At what age did your teen get a weekend/holiday job?

Treevo

At that age I'll be encouraging (expecting really) mine to do voluntary work to gain experience for getting into the best sixth form, university and eventually job.

I think (if you can afford it) it's far more valuable in the long run, now that qualifications aren't enough.

Octobergirl

Triangle wrote: »

My first job at 15 - four hours on a Saturday at a shoe shop for the grand sum of £2.10/hr

barr&ts at the age of 15, £1.34 an hour.....I feel ripped off:D

Loz01

I was 16 and worked at Argos, £4.25 an hour and when I was 17 it went up to £4.50 and I felt like a king! :rotfl:

PolishBigSpender

If children are in full time education, the clue is in the name - full time education

Making them get a job while at school is exploitative and a complete failure of duty, especially as parents often receive extra benefits for having children. Children should be encouraged to learn, not encouraged to work - they'll have at least 45 years of that ahead of them!

As others have said on this thread, a job in the evenings can really have an impact on their future life, particularly if their school results start to suffer. Wouldn't it be better to give them 20 pounds a week (rather than having them work for exploitative wages) and encourage them to achieve in school?

Sorry, but in Poland, we value education. Children working is unheard of.

pulliptears

PolishBigSpender wrote: »

If children are in full time education, the clue is in the name - full time education

Making them get a job while at school is exploitative and a complete failure of duty, especially as parents often receive extra benefits for having children. Children should be encouraged to learn, not encouraged to work - they'll have at least 45 years of that ahead of them!

As others have said on this thread, a job in the evenings can really have an impact on their future life, particularly if their school results start to suffer. Wouldn't it be better to give them 20 pounds a week (rather than having them work for exploitative wages) and encourage them to achieve in school?

Sorry, but in Poland, we value education. Children working is unheard of.

Forgive me, I'll be blunt.
What a load of utter tosh.

I worked from the age of 14, managed 12 GCSE's, then A Levels, then a Degree. I wasn't exploited, I learned the value of money and saving and that if you wanted something you worked for it.

Doling out £20 a week teaches them what exactly? That money is pretty easy to come by because Mum and Dad will always give you some?
A pound earned of your own is worth two handed to you on a plate.

piglet74

My dd is 14 (15 in sept) and is helping out in a local hairdressers for a few hours on Sat and possibly the odd day over the summer.

Mrs_Optimist

DD is 14 and volunteers at the local charity shop on a Saturday. She works 9 to 5 with an hour for lunch. It is just round the corner from our home so she has no transport costs. We pay her an hourly rate of £3.50 from the child benefit we get for her. We are lucky that we can afford to do that.

As far as we are concerned it is a "win-win" situation; DD earns her own money, is gaining valuable work experience, will have something to put on her cv when she starts looking for further employment, and realises that if you want something you have to work and earn it. We don't just hand over money when she wants it, she has to earn it and budget. We also pay for pocket money of £30 per month for chores she is expected to do around the house and also her mobile bill of £15.

To be honest she used to spend most of a Saturday morning sleeping anyway, so it hasn't impacted on her school work.

We were uncomfortable with the thought of her doing a paper round.

ETA she has learned invaluable lessons in working with other people, of different ages, has developed excellent people skills, and likes feeling that she is also helping out for charity.

notanewuser

I was 15.

zaksmum

My son was 13 when he got a paper round, delivering free newspapers.

He was sacked when they found out he'd just stuffed them down into some dustbins he'd passed!

My daughter was 16 when she got a weekend job in Woolworth's.

marleyboy

I remember when my Mother found out I had been working at the age of 12 during the school Summer holidays. This was because one of the workmen building the new estate on the corner, had knocked on our door for permission to give me a suit his child had grown out of. He explained how the past two Summers, I had done a spectacular job and worked hard for my money of £5 a day.

Expecting I was in trouble, I was shocked to find my Mother saying how proud she was of me for showing commitment to work. Of course by the time I was 16 it was more a case of "get off your backside and get a job!!"