To ask neighbour to pay son more?

[SunIsOutAgain]

My neighbour asked my 14 year old to do some jobs in the garden today. Cutting the lawn, taking back some hedges, tidying etc.

He is fairly competent at these things and it took him 2.5 hours. I would expect an adult could do it in 2, but it wasn't an especially small job.

She gave him £15 and he was a bit disappointed as he was hoping for 20. He said he didn't clarify the pay before starting (obviously an error that we've now discussed for next time).

It was very hot here today, which doesn't change the value of the work but does affect how he felt when he had finished!

Is this a reasonable amount of money? Should i speak to her?

I don’t think it’s that bad - teens don’t have any living costs - and they don’t do things as well as adults do. My son was cutting lawns for £7.50 a go when he was 15, 2 years ago. Now he’s large no one blinks at paying him more. He gets £20 but he does the job properly!

My 14 year old cuts our grass ( i strip it as we have loads of chips near our windows). It takes about an hour and I give him £10. I hate cutting grass, dh gets awful hay-fever and ds wants to earn some money so it works for us all)

What a tightwad! I wouldn’t work for the neighbour again and if they ask why, say you were disappointed at how mean she was when paying him. He’d have been better off doing a bit of reselling on Vinted for the time and effort involved.

You can't go back and ask for more now. The key is to be clear upfront. Is he doing it as a favour for free, or expecting payment, and if so, how much? You can't really expect other people to know this. As long as everyone knows the score before he starts, you'll be fine.

£15ph for a teen when nmw for an over 21 is less than that @NameChangeScot

works out about £6ph

always discuss money /rate before hand so a lesson has been learnt

So your teen is earning £15 for 1.5 - 2 hours, that’s somewhere between £7.50 and £10 hourly rate.

If the OP’s teen had been paid £7.50/hour for his 2.5 hours work he’d have got £18.75, and if he’d been paid £10/hour he’d have got £25. Somewhere between £18.75 and £25. So yes by your estimates he has definitely been underpaid.

He is in for a shock when he sees the minimum wage isn’t he. I’m amazed at some of the unrealistic expectations on here.

@NameChangeScot minimum wage is nowhere near £15/hour. Your son has an amazing deal - £30 to mow a small garden!! I have a professional gardener and he only charges £25/hour.

My son, 18, is currently working a very physical job for the NMW of £10 so I think what he was paid is realistic. Some children are in for a rude awakening when reality strikes.

Yabu but only because I really clearly remember when I was a teen and moaning to my mum that I didn't think I was being paid fairly for my babysitting that she told me I'd have to speak to the lady myself. I did (she stopped using me 🤣) but I can still remember my heart pounding and working up the nerve and the life lesson of confronting a problem so I think you should leave this to your son.

We’re another household that don’t pay for chores either we just give the children pocket money once a month. Helping round the house I see as everyone contributing because we all live here. I want my DC to notice the dishwasher/bin needs emptying and do it rather than do it because they get paid.

£60/hour to mow a lawn??? Where do you live? I’m on my way over now!

@NameChangeScot unless your garden is huge, you’ve been massively ripped off. I have a professional gardener and he mows my medium size lawn as well as weeding, pruning etc. It takes him an hour and he charges £25.

OP your son should have got £20.

Yes we give them a small amount of pocket money and expect them to help alone the house, keeping it tidy, emptying the dishwasher etc. but mowing the lawn, washing cars, helping clear away weeds, pressure washing the patio etc sit above that and should be paid for I think. So I do. It encourages them to associate doing tasks with rewards and if they want extra money there is a way to earn it.

I am in central london and the going rate for hiring teenagers (eg babysitting, cat feeding etc) is £10 an hour.

We have a very different definition of very small lawn😳

My gardener charges £30 to cut my lawn, takes an hour or so. Beaconsfield. Areas don't get much more expensive. £60 is an hour is obscene.

🙄
Mowing the lawn is not heavy labour.

£15 is mean for 2.5 hours work.

Don’t let the stingy women take advantage again.

If he’s good he’ll find lots of work elsewhere.

The wage is based on what someone needs to pay rent, bills, food etc. I’m assuming the OP’s son doesn’t have any of those expenses!

I’m also assuming he doesn’t have the same skills and experience as a professional gardener. Nor does he have to pay tax and NI, save towards a pension, buy and maintain expensive gardening equipment, or run a vehicle to get from job to job.

I don’t think the rate he was paid was unfair. A little on the low side yes, but not unreasonably so.

Moonlighting!
You don’t know what moonlighting is obviously.

Minimum wage starts at 16. Not under.

Why does he think he deserves £20? You've already said someone else would have been quicker.

Lesson learned for him to negotiate upfront.

My son cuts our lawn and neighbours at the front ( as the adjoin) and our lawn at the back and we pay him £1!

perhaps I need to be more generous.

Ah fair enough and seems like a good way to encourage them to earn extra

£30 for a very small lawn, he should be doing it for nothing.

Seriously - £15 ph for a teen or £20-£25 for an adult . That’s not real life