Kids on zero hour contracts and five months unpaid training periods with Kwikfit

Thin end of he wedge, It'll not be long before the Tories are sending them up chimneys and having them sat in the dark opening doors darn pit (if only they hadn't already shut them down)... Totally and utterly taken advantage of. Scandalous

 

People should boycott kwickfit

 

I've got a friend who's 19 and works at MacDonalds. Apparently they are regarded as the 6th best company to work for in the UK according to a sign up in their premises at Tankersley. She's on a 4 hour per week contract on minimum wage, and she has to continually check a website to see if she needs to come in. She is reluctant to commit to activities, trips etc., particularly if they involve going to a pub/alcohol, as she may have to drive if she gets called in at short notice.

In the hot weather this summer the temperature was approaching 40 degrees, no air conditioning, no fans, no extra breaks, just get on with it.

Recently she got asked to work from 6 in the evening until 2 in the morning. I asked her if she got a shift premium for these hours. "Of course" she replied enthusiastically "I get 50p per hour extra for work after midnight". That's an entire pound for staying out until 2am.

I've another young friend who is working for less than minimum wage and not getting proper NI payments credited. She's in bar/waitressing work and is not allowed to keep her tips. Tips are not even distributed amongst the staff - they go to the owners of the bar. I've threatened to shop them but she's begged me not to as she'll probably lose the job. The b@stards.

Young people today are being totally exploited by complete reptiles calling themselves business people.

 

Business people and the complicit govt.

 

Agreed, but I'm a business person too. We are not all the same, trust me.

 

I'm lucky, I'm 25 and managed to find decent part time work a few years ago when I was at college that's led to me having a decent career (I think that's what it's called).

But my brother is 18. He got a job at Sports Direct at 16 straight after school on a zero hours contract. He was then laid off pretty sharpish. He went to college but couldn't find any part time work. He then took an apprenticeship in a body shop repairs place. They shat on him and his mates too. Now he's working at a call centre and doing ok.

Add in the cost of living, the cost of driving insurance, rents, house prices etc I reckon those under the age of 20 are properly f.cked.

 

Speaking as a business person, if you have to use exploitative practices like zero hour contracts, unpaid internships, payments below minimum wage etc etc etc there is something wrong with your business model. A business that is only sustainable by getting people to work for nothing, or next to nothing, is not a proper business.

Either that or the business owners are lovely person*s.

 

I agree. As you say, not all business owners are lovely person*s. However, the incompetent, unprofessional ones who do as you say are reptiles (with no disrespect meant to reptiles).

 

I don't think they rely on zero hours contracts. I think they are just being allowed to get away with it at a time when people need work.

I know not all business owners are cnuts, just those that act like it.

 

Then allow me, as someone who does not know you or the girl in question, to shop them. PM me the name of the bar and I'll gladly do it. Exploitation like this makes me fume. I always ask where the tips go when I eat out fearing things like this.

 

Just about to offer the same. Or we all go round and brick their windows.

 

I've promised her not to do it while she's working there. Even if they get shopped anonymously, the outcome will be the same for her as she'll probably still lose her job. She's 21, a graduate and is currently looking for a "proper" job in the fashion industry. As soon as she gets sorted I'll get stuck into them.

If you can imagine the look in her eyes when she's pleading with me not to do anything, you can almost see the destroyed hopes of thousands of young people in her eyes. It's a pathetic sight and makes me close to tears.

 

So you've offered her a comfort shag then ? I see.

 

Hee hee I wondered when that subject would crop up!

 

It's called Capitalism.

 

I am a business owner. Please allow me to put another side of the story.

I don't employ anybody on zero hours contracts - partly because I don't agree with them and partly because I don't (and won't) employ any staff!!

My business is seasonal and during the winter months (and some months in the spring this year!) I would not be able to afford to employ anyone. I hardly draw a wage for myself during the winter. But if I did want to employ someone, I can see the attraction of zero hours contracts to the business. However, from the employee's point of view some of these contracts (eg MacDonalds and Kwikfit) are seemingly unfair and exploitative (although some people do like them, as contracts like that can suit their lifestyle).

In the past I have been employed and I was in charge of about 15 staff. That was a great insight into how some people view employment. There were 2 or 3 who would skive off at the drop of a hat, self-certificating themselves as "sick". And yet I caught one person going to the hairdressers, and another one washing his car! The vast majority of people were great - they worked hard and rarely took time off sick. The odd 2 or 3 worked slowly and had a horrendous absenteeism record.

So I vowed to myself when I started my business that I would never employ anyone because I didn't want anyone not pulling their weight or taking the p*ss out of me by throwing sickies all the time. I don't know if I'll be able to stick to not employing anyone, but if I did employ someone I would probably have to lay them off within weeks. So I can appreciate why companies have zero hours contracts, even though I do not agree with them. Incidentally, Stahlrost, how would you advise a business like mine to employ someone other than on a zero hours contract??

My mate (yes, I do have one, I think) used to be one of my staff members for several years. We hadn't seen each other for about 10 years until he called in to my new business. Since then (3 years ago) he helps me most Saturdays and won't accept any payment. So I know that I treated my staff well when one of them does that for me!!

He rose through the ranks where he works from the shop floor to become one of the 3 directors. He had a major problem with absenteeism at his company, until he stopped paying sick pay for the 5 days period of self-certification. Now absenteeism is down to almost zero, as people will not take 5 days off work unpaid unless they are really sick.

 

I appreciate all the points you make, particularly about seasonal businesses. At our place we occasionally use agency workers, students etc to smooth our peaks and troughs in the workload. Most of these are people who prefer to work like that because of their chosen life style, as you say. I don't have a problem with a zero hour contract in situations where the actual number of hours of available work will often be just that, zero. My problem with zero hour contracts is that several companies, including household names who can afford it anyway, use them with total disregard for their effect on young lives. How can you build an independent life if you don't know what your income will be week to week, month to month?

I'm sure an organisation the size of MacDonalds is capable of predicting their level of business with reasonable accuracy and employing staff to cover it, using overtime if necessary.

I'm not sure what your business is but there are many seasonal businesses in the tourist trade. Winter work in ski resorts for example. I know people who work hard all winter and have all summer off. That's their choice. But I believe zero hour contracts are being applied now to non-seasonal jobs where there is a reasonable prospect of regular work. I think that is wrong.

 

Fixed term; 1 day, 1 week, 1 month; X many hours per day.

 

I agree with everything you say, Stahlrost.

By the way, I'm a caravan dealer.

 

In actual fact, Pete, I sub-contract work to fully qualified and experienced self-employed people such as a caravan service engineer, and a SMART repairer (body work repairs).

So, whilst they get some work from me, they are responsible for getting work from elsewhere too.