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

You didn't say how old they are that would help.

Why aren't they driving? Are they in further education to get a better skill and job than fast food?

What? Comments like this are highly unhelpful! He may be shy, lack confidence rather than anything else. He's 17yo. Get a grip.

@ShouldHeQuit he should def quit. It's like he doesn't have a job anyway. I hope government bans zero hours contracts, they're a disgusting way to employ people.

It might suit him to do an online job. Good luck helping him through this.

I bet your willy is mahoooosive too :)

A 'whopper...'

(i know, I know, different company to McDonald's)

My first job at 17 was a zero hour contract in a cafe, for a big employer. Awful. Absolutely the worst first job I could experience, I applied for many other jobs once I had ‘experience’ for my cv and got another job with a contract and benefits and never left because I realised how good I had it now.

But dependant on the age your child is I would recommend an apprenticeship as at least you a being paid more than they are currently with that job and will gain a great skill with a prosperous career.

Answer for not driving = safe cars cost thousands. A £500 1990s banger versus a modern electric lump in an accident equals death in banger, scratch to lump.

Insurance for young people is about a thousand upfront, if possible at all. Moreso for boys.

Putting said child on parents insurance is a disaster for no claims, a disaster for premium and a disaster for parent who also needs their car to get to work.

Easy to explain why this young person isn't driving to work now for their £21 a week 2 hour shift. :)... They earn about £1000 a year at this rate. Not enough to consider a car. Or a moped. Barely a bike. Maybe a pair of trainers.

This. Although I would have used gentler words than this because it's Op's child.
Good on her for sticking with it for a year. If it is getting her down then it's time to give it in.

My first job took me over 60 applications to get, was zero hours, irregular hours, nasty environment and they got rid me when it suited the business. That was 30 years ago in the UK. I eventually got the job that paid me well after paying my dues for 15 years.

Times haven't changed much. Perception and attitudes have. We are grossly over populated of course but we grafted back then.

That's your reason... she needs to wind her neck in.

have you worked zero hours jobs like this as a teenager without experience? because this reads like the application of maxims that were true quite a few years ago being applied to an ecosystem which has moved on considerably.

It’s zero hours so there’s nothing to quit from.

if it was my DD I get her to leave because it’s obviously a rubbish environment for her which sounds like it’ll cause more harm than good in the long run. Maybe she can choose shifts that are more suitable and say no to the ones that are with staff she can’t stand

Have family who used to own pubs and restaurants. This is down to the employer tax rules and regulations. Giving more hours to one person beyond a certain threshold would significantly increase an employer's costs and responsibilities. The legislation is well-meaning, but the money is not there in hospitality. Also, the market is quite bad out there. Wouldn't recommend OP's DD quit without a job.

What bollocks - if it's Dominos quit - as they are well known for being a totally shit organisation and have a very high turnover of staff for a reason....

As for it being the young person's fault they don't get more hours work - really? What in the OP are you actually basing that on?

What help is your DC getting for their mental health op? It’s quite extreme if they are feeling suicidal after 2 hours of work.

I would also agree with the others that it is quite possible they are getting fewer shifts because they are telling the manager off about smoking etc.

I'm surprised he's giving her any shifts. It sounds like a shit job and I would be looking for something else but pissing off the manager will not make him change his ways. It will just mean she has a miserable time at work.

