The Student Room Group

I work in a cafe as a weekend job But the pay is not consistent help?

So I am an 15 and have been working at this cafe since last summer when I was 14 I got like 7.50 and hour that was very good and i continued to get that wage until mid April the pay became less and then it worked out I was working for something like £3.34 an hour and I feel ripped off what do I do I got so pissed off with it as I worked for about 18 hours over a 3 day period and only got about 80 pound this was by far worse than the £3.34 an hour and I was ready to quit but I am not sure what to do I have let my dad know and he is not happy but unsure as well and told me to see how the next payday is help?
Did they inform you before reducing your hourly rate? @Deorbiting
(edited 5 years ago)
And do u have proof of those 18 hours worked? E.g. a signing in and out register (i had one when i worked in a coffee shop) then take a picture of those hours for proof and if they did not inform you beforehand that they will reduce your rate than you have the right to present proof of your hours worked and demand the remaining pay you were not given.
Reply 3
Original post by butfirst_coffee
And do u have proof of those 18 hours worked? E.g. a signing in and out register (i had one when i worked in a coffee shop) then take a picture of those hours for proof and if they did not inform you beforehand that they will reduce your rate than you have the right to present proof of your hours worked and demand the remaining pay you were not given.

My boss and his manager were there and they confirm the hours
Reply 4
Original post by butfirst_coffee
Did they inform you before reducing your hourly rate? @Deorbiting


No I just received a reduced payment and noticed it was under the normal rate I thought It was a one off and let it go but then it has kept happening and it really pisses me off
Reply 5
Invest in your education man, £80 is chump change. Take that £80 and go buy some revision guides, those will return 100 times on your investment. If you don't need the money right now, focus on your studies.
Reply 6
Original post by ma_long
Invest in your education man, £80 is chump change. Take that £80 and go buy some revision guides, those will return 100 times on your investment. If you don't need the money right now, focus on your studies.


It not that I need the money he asks me to work then pays me sh it money and he usually calls me with no notice plus my grades are not too bad I have a tutor and all that 3-4 times a week
Reply 7
Original post by Deorbiting
It not that I need the money he asks me to work then pays me sh it money and he usually calls me with no notice plus my grades are not too bad I have a tutor and all that 3-4 times a week


If you feel he is taking advantage of you, then quit. Like you said, you don't need the money. I'd rather you focus on your education.
Reply 8
Original post by ma_long
If you feel he is taking advantage of you, then quit. Like you said, you don't need the money. I'd rather you focus on your education.


I would like to but my dad and him are good friends and we go there a lot to eat and have breakfast etc i would feel bad too plus what am I going to do all summer
Reply 9
Your hourly rate and other details about how much, how, and when you get paid should be in your contract. Do you have a contract with them? You shouldn't have to guess this sort of thing, it's management's responsibility to give you clear information :smile:

I would suggest asking your manager if you can have a word, and politely explaining that you seem to be getting paid less per hour than you used to be, and could they explain the pay calculations to you? It might seem scary at first but a reasonable manager should have no problem with that. As the poster above said, if you have some kind of proof of what hours you worked, that helps you support your case, even if it's just that you or one of your parents has a diary and has notes of when they were dropping you off, for instance.

You say you're 15 - whereabouts do you live and when is your birthday? If you are school leaving age, you're entitled to the national minimum wage, which would be £4.20 per hour.
Here is a link about national minimum wage: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Here is a link to work out whether you're classed as school leaving age: https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school

If your friends have part-time jobs, you could ask them about what the pay is like - if the managers won't pay you what you feel is a fair wage, you could consider looking somewhere else. I know it's like a taboo talking about your pay in the UK, but it's actually really important to know you're being treated fairly!

Good luck, let us know how it goes!
Original post by Imilla
Your hourly rate and other details about how much, how, and when you get paid should be in your contract. Do you have a contract with them? You shouldn't have to guess this sort of thing, it's management's responsibility to give you clear information :smile:

I would suggest asking your manager if you can have a word, and politely explaining that you seem to be getting paid less per hour than you used to be, and could they explain the pay calculations to you? It might seem scary at first but a reasonable manager should have no problem with that. As the poster above said, if you have some kind of proof of what hours you worked, that helps you support your case, even if it's just that you or one of your parents has a diary and has notes of when they were dropping you off, for instance.

You say you're 15 - whereabouts do you live and when is your birthday? If you are school leaving age, you're entitled to the national minimum wage, which would be £4.20 per hour.
Here is a link about national minimum wage: https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Here is a link to work out whether you're classed as school leaving age: https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school

If your friends have part-time jobs, you could ask them about what the pay is like - if the managers won't pay you what you feel is a fair wage, you could consider looking somewhere else. I know it's like a taboo talking about your pay in the UK, but it's actually really important to know you're being treated fairly!

Good luck, let us know how it goes!


I live In London and my birthday is the end of may
I don’t really have a contract with him since I only worked there a few days and then it became a regular thing
Original post by Deorbiting
My boss and his manager were there and they confirm the hours


The issue with this is the boss or manager can be involved in underpaying you in the first place and may choose to deny or say they 'forgot' or werent sure about your hours worked. So ideally you really need some sort of proof other than word of mouth. You can try asking them but ive worked in coffee shops too in the past and faced a similar situation. Often times the owners can take advantage of young workers due to our ignorance and naivity especially in this situation as you mentioned and get away with underpaying. Its quiet sad. If you can't get proof this time ensure you ask them to allow you an instrument to record your hours from now e.g. a register so you can avoid underpayment in the future. And take picture of it after each shift too.

Alternatively, it could just be a mistake in payment and your bosses are not asses. Then confront them first about your hours worked and how you were payed less.
Reply 12
Original post by Deorbiting
I live In London and my birthday is the end of may
I don’t really have a contract with him since I only worked there a few days and then it became a regular thing


OK, so it sounds like legally you're entitled to the minimum wage from the end of June.

If you want to stay in that job, I'd suggest saying something like "I've been here nearly a year, so I'd like to get the details of my job down in writing/in a contract." Ask to discuss hourly rates. It sounds like this guy is really informal - does he pay you cash in hand?
Original post by Imilla
OK, so it sounds like legally you're entitled to the minimum wage from the end of June.

If you want to stay in that job, I'd suggest saying something like "I've been here nearly a year, so I'd like to get the details of my job down in writing/in a contract." Ask to discuss hourly rates. It sounds like this guy is really informal - does he pay you cash in hand?


Yes it is cash in hand every 1-3 weeks and he pays all his employees cash he is informal but his cafe has done very well so idk what to do but the asking for details in writing is a good idea do I may try thanks thanks for the advice :smile:
Original post by butfirst_coffee
And do u have proof of those 18 hours worked? E.g. a signing in and out register (i had one when i worked in a coffee shop) then take a picture of those hours for proof and if they did not inform you beforehand that they will reduce your rate than you have the right to present proof of your hours worked and demand the remaining pay you were not given.


Pretty sure you have no rights as an under 16. Certainly don't have to get minimum wage.
As you're under 16 you have no rights to minimum wage so can't really complain about that.
Also if you had a contract this wouldn't be a problem?
When you turn 16, get a contract drawn up so you get a consistent pay
The whole point of contracts are so that the employer can't take advantage of the employee. You need to get one written up.

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending