Is this ski job package acceptable or exploitative?

[Johnogroats]

My DS has just had a an interview for some ad hoc work in a ski resort, supporting a nationally known brand. The package is as follows

1. 9 days work comprising 2 days acquaint (you need to get to know the place and introduce yourself to ski school, hire shops etc) and then 7 days with a school trip. You'd be up about 7 for breakfast, escort them to hire shop, take them to lessons, be available generally. I think there is some free time during the day but you'd need to be on the phone and deal with any issues immediately. At the end of the day you'd collect from ski school, sort out issues with kit, help with queries, take to dinner, organise evening activities - some or maybe most nights you'd finish about 9pm.
2. Pay £130. This is per week, and I think that means the full 9 days.
3. All meals
4. Ski kit and ski pass and insurance included. As is accommodation which is likely to be in a shared room.

Travel to ski resort included.

Obviously he doesn't have to take this job, but at the moment I am struggling to see how it is potentially legal. It would be a UK contract - he'd be a worker I think - but rules on working hours in the country concerned may also be relevant.

Any thoughts? Even if you regard it as a "free holiday" with a few additional duties, a few coffees and beers would have you in the red!

What I want from the thread is for someone who knows the law to articulate clearly why it’s legal. I know lots of people are saying it’s piss easy / a slightly paid holiday / great experience / a fantastic way to have a cheap holiday. I probably agree on the experience point, less so the others. But a 24 hour a day job which pays about £1 an hour….i ask again, is it legal?

I don't know about legality, I suspect not, but it's very widespread. I know of people who put up tents at Euro Camp or similar for similar money, also other sports eg mountain biking, scuba diving. There's a whole industry based on cheap labour. I do wonder if anyone's looked into it, eg after an accident.

It’s not 14 hours a day for 9 days.

It’s arriving two days early which will be classed as local acclimatisation not working.

It’s then a couple of hours a day at most ‘working’ and the rest on call. On call time doesn’t count as work hours. That’s why many on call rotas can have people on call for a week straight.

That will go a long way to closing the perceived gap.

But the rep is in the resort, staying in the hotel or hostel with the guests - he can't just go home and sit by the phone watching TV when he's "on call" and he'll be expected to socialise with the teachers accompanying the school group as well as planning the activities for the following days, organising transport, chasing up lost skis, phones and wallets and doing the admin for the trip. During the day he can't go off skiing at the other end of the resort, or to a different resort. Companies I've worked for expect the rep to respond (i.e. physically be with the whole group or the particular ski instructor's group) within 30 minutes of being called. He'll also have to deal with whatever the teachers decide is important here and now - from experience they can come up with the most bizarre "issues" when they themselves are not in full control of the trip.

But where is he going, you say probably France. But then say he is escorting a school? So does he go with the school? And stay with only them? So travel with them etc?

I think it’s impossible for anyone to give actual legal advice without seeing the specific employment contract.

but it doesn’t sound like an employment and sounds more like work experience

And pretty much every other on call arrangement also requires you to be available and respond in a specific time frame.

Most dont provide equipment and passes for personal use during that time. Standby / on call is different to work from an employment law perspective.

The the equipment and the ski pass are neccessary in order to do the job - or is he supposed to walk 1000m up the mountain when the teachers call?

It’s definitely work. He’s formally been offered the job and has asked for the contract. He’s with the group the whole time. He may be asked to ski with them (tag along at the back of lessons in case there’s an issue) but more likely be in the mountain ready to come and help if there are any issues. His French is excellent so most likely he’d be sent there, but the company doesn’t seem too worried about language skills so could be Italy Andorra Austria or even Spain (he has a 9 at GCSE Spanish).

@Johnogroats "He may be asked to ski with them (tag along at the back of lessons in case there’s an issue) but more likely be in the mountain ready to come and help if there are any issues."

More red flags 😟

He won't be a student of the ski school so how will he be covered should he have an accident, or even worse, if he causes an accident? He won't be allowed to assist the ski instructor with anything skiing related - even helping a student back to their feet is a grey area - and on the mountain it is the instructor who is in charge and who is liable if anything happens and the instructor will have a direct line to the piste patrol or mountain rescue team. Once the lesson starts the instructor cannot leave a student in the care of someone else other than one of the school teachers. Even though the rep will (hopefully) have passed the DBS check, he won't be allowed to be in charge of any students, either an individual student or a group of kids; there must always be a teacher present.

Your son has an EU passport and so can work anywhere in the EU without any requirement for a visa or permit. While most of the major British tour operators will probably have finalised their recruitment for the coming season, it is worth contacting them just in case there are still vacancies. I'm assuming that as the company in question organises school trips it is not one of the majors such as TUI/Crystal, Nielson, Heidi or Inghams. His EU passport is the key - where I ski most of the "British" reps since Brexit have actually had Irish or other EU passports even though they live in the UK.

Alternatvely he could take an easyjet or ryanair flight to the Alps sometime soon, get himself to a resort and start knocking on some doors. Hotels, cafes, nightclubs, restaurants, ski rental shops etc. are all looking for seasonal staff and they pay far more than £130 a week. For example, minimum wages in the hospitality industry in Austria are around €2,000 a month plus room and food, even for jobs such as dishwashing or clearing tables.

Thanks @Havanananana i agree with everything you say. He’s currently at uni so doesn’t want a full season… the busy week jobs are ideal….. to a point! He’d be a fab chalet boy (great coooking skills) but appreciate those jobs are less common these days. At the very least it’s been really good to go through this process…. Opens the eyes if he wants to do a season later on.

@Johnogroats The major companies sometimes have vacancies for peak season reps - usually Christmas/New Year and February half-term. It's worth contacting them just in case.

Update. He’s now heard back from all 5 companies he applied to. All have offered him work. The rates vary from £130pw to £500pw. The better paying companies are more likely to provide him with single (not shared) accomm. No surprises, he’s rejected the £130pw job. And he’s looking at several weeks better paid work with others.

@Havanananana. This is not necessarily the case. Depending on the resort, there are no longer any freebies like there used to be!

Glad to hear he's got some better offers - £500 and single accomodation sounds much more enticing!