Daughter starting nursery job, expected unpaid early starts and late finishes

[Nurserynewby12]

My daughter is looking forward to beginning a new job this week in childcare. She interviewed really well and will be studying for a qualification too. This all seems great. I work in accounts so do not know much about nursery care work but she has told me she has to start fifteen minutes early every day and will have to stay later than her finish time if parents are late or cleaning needs to be done. Both of these early and late instances will apparantly be unpaid. I do not know about nursery things much but did think this is unpaid work and not legal? Is there different rules for nurseries? I think if this happens all time she is being exploited whether she gets a qualification or not? She does not know as she is new to this area of work. I want to protect her from being exploited but need views from childcare/employment lawyers? Anyone around from employment law or a nursery manager to advise?

If she wants to do the work and get the qualification, let her do it. You can report them to HMRC if you want, but at least, for now she's gaining valuable experience. If you are that concerned that she's being exploited, pay for her to train as a Norton Nanny and she can command a top salary and work environment when qualified.

This really should be for your daughter to decide whether she wants the job, with the terms she has been told. It is not your decision. She is old enough to make the choice. Do not be 'that parent'.

This. Absolutely. The reason it’s thought of as ‘standard’ or even reasonable is because people blithely accept it. The nursery owner has built these terms into the model for the business at the expense of their staff. The more it goes unchallenged the more it happens.

The rise to the minimum wage was a mistake and is one of the components leading to the increase in youth unemployment. Jobsworths and work to rule is not a good sign in a new employee.

Hiya I work in a nursery with similar rules. We are expected (contracted) to be in the building before our shift starts but start at our actual alloted time. With regards to late finishes it depends....if the manager seems that we should have been able to finish said work before our time, it's unpaid, however if it's because of something out of our control, she will pay it.

You shouldn't be working for free before or after your shift. The business owner is stealing wages from you.

Low paid jobs are jobs where people don't get much get taken advantage of and are looked down on its time people in low paid jobs are treated right it's a job at the end of the day so treat people with respect

Do they just mean arrive 15 minutes before starting work? So if the shift starts at 9am , she needs to be ready to go, coat and bag put away , correct uniform on and actually working at 9 am sharp . Often staff think a 9am start means arrive at work at 9am. This does not work for jobs like nursery staff.

Don't even get me started on how ridiculous it is. Now they have it so say for example I finish at 6, there is one person in each room who will finish at 6.15, so I just leave now because I ain't tryna work for free

I worked for claires accessories many moons ago and we had to be on the shop floor 15 mins before our shift started then stay after closing to cash up and clean/tidy the store but we only got paid until the time the store closed at christmas we could be working an hour later per shift or even longer
I worked this out to be 8 grand unpaid wages for the years i was there this was late 90s to mid 2000s

It isn't right under employment law as she'll effectively be under minimum wage however, if it's what she wants to do i would suck it up, take the wage but continue job hunting.

Public Sector worker here - regularly get stuck with service users who phone in at 4:55pm and keep me back unpaid until long after 5pm.

Years ago i had a complaint made about me for saying to a customer I have to go now, I'll call tomorrow as my child minder was calling, it was 45 minutes past my finishing time.....

As it should be as the manager would be salaried and the extra work and responsibilities taken into consideration at pay scale.

And it might be a situation that I've had before where you HAVE to be in 15 minutes early, so you really need to be in 10 minutes before that to put coats away etc.

It says a lot about the sector when the workplaces that merely obey the law are looked on as the 'good ones'.

And parents, if you want a 10 minute chat about your child don't pick them up a minute before the nursery closes.

Absolutely.
A colleague was offered 2p an hour more to be room leader.

You are just right reporting to HMRC
I don't accept exploitation just because
"They are young "
"Everyone else does it"
"That's just the way it is"

It's not OK
More people need to speak up

Greedy nursey owners

In your opinion.

In my opinion, anyone who is happy to go off to their well paid job, whilst the people who care for their children earn less than NMW (regardless of age or tenure), needs to take a hard look at themself.

Ok?

The problem in the UK is, despite there being employment laws, employers still do as they want and there is never any action taken by the authorities to stop them

You say 'jobsworths and work to rule', some of us might say people with self-respect who aren't willing to tolerate being exploited. You'd prefer to see people not being paid enough to live on? Talk about punching down.

if a role is eg 9 to 5 why dont employers pay if they want you eariler ?

I find it bizarre that you think people should work unpaid public facing or not.

Why do you think this is ok?

These employers expect you to work and not be paid for it.
Why would anybody think thats acceptable?
Especially in low paid jobs where you are there out of necessity not vocation. I wouldnt give an employer 30 seconds of time Im not paid for. Why would I subsidise an employer?

Just like they wouldnt pay me for time I am not working, I dont do work I am not paid for. Its a job not a hobby

It shouldnt be expected though. You should be paid for the hours you work. Anything else is theft.

Absolute bollocks. You’re supporting those on minimum wage being exploited. Young people have as much right to be paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work as anyone else. OP’s situation is the perfect example of the contempt employers have for those on minimum wage - finding ways around it by insisting on start and finish times outside of paid hours.

l also think parents have a role to play in stopping this exploitation. l’d think twice about entrusting the care of my children to a nursery who doesn’t value their employees enough to pay them according to the law.

If employers require staff to be in 15 minutes or whatever before their shift starts, then they should pay them from that time. Same for time taken clearing/locking up after work. It takes a few minutes to take off a coat and stow a bag, then sit down ready to start. What we’re talking about here is half an hour a day at the beginning and end of the shift to set up in the morning and clear away at the end of the day. That’s work that needs to be done, so why aren’t they paid for it ? It adds up to 130 unpaid hours per year - at minimum wage for under 21 that’s around £1300 of wages the employer has effectively stolen.