Advice 14 yr old being duped, WWYD?

[everydaysaschoolda]

Hi

I’m new to this so apologies if I’ve posted in wrong area

My DD 14 wants to get a part time job. We live in a very touristy area, where is quite common for teenagers to have part time jobs.

A local small privately owned swimming pool advertised for leisure assistants, multiple positions, zero hr contract, from 14 yrs. my DD applied , I helped. Didn’t hear anything for around 6 weeks. Owner calls to asks her in for informal chat and swim test. I drive her in, wait in the car. There was 4 other kids there at same time. Chat and swim test takes nearly 2 hours. Owner told them about the job and said it’s not easy so don’t come thinking it is. They were to message her the next day to let her know if they were still interested. My DD did, 2 days later she gets a call on Friday night asking if she can do a trial 5 hour shift the next afternoon. DD is delighted. Shift goes well, she helps with a couple of parties and cleans changing rooms etc. Owner tells her she did great and next time to take her bank details. Asks her to message her availability for the next month. My DD does this also adding to her message that if there are any other dates she’s needed to let her know and she’ll try be flexible This was over 2 weeks ago. Owner has read message but not replied!

My question is, do I message as a parent to say this is an awful way to treat a child, she has given up 7 hours of her time and not been paid? This is her first introduction to working life and she thinks she must have done something wrong during the trial shift, she’s very upset. Do you think she should send the message? Or just leave it? I am beginning to wonder if the owner did this to all the kids and just wanted a few hours of free work.

My husband and I both work for NHS and have done for 25+ years so not much experience in this field.

Thanks

I am beginning to wonder if the owner did this to all the kids and just wanted a few hours of free work

I've read of this before on MN so I think it does happen, sorry.

Interviews are never paid and I think that its not unusual for trial shifts to be unpaid too, although I personally think they should be.
Maybe the owner is a CF, who knows but I hope thay have a fully qualified lifeguard too and aren't relying on kids to do that part

My DS was a bit older than your DD and went to do a trial shift at a pub.
Worked his socks off all night, never got paid and never was contacted again.

Even if it was a No it would have been the right thing to do to tell him.
Have subsequently heard that this pub does this all the time for extra bodies.

I’d give one more fair chance to them and send a message or have your daughter drop to the front desk while you wait in the car park. Doesn’t have to be confrontational, just ask if they have any hours for her. Does your DD know the others that were there on the interview day, did any of them get jobs?

If he ignores the message or refuses to see her, local Facebook groups and radio stations would be all over this sort of thing…. If you’re up for being a busybody 🤣

I’d at least tell friends and school mums locally about what happened. It’s bad business.

@MrsMitford3 so sorry to hear it happened to your DC too. I think it's an awful way to treat a child. If they don't want her to work there at least have the decency to let her know

@Hoppinggreen yes the lifeguard was the owner and was on poolside the whole time. One of the questions my DD asked during interview was about potential to do lifeguard course when she's 16. The owner told her this would be no problem at all

Same happened to my son he did 2 trial shifts for a pretty high end restaurant. One I could understand but they called him back for another shift, he sort of assumed he had the job. They then never contacted him again. I see them advertising for staff fairly regularly. It was a bit of a wake up call for him, he had been very keen on chefing as a career, but he had a rethink and now works in an industry with far better pay and hours.

@loropianalover I think that's great advice. Thank you

Interviews of course aren't paid as someone else but every single trial I have ever done in my life was paid in various roles same as other people I know.
However, I do know some people do 'trials' to get free labour. That's because they get away it and no one says anything.
I would 100% say something. An hour two unpaid trial, then maybe ok. But 5 hours?! That's disgusting of them.

Are 14yr olds allowed to work?
Does the owner have insurance for 14yr old employees?
Was there a h&s induction regarding chemicals used in the building?
Seems like a dodgy employer to me.

Why did she need a swim test? You can’t work as a lifeguard without doing a fairly extensive qualification first and you need to be over 16.
Also I think businesses need to apply for a permit from the local council if employing 14 year olds and a 14 year old can’t work for longer than 4 hours without having at least a 1 hour break.
I know in lots of cases these rules aren’t abided by and as long as you’re getting paid then I’d probably turn a blind eye to some of them but if they are not going to employ your child on an ongoing basis then I’d be tempted to contact them pointing out the breaches and asking when she’ll be paid for the hours she did worked.

I'm pretty sure the 'lifeguard' (owner?) on the day would have to be switched out every 30 minutes if poolside so unless they were regularly swapping out with a second lifeguard it's not a safe pool and you need to say something. Your lovely DC does not want to work there ever if it's unsafe.

She seemingly needed a swim test as she'd be helping out during the inflatable sessions and may need to be in the pool for short periods or swim to the other end to tie it on. She did get a 30 min break during her shift. The advert said 14 year olds could work between 3-10 hours a week, I'm sure when I checked it couldn't be fit mire than 2 hours afterschool or Sundays them 5 hours shifts on Saturday with a 30 min break (that may be wrong, as it was a couple of months ago I looked it up) It's mainly that they haven't got bank to her that's annoying me, it's just rude, I think if they had replied with a polite no thanks, I wouldn't have given it a second thought

You might find this useful: www.safeworkers.co.uk/employment-law/trial-shifts/

It's not going to be worth the bother of an actual employment tribunal, but a formal letter from an adult quoting the relevant HMTC guidance might encourage them to cough up for the time worked.