Exploited by an employer then refused a good reference...revenge is sweet.

Firstly, I have to be vague about details in this true story because legal process is still ongoing.

My 16 year old son started working full time this summer before starting college this week. He was employed at weekends and half term (semester) holidays prior to finishing school in June, then 5/6 days per week up until the end of August when he was fired for a minor breach of company rules.

During his entire employment he was never late, never missed a shift, regularly worked late as cover if other workers phoned in sick, and to be honest I've been really proud of him building his good reputation for himself as he grows into adulthood, and he's been really happy earning a good wage from his own hard work.
He's often told me about an early 30's director who's hated him since he's worked there, always giving him the tasks which nobody else wanted, and always speaking with a disrespectful tone to him, a sort of dominance issue if you like. My son sort of ignored it and got on with the tasks to prove 'in your face' he won't be broken, and because he knows he could beat him up in the outside real world...the director also knows it and it explains his alpha male issues as a boss.

Anyway, the director pulled a 'spot check' at the end of his shift then fired him for this 3rd breach of minor company rules. He didn't bitch about it when he came home, he knew he'd not been careful enough about giving the prick ammunition to fire him, so deleted that employment period from his CV/resume as a life lesson.
I however, was fuming. He'd worked 12-13 hour days saving the day when others had phoned in sick, worked shifts that would have been days off at short notice, and basically been someone any company would've loved to have, but at the sunset of the seasonal work which it is, he got booted with no chance of a good employment reference to show a future employer.

Now, here's the thing, both me and my son knew that his long hours on printed rotas through the summer (and before he officially left school) were illegal.
Under UK law, a 16 year old child who has not yet left school (last friday in June) cannot work more than 8 max hours in a Mon-Fri (school holiday) day, 8 hours max on a Saturday, and 2 hours on a Sunday. This is with a maximum 35 hours in a seven day period.
A 16 year old who has left school can only work 8 hour days up to a maximum of 40 over a seven day period.
All of these child labour laws were broken by my sons employer. The responsibility is solely on the employer to comply with the law, not the 16 year old employee, and the child employee cannot legally agree to work longer hours.

Now, while my son was loving the money and was hungry for every hour he could get, the employer filled his rota with 12 and 13 hour shifts and he loved the money he was earning...he absolutely loved it. But that is irrelevant because the child labour law is clear, he is too young to agree to work those hours legally. It is the employers responsibility to ensure that the child worker does not exceed the legally prescribed hours and breaks after certain periods.

I contacted ACAS (The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service , a Crown non-departmental public body of the UK government) who checked the evidence of payslips (cross referenced with bank payments), plus printed rotas, and they are now contacting the employer with a view to referral for prosecution or enforced offer of reasonable compensation which my son can consider/negotiate or go for a full tribunal which has the power of a court of law. Open and shut case, clear evidence of breaking child labour laws, regardless of if my son wanted to earn the money or not.

The result of this case is not in question, it is just unknown how it will pan out depending on the offer of compensation by the employer.
My son was a hard working employee who did over and above everything asked but was fired for breaking some BS and pointless company rules...just because they were company rules. The beauty of this story is that this same company that backed their director enforcing pointless 'company rules' sacking my son did not adhere to the laws of the land regarding child labour, and now compliance issues are biting their arse.

Thoughts anyone?

a reply to: grainofsand

One thought:

If the rule he broke that got him fired is so minor, why haven't you told us what he did?

a reply to: grainofsand


I work with many people who consider themselves good workers but in fact are not. The fault is always external not internal and seems to be the way of the world today especially with the younger generation. Many parents defend children who are in the wrong and this leads to long term failure. Also you mention he broke the rules 3 times......Hmm. Maybe the boss was in the right.



I am not saying this is you but posting a story like this on the internet will make people wonder.

So he bent over backwards ever where but following a simple rule 3 times?
Would you be able to say what this bs rule was by any chance?
Oh and I'll add that I'm glad you guys are going after the company for breaking the laws and do hope you get all that you can out of it.
Just find the the rule thing strange after how you describe his work ethic

"Now, while my son was loving the money and was hungry for every hour he could get, the employer filled his rota with 12 and 13 hour shifts and he loved the money he was earning...he absolutely loved it."

