Work experience and thanking those who offer

[tatt]

One of my children will be going on work experience soon for 4 days. I can't see that the firm get much out of this ( we're no in a position to retun the favour) and was wondering about a small gift for the person who will be supervising them. However searching mumsnet I found suggestions that the firm might give their work experience student pay .

Have your teens had work experience yet? What do you think is reasonable?

My teen has just done 2 weeks in a nursery for hers, and they never even thanked her when she left on Friday. She got them a box of chocolates.

My eldest did hers at a hairdresers, and got £20 and her hair cut and coloured!

Thanks - anyone else?

They are not supposed to get paid but some do. DD did 2 weeks in a small clothes shop. They wanted her to come in on a Saturday as they were short staffed - told her to pick £30 worth of clothes.

She gave them a thank-you card at the end. I think this is sufficient - they received 2 weeks of hard work off of her.

dd went to work at a theatre - she really didn't need anything as she had a ball

ds went to work in a pet shop - he didn't get anything but surprisingly he liked it.

i think its probably a nice thing to do - a thank you card.

ooh custardo! How did your dd get the theatre experience. My dd would love to work in a theatre for her WE next year but we were told that insurance can be difficult.

I have always given the work experience students a card and a small gift - chocolate/flowers etc

thank you all. If they were doing 2 weeks and were able to do something useful (like the clothes shop) then I'd think some payment was merited but I think my teen will get more from it than their "employers". Will get them to take a thank you card.

She has had a de-brief at school today, and the teacher that came to see her, said the place was minging (teacher teen talk), and she would send her child there!

Thank you would still have been nice!

dd bought a bottle of wine for the person she shadowed

glinda - ummm, i dunno the school arranged it - it was a small theatre she did everything from cleaning the lighting to making bacon butties and helping out in the cafe - she bloody loved it

think I'll see what they end up doing but have something like wine or chocolates if it sounds like they have been shadowing more than working , which is kind of what I expect.

Ds did a weeks work experience at Canary Wharf - he loved it. They gave him some promotional bits and pieces at the end - and offered him a placement.
He thoroughly enjoyed it!

Funny isn't it Custy - Ask them to do a bit of cleaning and cooking at home and they moan but the same jobs in a theatre are brilliant!