work ethic, just quitting whenever there's something else they'd rather do.

Well then that would be already lined up and there would be no long gap. Likelihood is they’re going on to some kind of further study anyway. Come off it, no one is going to consider this a problematic gap in this young person’s cv.

11 days is a long time at 16, unless a relative is very close by. I know they can live alone at 16, but I'd have only considered leaving mine for a week tops. Three nights I actually left him.

It’s the reason more than the gap. And pardon me, but quitting in summer to go on holiday is a dead giveaway of an unreliable young worker.

@Irishmama100 I can hand on heart say that as a professional and a hiring manager I have never disqualified anyone for leaving a job at 16.

now I will say there’s a right way and a wrong way to leave a job. Give proper notice and all of that. But at the end of the day your DC will be fine.

They could even start looking now for a new job and bring up the holiday when they get hired as known time needed off.

For the sake of 8 hours, quit and book the holiday

This happened to a friend of ours who worked at the local pub. In January, she tried to book leave from her regular Sunday shift for a holiday planned for August - so 8 months notice. They refused as they said they would be too busy.

She quit.

I know this will be most unpopular, but if the job is generally ok, and dc wants to keep it long term, I'd have a word with their manager, rather than quit, ask if it could be escalated (ie I'm gonna embarrass you to your manager above you further for being such a dick) asking why cover can't be found, given its many months notice.

Do they want to quit their job? How hard are jobs to come by for them in your area?

I remember being left at home at that age when my parents went away for two weeks because I didn't want to lose my job. Is there someone who can help keep an eye on them if they stay home and then you can all go away without them?

When they can get leave the holiday will be at least £1500 more expensive.

It is a good job for a 16 year old and we as parents would rather they didn’t quit. As we do have a strong work ethic. I would honestly rather not go than leave them at home for that time period even though they could be minded. But it is so frustrating as we work so hard ourselves and could really do with the break. We had to leave it last minute because of our own jobs and now we as parents have our time aligned they get the leave.

Don’t do this OP, only one person would look a dick and it wouldn’t be the manager!

Getting leave just seems to be a huge issue, when they come back they would happily work over their 8 hours.

Under no circumstances should you contact them

This is a lesson for her in real life. Don't screw it up. 'quit and get another job' would be unbelievably poor parenting. She can ask work nicely, she can offer to take it unpaid, or she doesn't get to go.

What a completely ridiculous statement to make. The employer is running a business. If the leave has been refused then unfortunately thats the way it is.

They have floated the idea of quitting! But that just doesn’t sit right with me. I def wouldn’t quit my job for no leave.

My daughter is 16. She has a pt job - it pays well, they treat her well. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want to hand in her notice. She needs a weekend off for something in August - she was planning to swop but has decided not to take the risk in case she can't.