Saturday job 4am start, what would you want to earn?

[NannyAnna]

I have been helping someone out running their market stall in London on a Saturday. I leave my house in bath at 4am (get up 3.45) drive an hour to their office and pick up their van, then drive from their office into London, arrive at 7 and set up the stall, normally finishing setting up by about 8am and have a coffee and wait til 9 when trading starts, I then serve customers non stop til 1pm. Then I pack up the van and drive back to drop van off then drive back to my house. Roughly take between £1200-£1600 per market. He pays me £80 for the whole day, I'm usually home by 4.30 pm and am exhausted. What I want to know is, is £80 reasonable, he gas dictated that this is the earnings although he can't find anyone else to do the market for him and due to new baby he wants to be at home. Everyone I speak to tells me it's not a lot of money for the early start and long day/drive but they are friends and family and have my best interest at heart. So want to know from someone impartial if you think this is fair or if I should ask for more. Thanks in advance for any advice!

I reckon you are earning £8 an hour. I am not including your one hour travel time as generally I don't think that is paid time but no, I don't think I'd be happy with that rate for that early a start. £8 for a daytime role is may be ok but to start at 5 am I'd question it is think.

How much are you spending on fuel ie how much are you actually making? Am presuming you aren't paying for the fuel for the van?

I start at 5, i get 7.30 per hour

I suppose I must spend at least £8 fuel if not more getting to his van and back again at the end of the day and then I buy a sandwich for about £4 so I suppose I'm making about £68.

Thanks for all your replies. No Miranda I don't pay for fuel for the van - that would seriously reduce my earnings!

I think your own commute and cost of a sandwich are irrelevant to the overall rate. I commute an hour to work and buy drinks and food most days. I think your working day is about 10.5 hours so just over £8 per hour. It's a fair bit over minimum wage as if it happens to be cash in hand I suppose that would have other benefits. However I wouldn't routinely get up at that time for that amount unless it really made a difference.

Do you know how much of that turnover is profit? I think you do 12 hours. In those circumstances I think the commute does count. I wouldn't work those hours for £80 unless the profit was relatively low and I really wanted to help friends out.

That's a fair post galliano. Thanks. I don't think I will make a habit of it and if asked why I will mention that my Saturdays are more precious than the £80 which I think is what it boils down too, a normal day £80 is good however, as it's a weekend and 6th 12+ hour day (although is more relaxing than my day job looking after 3 boys under 3) I do a 65 hour week most weeks not including the Saturday market as I work as a nanny and whilst £80 helps it's not as attractive as a lie in at the moment.

Chop chop I agree, the 3.45 alarm is horrific to set on a Friday night!

It seems a very hard way to earn £80 to me. Are you sure its worth it?

It's really bad money for the amount of cash you're raking in for him - he's making £1200-£1600 to your 80 quid, and you're doing the work. Unless he's an idiot who can't make a profit on the goods. But with these numbers, he really doesn't sound like an idiot.

Ask for 150 in cash.

I'd want more. If only for getting up so early.

£20 an hour to do that at least, long hours, unsocial hours & very tiring.

I guess my view is that is the job. A lot of poorly paid and crap start times jobs involve min wage pay. Alternatively, you could ask to be paid a percentage of profit with the risk that nonprofit equals no wage.

Ultimately if depends if he needs you more than you need him or vice versa. If he thinks he can replace you with someone equally hardworking and reliable for the same money, then why would he pay more? If you're prepared to do it for the money, why would he pay more?

FWIW, I would expect a market job like that to pay not much more than minimum wage. I certainly can't see it paying £20!!! IME antisocial, hardwork jobs often pay very badly, more so than "nice" jobs. Think careworkers, waitresses, supermarkets.

The fact that he's making a nice profit is irrelevant - he's taking all the risk.

A million pounds, my clock doesn't register 4am.

obviously, if you can find a better job with more money, take it.

Can you?

I'd ask for 10% of takings. It would reward you to up takings

the van owner is a capitalist. You are the oppressed proletariat. You have some options:

-take control of the means of production by seizing the van

or

-recognise that you have only one saleable good (your labour) and study the market so that you can sell it for the greatest personal profit.

We are currently in a nominally free-market economy so the second option is more usual. You need to find out what other jobs you could do that would be more congenial and/or higher paying; and decide whether to take one, or to offer your current master the option of matching or beating those terms.

You have nothing to lose but your chains!

what are you selling OP? Be vague if you like

I think you should expect a bit more. £100-£120 would be fairer. And he needs somebody he can trust as anybody could pocket takings and be up to all sorts of fiddlings. Also I presume you are responsible for securing the takings and either banking them or returning them to him. Also a responsibility.

It depends on how easy he would find it to get somebody else as to whether or not he will give you a pay rise. So if you can second guess that it's half the battle.

Weekend nannying & I bet you would earn way more than that!