Teen weekend job

square_bear

Hi
My 14 year old son wants a weekend job to start earning his own spending money.
Trouble is these days apart from a paper round nobody wants to employ anyone under 16 years of age.
So, it looks as though he will have to create something himself and work from home.
Grass cutting is limited to about 6 months a year, he is looking for something more regular all year round, for just a few hours at the weekend.
Not looking for big bucks just £10-20 per week.
What have your teens done or are doing now?
Any suggestions?

onomatopoeia99

Housework in your house .

I gave a friend's son (15 or 16 years old) a couple of day's work at £50/day hacking back a lot of overgrown hedge, digging out weeds / brambles / etc and generally blitzing my garden over the summer holiday. My friend ended up doing a fair bit of it himself :rotfl:.

Madmel

DD aged 16 (17 in July) has been asking for a job in our local ice cream shop since she was 8. She was finally taken on at Easter. She does 4 hours each Sunday for £20, which is above the minimum wage and gives her plenty of time for homework & socialising.

Could your DS do car washing?

Dill

Babysitting?

14 is quite young to be going out to work, but he should be able to help you out in the house. Here is a link detailing the hours that someone that age is allowed to work.

https://worksmart.org.uk/work-rights/young-workers/childrens-work-rights/what-restrictions-are-there-work-14-year-old-can-do

I used to do a paper round before school when I was 15.

square_bear

Babysitting, I think is a very responsible job. Not suiteable for a 14 year old.
I know about the rules for work, I'm not forcing this on him but helping him to come up with a few ideas to earn a small amount of cash as a start before living in the real world as an adult.

barbarawright

Dogwalking maybe? There isn't really formal paid employment for under 16s any more. Is a paper round not an option?

Person_one

Why can't he wait until he finishes school or at least till 16? There'll be plenty of time for work soon enough, and probably till he's about 75!

cliffsgirl

Some small local business may take a young person on. I know the big multi nationals don't but if you have any independent shops or business in your local area it's worth asking them

VeGGie-STyLe

What about dog walking or pet-sitting?

I worked in a shop when I was 15. There was also 3 or 4 other 15-year-olds working there at the time. So there are employers who will do it..... usually the small independent retailers.

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

It is usually because insurance won't cover under 16s and with the current compensation culture it is a no go.

Why not use the time to educate them about money and have them do more around the house in exchange for a little money?

Loz01

Babysitting can be great if you are lucky with the kids/family, many moons ago I used to look after my neighbours two kids and they were so well behaved! They never cried or complained, they used to go to bed on time etc. Neighbours used to give me 10 or 15 quid depending on time length, it was the easiest money ever. She even used to buy me snacks to eat :rotfl: I didn't know I was born.