Summer Jobs. - Writers Forum

Tom · 07-03-2008, 12:03 PM

Just a quick question really.

I'm 15, and looking for a summer job here in England for the upcoming summer holidays. Most businesses which are well-known and national won't accept anyone under 16, which is a pain in the ass to be honest.

I just wanted to know whether anyone had any suggestions to how I should go about finding a summer job?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers,

Oh, and also, for being under 16, is there a mininum wage or are people liable to pay you anything they'd like?

Tom.

Mike · 07-03-2008, 02:09 PM

I mowed lawns when I was 15. Many of the neighbors took holidays elsewhere, so I took care of their lawns.

SoNickSays... · 07-03-2008, 02:12 PM

Well, when I was 14 my uncle hired me in his shop in the summer, but it wasn't a huge job. Shelf stacking, mopping. I got... a fair amount for my age.

No big company will hire you under 16. Look for people you know/are related to who own/run a company, whether it be a cafe or a shop. Start there.

My mum still runs a deli, and she hired me at 15.

But when I was 15, everywhere else I asked didn't accept under 16's.

So I'd say: go for someone you know!

Good luck
Nick

Malone · 07-03-2008, 02:59 PM

Sell drugs.

lin · 07-03-2008, 04:30 PM

Or hand jobs

OncePossesed · 07-03-2008, 07:03 PM

It's hard to find jobs before you hit sixteen. It's always a good idea to try and find a family-owned business though. Small shops and the sort are always looking for employees.

At 14 I worked at a family friend's dollar store. I worked 12 hours and got $50 a day (which was pretty good considering I loved the job and had a great time.) As I got older they started paying me by hour and by the time I left a couple months ago, I was making $7.60 an hour, 12 hours a day, 4 days a week.

lin · 07-03-2008, 09:51 PM

When I was sixteen I was doing carpentry/masonry work after school and busing tables at night (not at the same time). Pay was a buck an hour.
I got a kick out of both gigs. The restaurant job was my first exposure to the jazz, so I should have paid them, actually.

mandax · 07-03-2008, 10:00 PM

Where I live, it's hard enough to find a job when you're sixteen. Nowadays, here, at least, everyone wants 18-year-olds. So I would take the above advice and try to work for people you know.

JosephB · 07-03-2008, 10:04 PM

When I was 14, I used to cut lawns and babysit.

At 15, I got a job at Diary Queen. Now I'm not kidding. I developed some sort of strange mental block when it came to putting that swirl on the cone, and I kept fucking it up. Eventually, I got banished to the "Brazier" side, where I made fries and burgers. It was hot as hell compared to the nice cool ice cream side.

It pissed me off, cause some twit with the IQ of a ping pong ball would be over there making those curly things on top of the cones with ease and in comfort, while I burned up over a hot fryer.

Sabsz · 07-03-2008, 10:22 PM

Hey! I'm 15, too.

Anyways, my friend and I went around looking for jobs not too long ago. We walked everywhere looking around. Well, anyone that considered us was a small little shop. Like bakeries, pizzaerias, little party places, etc. We eventually didn't get a job but we tried.

I was kind of mad, I hate asking for money from my mom. She always yells at me for it.

Good luck, though!

Malone · 07-03-2008, 10:42 PM

Quote:

I hate asking for money from my mom

You really need to break that habit.

And I mean hating asking, not the asking itself.

tucanbundy · 07-04-2008, 08:32 AM

I worked in a video store as a teenager.I'm a movie dork, so it was a perfect match for me.

I also mowed lawns and I was a licensed babysitter (which I would always joke about by running into a room and shouting "stand back, I'm a babysitter!").

I also made money by doing puppet shows for kids.I'm actually fairly artistic when I'm not a lazy load of fuck and I made puppets in my spare time.Then friends and people in the neighborhood would hire me and I'd do my own little Kukla, Fran, and Ollie for their kids.It was pretty fun.

Tom · 07-04-2008, 09:51 AM

Thanks for all the advice.

Small family businesses are like you said, probably my best bet. And, yeah I hate asking for money to. I'll look around and ask around, see what happens. Thanks.

Tom.

Non Serviam · 07-04-2008, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom

Just a quick question really.

I'm 15, and looking for a summer job here in England for the upcoming summer holidays. Most businesses which are well-known and national won't accept anyone under 16, which is a pain in the ass to be honest.

I just wanted to know whether anyone had any suggestions to how I should go about finding a summer job?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers,

Oh, and also, for being under 16, is there a mininum wage or are people liable to pay you anything they'd like?

Tom.

In the United Kingdom, it is unlawful to employ a child:

under 13 years of age
Without a work permit
For more than two hours on a day when school is open or on any Sunday
during school hours
in any factory or industrial undertaking
in the delivery of milk
for more than 12 hours in any week that their school is open. (This new regulation came into force in October 2000)

Note the work permit requirement: because you're of statutory school age, your prospective employer will need to agree the employment with the Children, Schools and Families Department of your local authority.

There will probably be local bye-laws governing your employment--you can look them up on your local authority's website.

You'll be charged National Insurance, but because you won't have a National Insurance number at your age, you'll receive no credit for paying it. Sorry--in this respect the British system isn't particularly fair to minors.

Your school Connexions worker should be your first port of call for information and advice about this, so make an appointment to go and see him or her. He or she will be able to talk to you about the minimum wage etc.

Tom · 07-04-2008, 11:19 AM

Jeez. So many things to take into consideration. Thanks alot Non Serviam, we have a connexions worker but she's only been known for aged 16 students, people in year 11 for example, so therefore it's very difficult for me to get an appointment.

Well, that sucks, but thanks for the details.