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

Sounds more like you’re sick of driving your kid to work - so encourage them to work hard and buy some driving lessons with their wages .
suck it up - can’t quit just because you don’t like your job ! Needs to work on their resilience and manners by the sound of it !!

This.

Just quit. Don't look back. What's she missing? (a reference worth virtually nothing with the hours worked, virtually no money and mental health concerns).

Just walk away. No one in their 30s upwards would bother with this shit so why should young people?

It's shit. End of.

Time to 'create' a job, set up a cleaning company, shopping business, something people need... Clearly, fast food restaurants don't 'need' your child and treat her accordingly.

She's valued as much as a burger smooshed on the floor.

I’d always say never quit without another job to go to unless there are extenuating factors, and there don’t seem to be here.

It’s difficult to believe that the job could have a significant impact on her mental health if she works so few hours. Surely the bigger impact must be from applying for numerous jobs and not getting anywhere, and that won’t change by quitting this job.

The travel distance would annoy me, but they chose to apply for a job in that location in the first place, and there doesn’t seem to be anything closer since they are applying for other jobs and not getting anywhere.

I’m not in the UK so don’t know anything about claiming JSA but surely they can claim something now even without quitting this job - what are you supposed to live on if working between 0 and 6 hours per week?

But what happens when they work more than that one week? Will the claim stop and it’ll take 5 weeks of no money when the job offers 2 hours again?

The extenuating factor seems to be that the child is so utterly miserable and dejected about the job that they are feeling suicidal.

Bullshit. Being in a job that is this problematic does fuck all for “resilience”. When people talk about young people being “resilient” it is really just an excuse to subject them to really shitty working conditions. Nobody should be happy with that.

And then what? Buy a car/insurance (or pay £££ to add her to OP’s insurance) on a zero hours contract where she is earning pennies per week?

Some people don’t live in the real world.

Are they applying anywhere at the minute? As a young adult at the moment, while the market is tough, it isn't impossible. Sending out applications is the starting point, even if it's a similar job with more hours.

Why are so many people saying 'she' when the OP has done the 'they' 'them' Olympics all the way through??

I mean the OPs username says its a son so its odd people are assuming its a daughter.

I'd let him quit OP. As long as he's applying for anything and everything and hopefully something will crop up sooner rather than later

The “managers” sound a bunch of cunts to be honest. How much do they really need the job? Do they go to college or uni? Expecting someone to do a 2 hour shift is fucking bullshit. Sadly there’s a lot of shit workplaces run by thick incompetent wankers and bullies

What does your dc want to do? Do they want to quit?

With suicidal thoughts linked to the job I would be encouraging them to take some time out.

Is this one of the lesser fast food restaurants?

In my opinion McDonald's actually have some standards (such as not allowing their managers to smoke outside in uniform)

Why can't your daughter look for a new job while doing her zero hours contract?

I’d encourage my DC to leave too.

Most weeks it’s between 2 and 6 hours, frequently no shifts at all in a week!

The wage can’t be much at all for a young adult on minimum wage with no hours so I’m guessing that you are supporting them?
Would they miss that amount of money?

How about some middle ground. If your child is only getting a few hours per week on a zero hour contract. Get them to put a Universal credit claim in alongside the job.

They would then get a top up if work was really quiet that month and they could ask a work coach help them find a local work experience placement, or a suitable apprenticeship so that theu can leave for something more sustainable.

How about the fact she publicly criticizes the manager on staff chats

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with working at McDonald’s for life

Prior to a recent situation with my son and his job - I was of the mind that my adult children should be studying or working as many of the previous posters have shared.

However, my son recently left an apprenticeship that made him very ill (he developed Epilepsy that we think was triggered after high work related stress and resultant lack of sleep). He persevered on because that is what we are meant to do isn’t it - push on through adversity! He can’t drive for a year and because of the nature of his job I had to drop him and pick him up each day. It was an awful time for him and me.

However, 7 months on he left - it was untenable! In the 3 weeks he has been off he is like a different person - back to my lovely, carefree son. Laughing, seeing his friends. He will apply for jobs, he has an excellent work ethic but his choice of job wasn’t right for him!

Is it perfect, no. Is the current job situation for young people good, definitely not! However, we will deal with that, he won’t be claiming benefits and I will support him all I can to find a job that allows him to manage his long term health condition and work in a manageable way or to go to college.

So from my side thinking about your situation, if your young person wants to leave as it is best for their mental health then that is ok. Maybe college or start to look for a job more aligned to their needs. And try not to listen to the noise of others who have not walked a mile in your young person or your shoes! I would rather have my son alive and well than the alternative!

I would try a temp agency as well as looking for a new job.

Of course they should quit. There is zero point in you driving them 40 miles, spending around £6-8 in fuel (and not to mention the value of your time), for them to earn 2 hours minimum wage doing a job they hate. The cost-benefit analysis is entirely off.

They need a job they can get to independently at the very least.

They are not criticising the manager!
I have seen the group chats in which the morning staff (not my child) are complaining that the clear down wasn’t done properly the night before!!! - my child was in the night before with asshole manager and he told them all to leave as he was locking up. My child said something along the lines of “but we need to sort x,y,z first” and was told just leave it, I want to get to the pub before it closes!

If your child is talking about suicide, then take that as a sign that they need to get out of that job. No job is worth your health, and certainly not your life.

There is nothing wrong with them applying for JSA/UC, as that is what it is for... people looking for work. They will be expected to look for work, but their work coach can see about courses etc for them too, and can find out about things like job fairs.

If your child is suffering in this way and they can afford to quit then quit. Tell them it's ok to walk away from a job that is terrible for them
You will be there and support them. There is something better out there xx

Just get them to quit, especially as it’s affecting their mental health. It’s not worth it.

Might be worth having a chat to them about work politics before their next job.

My older brother has always been very rigid in the way he thinks about this sort of thing (he's an inveterate rule follower and I suspect undiagnosed ASD) and while his current job (in IT) suits him down to the ground, he has struggled in roles in the past due to not quite getting the interpersonal relationships and workplace politics at play.