15 Year Old, Year 11 School Leavers.

gibson123

Really it's quite simply.

It is a fairly unusual situation for a 15 year old to be looking for full-time work, the majority being 16 when they leave school

There are lots of protection for under 18's who are in education to ensure that they are not being forced into work at the detriment of their education.

Your son is an exception to the norm.

This means that employers do not commonly understand that thye can legally employ your son, as long as they adhere to the "young worker" rules under the Working Time regulations.

It may be unlawful to discriminate against a 15 year old (not illegal it is not a crime), however proving this would be very difficult.

Reasonable employers are often not aware they can legally employ a 15 year old. They just don't know.

The best way to tackle this is to point out to the employer that they can employ your son, as soon as you start talking discrimination the conversation closes down as they reach for the phone to consult their solicitors.

I deal with 100s of school leaver every year, only one or two will be 15. Employers who take on apprentices are usually the best informed.

AP007

elsie1969 wrote: »

All I am wanting is the best for my Son.... and any opportunity to find potential employers who might consider giving him a chance! Is there anything so wrong in that?????

And I don't believe 'some' of the early quotes on page one are true facts either. I beg to be corrected if I am wrong.

what quotes?

barbaraemmerson

right i can see both sides of the argument here and can understand the ops frustrations but a couple of things................
I don't think your son will get a National Insurance Number until he is 16 so difficult to put through the payroll - especially under real time reporting.
If he is really keen to work he needs to start knocking on doors - don't bother sending in CV's or phoning - he will be in a large pile - and due to the perceived difficulties of taking on a 15 year old most employers will go for the many many many 16+ applicants - all 16 year olds are out there trying for summer work.
My son does employ 15 year olds - as waitresses and kitchen porters - they are put through the books - not cash in hand - and are treated to a share of the tips exactly the same as any other member of staff - based on the number of hours they work. So I would suggest going round local restaurants and being prepared to do the scut jobs. We are currently looking for a part time cleaner - early mornings 3 days a week - so there are jobs out there - Good luck to your son

kloana

I used to work (very legally, in a large company) alongside a 15 year old, whilst she was still in school. She was actually in year 10 (shortly going into year 11) when she started. She didn't turn 16 until around the spring time of her year 11.

Not sure what her National Insurance situation was, but it would've been legit, this was not a 'cash in hand' type of place.

During the summer holidays (she started in the summer before reaching year 11), she could work more hours than during term time. During term time, she was limited to something like 2 hours per day (on weekdays), up to a maximum number of hours per week - but she was a Saturday girl anyway, so this was largely irrelevant. She was entitled to either more frequent, or longer, breaks than us (memory fuzzy here), but that was largely irrelevant, too, as we all had well-spaced breaks.

She wasn't allowed to handle some 'hazardous' materials or machinery, such as knives, certain cleaning chemicals, etc.

So it definitely can be done.

She was a good little worker, and she's still there (she must be about 19/20 now).

hawk30

As some others have said, the problem is going to be proving age discrimination. And direct age discrimination can be justified if it is 'a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim', so if the employer has a reasonable excuse, then you can't do anything about it.

barbaraemmerson

Op I have been pondering this whist out on the garden this afternoon - I think you have to accept that "normal" jobs are going to be difficult to find until your son is 16 - as all the other 16 year olds will be offered them first - so I think you need to think outside of the box. When I was that age I did fruit picking - seasonal - farmers needed as many pairs of hands as they could get for a very short period - don't know where you live but this may be possible - backaching doing strawberries though!!! i "employed" my son to look after his sister at that age - there will be many many people looking for help with their kids over the summer - i am not thinking babies but older boys particularly who would love someone to take them out- play football, take them swimming, play computer games with them, teach the scout badges etc etc - would prefer a boy who would wear them out!! The other thought i had was could YOU not find a job home based (stuffing envelopes etc) betterware catalogues etc that you could pay your son to help you do? Cutting elderly neighbours grass, dog walking etc etc
I admire your son wanting to work so much better than sat in front of a computer or TV all day, good luck to him

AP007

Loads of sites with ideas

http://www.e4s.co.uk/search/part-time-jobs

http://www.summerjobs.co.uk/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5024370_summer-jobs-teenagers.html

http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/justforstudents/a/teenjobs.htm

shop-to-drop

Tesco take on 15 year olds if they have finished their GCSE's and will be 16 by the end of August.

gibson123

shop-to-drop wrote: »

Tesco take on 15 year olds if they have finished their GCSE's and will be 16 by the end of August.

Thank you - yes the bigger employers know they can be employed like any other young workers and that they can get an NI number and be put through the books, young people can work part-time from age 13, but can only work fulltime if they have legally left school.

I have just taken on an apprentice who will not be 16 until July.

Fluff15

I think many places will turn your son down because of his age, but it's unlikely you'll ever find out if that's the reason why. He'll just get a response saying he has not been successful, if anything at all. I think you get your NI number three months before your 16th birthday, so he should be good to go for summer work for those companies that do accept younger applicants.

However, I suggest him asking around all the local venues and hotels that do weddings and other events. There should be plenty of vacancies in this area, as more events happen during the summer. I used to work for a hotel and many of the people who served food were still at school. They got a pittance (somewhere in the region of £4 p/h, the minimum wage for their age group) but it was still a job. They just were never allowed behind the bar and could not pour peoples wine at tables etc, so it was all above board.

Good luck to your son, it's nice to see somebody who is young and wanting to get into work so soon! (Unlike a relative of mine who's 18 and barely makes an effort, just continues to mooch off the family)