New way of working & P46 query

aliasojo

My middle lad is 15 (16 very soon) and he has been working 1 day a week (at the weekend) in a restaurant for the last 2 years.

He always got paid at the end of his shift, cash in hand.

The owner decided to sell up and the existing head cook took over along with her husband.

As is usually the case with new owners, they have changed the way the place is run and son now gets a proper printed wage slip. He was asked for his NI number which he just got a couple of months ago, and he's now been asked loads of questions (including details of any pensions he has, lol :rolleyes: ) and his answers were entered onto a large form, which he had to sign. He metioned a P46, but I'm not sure if a P46 is the form he had to fill in, or if he gets a P46, as I haven't actually heard of it. (What can I say, I live a sheltered life. )

The new owners must know what they are doing, but is this normal/usual when dealing with a 15 year old?

They have also told son that he can no longer get paid at the end of his shift and that he must go into work on a Wednesday to pick up his wage, which I think is highly unfair. I understand that it may be easier for all the full timers to be paid on the same day, but there are a very small number of kids working there at the weekend and I think it's unfair to tell them they can't get paid until midweek. Most of them work there to help pay for their weekend leisure time, it kinda defeats the purpose if they don't get paid then.

Also, restaurant is over a mile away so son will have to cycle there after school which means he will miss out on his after school activity on that day.

I suppose they can just change the goalposts like this whenever they like?

Bossyboots

A P46 is basically a form which the employer sends off to get a tax code for an employee. Without this they will have to use the emergency code which could end up with your son paying tax if he does overtime. It is the correct thing for the employer to do.

I agree with you that it is unfair for your son to have to go back for his wages. He needs to discuss with the owners his difficulties in this and see if he can come to an arrangement with them. I suspect this will mean him picking up his salary a week later than the day he worked but in reality, this is what happens in most places anyway. My daughter was paid monthly in arrears for her Saturday job as were most of her friends. If he can't manage a whole week without the money then perhaps they can pay him half in cash after one shift to give him a chance to adjust to being paid a bit later.

aliasojo

Thank for reply BB, I didn't realise that a tax code was actually needed for a 15 year old.

I also didn't realise that being paid after the event so to speak, was usual for youngsters. I think this is very unfair generally, if employers expect kids to be loyal and conscientious employees then they should remember what it's like to be a kid and be in need of spare cash and pay them when the work is done. Expecting kids to wait a month is just ridiculous imo.

(Might have found a new soap box here..... )

Bossyboots

aliasojo wrote:

Thank for reply BB, I didn't realise that a tax code was actually needed for a 15 year old.

I also didn't realise that being paid after the event so to speak, was usual for youngsters. I think this is very unfair generally, if employers expect kids to be loyal and conscientious employees then they should remember what it's like to be a kid and be in need of spare cash and pay them when the work is done. Expecting kids to wait a month is just ridiculous imo.

(Might have found a new soap box here..... )

Everyone is liable to pay income tax, regardless of their age. Your son's tax code should just be the standard personal allowance. I am pretty sure he is not NI deductable at this age although he is unlikely to be earning sufficient anyway to fall into the NI bracket.

My daughter works for a large company (she has gone full time from her Saturday job) so it is not reasonable to expect them to be running different payrolls. They have weekday, Saturday and Sunday staff. It is not practical to pay everyone each time they work, the supervisor of each department would be spending much of the day doing payroll. They are also paid straight into their bank accounts (if my boss is reading this please take note!) so it makes sense for there to be one payroll a month.

The first month is the most difficult as you are working without seeing the benefit. My daughter did not find it too difficult as she was not working beforehand so for her it simply meant a few more weeks without any money, with the promise of a lump sum at the end of the month. I did offer to sub her if necessary but she managed to get through the month okay and from then on just budgeted to make sure she had enough money until the next pay day.