There’s nothing wrong with zero hours I have a zero hours top up job there’s nothing exploitative about It
i get offered random shifts or sometimes no shifts which I pick and choose

the entire problem is people take zero hours jobs when they need full time or permanent work
unless your happy with the prospect of getting no shifts or random shifts
DON’T TAKE THE JOB in the first place

OP DD took a zero hours top job then complains when she gets zero hours it’s what she signed up for

my zero hours is based around events which come from sporadic bookings they can have an event every night of the week then nothing for weeks they couldn’t employ permanent staff as they don’t always have the bookings it would have to shut

That is plain nasty.
I have no idea how old you are but I was a school leaver at the height of unemployment in the 80's.
We weren't somehow more resilient or better than young people nowadays.
I was on the dole for a long time as were a lot of my friends. And it was tough and we also had mental health issues, self-harmed, all that jazz.
But...and this is a big but....we had more hope than the young people now. We could see a potential future where we might get a job that would be sufficient to pay rent or a mortgage. We could see a future where we might get driving and be able to afford to insure a car.
Wtf have kids got now? They can work their arses off, yet still know affording to move out is a ridiculous notion. Saddle themselves with huge debt from going to Uni and still put themselves not much further ahead of the game.
I can well understand how many haven't got the miraculous resilience you're talking about.

Lying then

They’re shite jobs. I worked in Greggs as a student and somehow stuck it out for 10 months. No idea how but in the end I walked out of a shift one day and never returned. They’re soul destroying. I was on a 4 hr contract which essentially meant if I annoyed the manager I’d get 4 and no more.

It was the worst place I ever worked and I worked in many shit roles. Customers treat you like shit on their shoes, the staff are miserable and demoralised which is understandable but rubs off on you and you often have to start at 5am. I barely go in Greggs now as a result. You’ll likely notice the staff in there always look down, this is why.

There’s just more to life than working in crap jobs like this. Tell him to drop it for his mental health.

How can the work be making her miserable - she doesn't get any shifts?

DS works with lots of immigrants in the factory. Many Nigerians, Indian people etc. All desperate for a job. The hours are out there for young people if they want it.

Fair enough for OP that it isn't as easy as this for her own DC.

To the op.
If your child is feeling so low,then they quit the job.
It comes with the caveat of lots of talking about how it's not something you could do when you have more financial responsibility as you'd need another job first - but that you love them, you see how hard it is at the moment, and you want to help them find a direction whether that be further training, on line learning, voluntary work, or another less crappy crap job if they can get one.
This is the world we are in. I left home at 17, and I could do that. Now kids can't and we have to just try and help them hold it all together and find joy in life. It's what parents do, and I think your instincts are right.
They don't want to have clipped wings. Its not fun having little money or independence. This is not a lack of resilience in them, but a lack of opportunity and hope. The blame should go back where it belongs rather than on them.

I’d bee getting my child to apply for jobs/training/volunteering in the 40+ other hours they have available during the week. Farms are crying out for staff if you’re rural. Knock on their door, ask for work. We took on an apprentice this way.

Just as an aside zero hour jobs aren’t all bad and some employers would really struggle without them. We have 6 full time/part time staff. Then two zero hours who help cover holiday, Sickness etc. one is a retiree who works mostly in the winter for us then gallivants off in their motorhome from April - October. The other is a student who we often take on around Easter and they work holidays and weekends till around September. we’d struggle to give a guaranteed 20 hours a week to one employee but this works really well for them and for us.

At least your DC got offered a job at McDonald's OP. DS tried but was told they're not hiring just now.

Can your DC try a job agency OP? They may have something closer since you're rural?

My DD (post uni) has a zero hours job (which she did part time in previous uni holidays) - she’s desperate for more shifts and is a hard worker and integrated w the team but they just won’t do it. It’s the same for everyone there, not just her. It is retail but more ‘artisan’ than working in McDs or whatever and could lead to a specialist career (she is waiting to hear if she got a full/time but similar role somewhere else).

id advise your DC to stick it out until they find something else, recruitment is tough atm (other DC applying for grad jobs which is a whole other ball game).

What? Why are you posting about your child quitting a job when that is the least of your issues. If your child has suicidal thoughts stop posting on AIBU and focus on your kid.

I would definitely encourage my child to leave in these circumstances... but have something else lined up - how about volunteering at a charity shop instead. They could do longer shifts and still be getting experience (sadly no money but routine and getting out and about are just as important).