AIBU to suggest my child quits a zero-hours fast food job?

[ShouldHeQuit]

My young adult child has worked a job with a well known fast food chain for a year.
its a zero hours contract and despite requesting full time hours they have never been given more than 12 hours in a week.
Most weeks it’s between 2 and 6 hours, frequently no shifts at all in a week!
The majority of the shifts are 2 or 3 hours long. We live 10 miles from the workplace and due to public transport finishing early (rural location)it means me having to drive them there then collect later so driving 40 miles for 2 hours minimum wage.
The job satisfaction is shit as well, the people they work with are a not very nice bunch and are drinking pals so look after each other. My child’s mental health is quite bad partly due to this.
They are applying for numerous other jobs but with no joy, don’t even get a rejection just ghosted which seems to be the norm nowadays
Would they be unreasonable to quit the job and claim JSA? Can you even claim JSA if you quit?
YABU don’t quit
YANBU quit

If she’s not getting shifts, it’s likely that management have a reason for this. Perhaps it is to do with her work ethic, general personality, attitude etc.

If she quits, where will she get her reference in order to get another job?

If she gets an interview for another job, how will she answer the inevitable question about the gap in her CV?

What message are you sending her that she should just quit and go on JSA?

My suggestion is that she makes an effort to be a valued hard-working team player. This will be appreciated by management. In the meantime, secure another role. When she gets another role, she’ll have a decent reference and no gap in her CV.

I don’t see it as the responsibility of employers or colleagues to be your best mate or make you feel great. That’s what friends and family are for.

Its still better to look for another job whilst in employment.

and no she wont get anything if she quits

I would be encouraging them to self reflect to be honest. If they are only getting very little shift I would wonder if they are a slow worker and therefore not being given rush hour shifts.

Job market is terrible, its taken a year for my 17 year old to get a job and has done free trials, been ghosted etc.

How old are they? Are they not looking at a more stable position? Can you see if there are any apprenticeships or training opportunities elsewhere?

It’d be better for them to get another job and a reference first.

The jobs not for her zero hours can be zero hours it’s just to fill peaks and troughs in resourcing

@SassyLemonFish @purplecorkheart the lack of shifts may be due to the fact that the restaurant is well staffed with full-timers. Some employers like to have a list of zero hours staff to fill in gaps in their rotas ad hoc.

DD had a zero hours contract in a retail shop at uni. Mostly she got 0, or 4 hours, sometimes 8, a week. Nearly all the staff were on zero hours and they all wanted more hours but the store just recruited more staff, so no one generally got a lot more than 4 -8 hours/week.
She commuted over christmas 1.5 hrs each way to do 4 hour shifts....so not sure work ethic/effort really counts for a lot, in those kind of set ups

I would add she wanted something with contracted hours and had retail experience but that was all she could find (applied for probably 60+ jobs)

The manager and deputy manager are part of the ‘drinking pals’ gang!
The manager is the only full time contracted person, the store employs multiple staff on very little hours…
The manager has been reported on more than one occasion for bad behaviour, store health & safety etc but those higher up couldn’t give damn as long as the place makes a profit and the reporter gets hounded out of the job.
I have so far encouraged them to stay, it looks better when applying for jobs if you’re already in employment.
However when you pick up your child from yet another demoralising 2 hour shift and they talk about how the world would be a better place if they were not in it then it’s bloody heartbreaking

@Fizbosshoes you understand, it’s so shit isn’t it!

Quit. Without hesitation.

There will be plenty of hospitality jobs available over the summer. Look for outside catering companies, hotels etc..

It's very hard to get a job now so I wouldn't quit-nothing wrong with looking for others though. I'd tend not to get involved, once your child is old enough to get a job, let them decide for themselves. Apart from anything else, they can blame you if they think doing what you've said has a negative impact, and they can get used to be reliant on doing what you say all the time.

It's really not that easy and depends where you are. Most summer vacancies will already be filled.

I wouldn't quit physically but I would check out of it mentally. Do a minimum number of shifts and try everything to find another job.
Saying that she is available after the summer holidays is a good selling point and currently being in a job and having a reference is better than not.

But if the job is very poor for mental health, then quit.

Hospitality and Retail are terrible for this zero hour / very part-time contract working. It supports their disorganised approach to rotas and keeping hours at an absolute minimum. Its going to get worse now NMW has increased too. The targets individual shops are set are crazy and likely not enough hours to run what is needed, horrible environment for the managers and the staff.

That being said, perhaps its time to look around for something else, but not quitting until they have something lined up.

She will get the reference from them. Quitting doesn’t mean flouncing it is something that young people do often. You don’t have to be in the job to get the reference. She can explain the gap by saying she went travelling or took time to look after her family member. It’s not hard.

If your kid wants to die because of their job then obviously they leave.

I would encourage my DC to quit a job like this. I'd tell them that at this stage of life, they are better off developing skillsets like confidence, self-worth and resilience, which don't have to be learned in a soul-destroying work environment. no hours or 2-4 hours a week is pointless. Better off starting up a small business of their own, learning how to manage a website, market their goods or services, basic accounting etc. They can't earn less than they do on zero hours per week, but they'd gain a lot more experience.

I’d also like to point out some instances of my child’s work ethic - telling the manager it’s not good practice to smoke a cigarette outside the shop in his work uniform then come back in and handle food without washing his hands😱
and not agreeing with the manager when he wants to close up without doing the kitchen clear down and clean so he can go drinking and means the morning staff kick off as they have to sort his shit out before they start work!
and I know they are not making this up to make themself look good - I’ve seen the staff group chat and know its true

Ahh the snowflake generation. Yes, have your daughter quit and become yet another leach on the taxpayer while she applies for her dream job. And there’ll be something wrong there too and she can quit that too.

Alternatively tell her to suck it up, learn some resilience and who knows, it might motivate her to do something with her life and not have to work at McDonalds for the rest of her life.

It's a no-brainer. Job affecting mental health negatively - quit. End of. This person is young.

Thank you for your kind words @RuinartRuination
Maybe I should’ve agreed with my child when they worked out how much discount I would get on my council tax if they weren’t here and agreed that yes I wouldn’t have the expense of a funeral if they sorted themself in such a way that there was no body to bury…

Honestly, no manager is going to love being called out by a junior member of staff however right they are. That is probably why they aren't getting more hours. Doesn't make it right but that's the realities of the workplace sadly.