Is £9/hour a good wage?

I'm working at a bar in Central London atm, it's a very basic bar but they're paying so well that I'm thinking I probably shouldn't quit. My manager is nice and it's only a small team.

But sometimes it's dead quiet and I'm thinking to myself that I could be learning a new language, reading ahead for modules next year or starting some reading for dissertation.

I only worry that if I quit, I might get bored at some point. So just how good is £9/hr? It's a casual contract so it's unfair for me to ask for PT hours as I'm there to help as and when. Hours can vary from 20 hours a week to 50-55 hours.

Thanks

Reply 1

sliceofcake

Is it possible for you to take reading materials in for during the quiet periods?

Reply 2

Acidy

Sounds decent. Can't you suck it up and revise harder?

Reply 3

Rakas21

Better to have a job to fall back on and reference in my opinion even if its one shift a week.

Your wage is excellent.

If you want fixed hours then you should ask, can't hurt.

Reply 4

Rakas21

Original post by sliceofcake

Is it possible for you to take reading materials in for during the quiet periods?

When its quiet she should be cleaning, making sure condiments are full ect.., making sure the bars stocked.

If there's no task to do, the employer has too many staff on duty.

I worked in a bar for ages myself, would have been promoted had I not left to come back to education.

Look edna winkle

Original post by Rakas21

I think that's a bit of an ignorant statement to make. Your personal experiences at work and how the staff organise themselves for the jobs are going to be different in every work place.

I worked at a busy care home as a part time kitchen assistant and during the less busy hours (providing the jobs were completed) I would read up on web design books until the work started again.

I'm now on nightshift in a supermarket which usually keeps me really busy but there are some nights when there is absolutely nothing left to do so I either smash out some banter with my work mates or whilst I was at college, I would read up on assignments and do bits of research to cover the criteria.

I'm also on £9 an hour and it's pretty decent money. Don't quit a job unless you have something to fall back on. You will miss that extra income. Think about it, you're being paid decent money to do nothing and sometimes that makes up for the lack of jobs to do.

Reply 7

Reue

It's a good wage, not a great wage. I was earning the equivalent of over £10p/h back when I was working my first job at 16.

Keep it until you find something better or more permanent full time work.

Reply 8

wannabeaca

Original post by Reue

It's a good wage, not a great wage. I was earning the equivalent of over £10p/h back when I was working my first job at 16.

Keep it until you find something better or more permanent full time work.

This is only a summer job until I go back to uni so it's not feasible to look for another job now.

Reply 9

Reue

Original post by wannabeaca

This is only a summer job until I go back to uni so it's not feasible to look for another job now.

In which case i'd certainly keep it, if only for references. Some money is better than no money!

Reply 10

Messalina

Original post by wannabeaca

Ask your manager if you'd be allowed to bring in reading material/revision for quiet periods. Worse that happens is they say no. I've worked in lots of bars and some are fine with it, some are not, no harm in asking. As for the wage, that's really good for bar work, I'm currently a bar supervisor in London and I only get 6.70/hour. Stick it out, you have many years left of your life to improve your language skills but the working experience alongside your studies is really valuable and money is nice.