Teen weekend job

pigpen

None of the newsagents have paper deliveries any more.. other than a few very old customers and the shop owner pops them out himself usually.

There is absolutely nothing for under 16's here.. Primark is then pretty much the only place where anyone under 18 can get work there are very very few under 18's working here.

Weekend/evening jobs are very limited anyway which is the only time they can work around school/college.

tbh, of the friends of my under 18 teens not one of them works (I just asked).. not necessarily through choice either.. unless they are are 'employed' by family members.. then it is all cash in hand stuff.. helping uncle John with his gardening business kind of thing.


There is no work here for adults, let alone children. Even the charity shops won't take them on due to health and safety apparently.

I used to do my nannas housework/ironing for a few quid from being about 11.. kept me in sweets and sanitary towels

GwylimT

MallyGirl wrote: »

We have really struggled to find volunteering options for my 14yr old DD - for DofE. Admittedly she wanted to do something animal related. Same old excuses about insurance/health & safety.

It isn't an excuse, its a legal requirement.

Lazarus_Blackstar

OP your son sounds like he has a good head on him if he is wanting a little job to earn his own money. I'm betting he will be a hard working individual in the not too distant future.
Makes a refreshing change to hear a young lad wanting to work and earn some pocket money, rather than sitting around playing on a games console, like most teenagers seem to do these days.
He has a bright future ahead of him!

Spendless

WHSmith website say they are able to employ children from 13 (I don't know if this means for paper-rounds, do they do deliveries?). They later go on to talk about having a Nat Ins number though. My DS only came through a couple of months before his 16th birthday, which I believe is the norm. It might be worth making some further enquiries though.

http://www.whsmithcareers.co.uk/working-in-our-stores/sales-assistant/

Alikay

mrsjanebanbury2009 wrote: »

How about something computer-based? I know he's too young to have his own eBay account but there's no reason why he can't set up listings etc for you. Or write a blog/record a vlog about stuff he's interested in and learn how to monetise it. Or do web development?

Hmm...DS1 (now 25) did this: Flogged anything he could get his hands on, set up a forum and equipment website on his favourite sport (which he later sold) and various other techy things. School were NOT impressed when he accessed his own sites in Geography lessons! Not a massive problem for him, as he was, and still is very entrepreneurial, and it was obvious that he wouldn't be treading an academic path. He now earns very good money at the cutting edge of web design/management but it was a struggle keeping him engaged with his studies even to GCSE level as he found his extra-curricular interests far more exciting!

moneypenny21

Some of my friends used to do Avon or similar (Betterware etc) signed up in their parents names before they were 16. Could that be an option?

Alikay - therein lies the problem with schools. They don't like creativity! My entreprenuerial friend aged 12 set up a sweet shop at the back of our classroom, buying sweets in the morning, taking orders (we didn't have a tuck shop) and making a profit. Everyone was happy, she got some money, we got the sweets. As soon as the teacher found out, her empire was closed down.....!

pigpen

Spendless wrote: »

WHSmith website say they are able to employ children from 13 (I don't know if this means for paper-rounds, do they do deliveries?). They later go on to talk about having a Nat Ins number though. My DS only came through a couple of months before his 16th birthday, which I believe is the norm. It might be worth making some further enquiries though.

http://www.whsmithcareers.co.uk/working-in-our-stores/sales-assistant/

NI numbers are issued at birth.. if you ring the tax people they can give you it regardless of the age of the child.

They are not routinely sent out at 16 any more either.. We had to call for all of my offsprung.

DigForVictory

+1 for refereeing. Surprisingly well paid, often local, fresh air & exercise, responsibility, develop a very thick skin for insults.

However, if you can afford it, cut a deal with another parent & each of you hire the other's child for a tenner a week for all the domestic (indoor & out) chores you've not trained the family to do with a sharp look.

Where possible play to individual strengths? I've one son who can dig like a mole whereas another is much better at bringing on seedlings. The tallest is very useful for shopping (reaching into freezers & up to high shelves) but gruesome at packing.

As long as you are not on metered water, car washing can be a simple earner, but not too many clients & ideally with the driver sat inside admiring someone else doing the work.

Finally & with strong caveats, ebay. There are quite a lot of preparatory jobs to do before listing (washing, photographing etc) & then afterwards, picking & packing winning bids. This is a skill which charity shops can really benefit from, so if you need to start somewhere that would be my suggestion: "develop" a skill at a charity shop & see if it expands outside.

Tuesday_Tenor

My 14 year old neighbour works one evening a week in a chipshop/cafe in the local town 6 miles away. It's mostly washing up and fetching food for the cooks at the moment. The evening varies: Wed/Thurs/Fri.

She found it by asking at ALL the cafes/takeaways in the town.
There was a lot of competition and she had to do a formal written application for 3 or 4 hours /week washing up! The employers are clearly only interested in the brightest and most motivated youngsters. She's on to a good thing as others have done the same work through the ages 14-18 and as they get older get to work on the till and get offered more work in the school holidays.

She has to be picked up by parents 9.30 p.m, as no evening public transport here.

When I was young my homework was different set subjects each night, without much flexibility so I couldn't have worked like this. She seems to have homework with weekly deadlines which she can organise for herself.

Suggest your son asks at all such takeaways/cafes in your area.

oystercatcher

We pay a friend's son to feed our chickens when we go away. I think he was 14 when he started.

I don't think I would have chosen a random 14 year old though but because I knew his parents would give back up if there were any problems I knew he'd be fine.

On the same lines my next door neighbour used to pay one of my boys to feed her cats when she was away, knowing that I would back him up if there were any problems (sick animal etc etc)

Maybe drop hints around friends and family that your lad is looking for work. Then when he is 16 these casual jobs make useful references and experience for applications for more permanent jobs. Also word goes around and friends of friends may ask....