Saturday work for a 16 year old

Ivy_wilson

Hi all hope someone can help , my granddaughter has just been given the chance of a Saturday job working in an hairdressers , she went for an interview along with several older and more “ worldly” girls and got offered the job. As you can imagine she is super excited as this was her first ever interview for “ work”. My concern is that she is not going to be paid the correct amount as I have read she should be getting £4.20 per hour ( she is not an apprentice ) but she has been told her hourly pay will be just £3.50. Can anyone advise if she is being taken for a mug. I do not want to dampen her enthusiasm for work but don’t want to see her not being paid a fair rate.

Comms69

Indeed £4.20 is the NMW, so that is what she should expect; she's entitled to paid holidays too

TELLIT01

I'm certainly not saying that the pay shouldn't be questioned, but there is a risk that the job offer will be withdrawn. Has she been told that the pay is £3.50 per hour or has she been told she will get £x per day? If it's £x per day there may be an unpaid lunch break to factor in. Check carefully before doing anything.

Undervalued

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I'm certainly not saying that the pay shouldn't be questioned, but there is a risk that the job offer will be withdrawn. Has she been told that the pay is £3.50 per hour or has she been told she will get £x per day? If it's £x per day there may be an unpaid lunch break to factor in. Check carefully before doing anything.

Indeed.

Obviously if she is not getting the NMW for her age, after allowing for lunch break, that is unlawful. Realistically though if she makes a fuss before she starts she won't get the job. What she could do though is take the money for now, then make a fuss and if necessary a claim for the difference after she leaves!

Potbellypig

Yea first job as a 16 year old. She's going to have all the worries of taking on her first role in work without her parent insisting that she questions her pay. I'd leave this one for a bit and let her get her foot in the door first.

theoretica

When did she turn 16? Was it before the end of the last summer holidays? As I read this before the school leaving age there is no entitlement to a minimum wage:
https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

PersianCatLady

Ivy_wilson wrote: »

Hi all hope someone can help , my granddaughter has just been given the chance of a Saturday job working in an hairdressers , she went for an interview along with several older and more “ worldly” girls and got offered the job. As you can imagine she is super excited as this was her first ever interview for “ work”. My concern is that she is not going to be paid the correct amount as I have read she should be getting £4.20 per hour ( she is not an apprentice ) but she has been told her hourly pay will be just £3.50. Can anyone advise if she is being taken for a mug. I do not want to dampen her enthusiasm for work but don’t want to see her not being paid a fair rate.

Is your Granddaughter wtill at school in Year 11?

If she is then she is not entitled to NMW and therefore £3.50 an hour is perfectly legal.

If your Granddaughter is in Year 12 or Year 13 (Sixth Form / A-Levels / FE College) then she is entitled to NMW of £4.20 an hour.

I must admit I do worry that many people come here for important advice and they are given totally false information by well meaning people who answer queries on instinct rather than knowledge.

This thread has more posters giving false informaiton than giving correct information and it is worrying that people feel the need to "give advice" when they have no knowledge of what they are advising about.

badmemory

It may also be relevant if she is trying to get a "foot in the door" in hairdressing or if it just an "earn a bit of spending money". If she just wants a job to earn some spending money them get the pay right but if she needs that foot in the door for the future it may be worth it for the goodwill/future employment/apprentice possibilities. Only she can decide.

PersianCatLady

badmemory wrote: »

It may also be relevant if she is trying to get a "foot in the door" in hairdressing or if it just an "earn a bit of spending money". If she just wants a job to earn some spending money them get the pay right but if she needs that foot in the door for the future it may be worth it for the goodwill/future employment/apprentice possibilities. Only she can decide.

I see the point that you are trying to make but if the granddaughter in question is over 16 AND entitled to NMW, I would be very sceptical of telling her to accept anything less than NMW.

The reason for this is that if an employer is willing to act illegally n the issue of pay then I would be very concerned about what else they were doing.

pickledonionspaceraider

OP I think you should let her start, and then broach the subject after her first shift to see what she is actually getting paid incase their is a mix up

I mean the employer would be silly to break the law to save themselves a handful of quid each week

For now though, say nothing, and see what she comes home with on day one

However one thing that flags up is that they appear to have deliberately taken on the youngest inexperienced person - in what may be an attempt to pay less

pmduk

If the employer takes shortcuts on wages, be careful about their attitude to things like health and safety as well.