Sorry but I see both at fault here.

Actually 3 parties. The employer knew, your son knew and you as well.

Everything was ok until someone peed on the corn flakes and now only one is to blame even tho a rule was broken 3 times admittedly? I can't agree here.

Maybe you should have responsibility as well for allowing your child to be taken advantage of when you clearly were aware he was breaking the law as well.

Just IMHO

Good Luck tho.

Peace

a reply to: grainofsand

Will the fact that this is going to arbitration and hurting the employer backfire in any way on him finding further employment?

If not then I say the law is the law but if so then it might not have been worth it.

Who cares he's 16.

a reply to: Sremmos80
The particular company director carried a lot of weight in the firm, had alpha male issues with my much younger son, and it was the end of the season. It is pretty clear to me and my lad, he thought he could stitch him up after milking his good work when it was needed then booting him like dirt when his services were no longer needed.
I hope that explains it now, but I have to be vague because the legal process is still ongoing.

originally posted by: SubTruth
Maybe the boss was in the right.

No, the boss is not right.

He broke child labor laws.

16 year old. On time. Doesn't miss work. I don't know about you, but I don't know many 16 year olds with even that much work ethic.

a reply to: jude11
...doesn't matter. The employer is responsible for complying with child employment law. My son is not legally able to agree to work longer hours.
The director tried to screw him over 'rules' but failed to follow the law himself.

a reply to: Grimpachi
Nope, my son has just deleted it from his CV/resume, no-one will ever know.

a reply to: onequestion
Nice.

So you are saying that he craved every hour he could get for the money? Even though he knew that scheduling him to work 12 or 13 hour days was technically illegal, he still worked the shifts and never said a word about the legality of it because he wanted the money? Hungered for the money?

Now after he gets fired for not following the rules you guys are exploiting the company based on them letting him work more hours than he was legally supposed to work?

Revenge?

What a way to set an example for an up and coming youth. Breaking rules goes both ways, he knew he shouldnt be working that many hours but volunteered anyways, did the company know about his school status? was there any misrepresentation on his part?

Sounds a little bit on the low and shady side to me.

If you son takes this to heart and learns to exploit companies the same way in the future looking for loopholes you are just a few proud hairs away from having reared and raised a criminal...

And you come on ATS and post about it! EPIC FAIL

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: jude11
...doesn't matter. The employer is responsible for complying with child employment law. My son is not legally able to agree to work longer hours.
The director tried to screw him over 'rules' but failed to follow the law himself.

You son legally agreed to work the longer hours... uhhhh .wait... for it... WHEN HE WORKED THEM! If you are saying that just because he wasnt 18 he didnt know what he was doing then you are spewing a load of crap.

a reply to: Annee
Ah, your post was a breath of fresh air, thank you.
I sometimes wonder if some people even fully read an OP or just skim-read to be the first reply.

a reply to: grainofsand

So what rule did he infringe upon 3 times?

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: Annee
Ah, your post was a breath of fresh air, thank you.
I sometimes wonder if some people even fully read an OP or just skim-read to be the first reply.

Or is it a breath of fresh air because they were the first person to side with you without knowing the whole story?

a reply to: kdyam
My son could not legally agree to work those hours and the employer knew it when they broke the law.
The employer used BS rules to fire him at the end of the season and now their failure to follow legislation is an example of my son pulling them up for failing to follow legislation that they are required to follow themselves.

originally posted by: grainofsand
a reply to: kdyam
My son could not legally agree to work those hours and the employer knew it when they broke the law.
The employer used BS rules to fire him at the end of the season and now their failure to follow legislation is an example of my son pulling them up for failing to follow legislation that they are required to follow themselves.

Actually, I have another thought:

If your son never got fired for breaking the rules at his employer, would you still be so offended with their "failure to follow legislation"?

Would you have found him a lesser paying, but 100% legal job for that matter?

a reply to: parad0x122
I can't give the whole story in this thread because legal process is ongoing and I must keep the details vague.
If you or anyone else do not believe me then I don't care, but for the sake of discussion I would have hoped we could have assumed my story to be true and seen how the conversation developed.