[Roxy]

My neighbour mentioned yesterday her 14year old son wanted to earn some spending money.  I suggested he could do a few hours ragworting for me, with gloves etc. provided, as well as a ragfork!!
 
Do not want a big wage bill,but want to be fair to the lad - so how much per hour would you give him?  Would not expect him to do more than an hour a day, as ragwort is not nice to deal with.

[bloomer]

pay by results i.e. per sack full or wheel barrow which ever is more appropriate.

[Sylvia]

I would say it depends on how hard he works, whether he keeps at it solidly for an hour or does two minutes then rests for three. If the former then, say, £5 per hour is plenty for a boy of his age, if the latter £2 and tell him why. If he works really well you can always give him a bonus now and then.

[Roxy]

I may not be there when he is picking, but I thought if he was given an allocated place to start, I can see how much he has done ......and if he puts it in the big builders sack, I can see.  I think he genuinly wants to earn money, so hopefully will work hard, in the hope of getting more work from me. If it works out, it would be ideal, as I am on my a lot, and some heavy lifting is beyond me on my own.
 
Although he is a big strapping boy, I have to take into consideration he is only young, so cannot work him hard

[in the hills]

My lad is nearly 14 and would be very happy with £5 per hour. His friend helps out washing dishes at a local pub and gets £2.50 per hour. My lad recently did a few jobs for a neighbour ...... jet washing and painting a couple of gates and was given £10 as a thank you. As Sylvia says it depends a lot on what kind of a lad he is ..... mine works his socks off and probably gets more done in a certain time than a lot of men would.

[the great composto]

a minimum wage for a modern apprentice is just over 3.00 per hour so 4-5.00 per hour should be ok.

Although ..............  if he's 14  makes sure he hasnt got three kids to support 

[Mammyshaz]

My lad is only 10. This summer due to his hard work on our garden/allotment, neighbours asked if he could help them. He started at £2 per law mowed. This has gone to £5 due to his hard work and good standards  ( which he is over the moon with at this age). He also adds a bit of bird feeder filling and rubbish removal while he is there but it's less than an hour per place and he only does them once a week.

[bangbang]

a minimum wage for a modern apprentice is just over 3.00 per hour so 4-5.00 per hour should be ok.

Although ..............  if he's 14  makes sure he hasnt got three kids to support 

[SteveHants]

Wouldn't pay anyone less than a fiver.


I get this with some beating I do - young teens want to beat and they seem to get a tenner less than everyone else, but they did the same work??

[Lesley Silvester]

I've been paying £3.50 per hour to a 13 year old and a 15 year old.  I was told by a 16 year old that that was what most 15 year olds get.  The 13 year old works harder than his brother.

[bigchicken]

If  he is only working for an hour give him a fiver and thank you lucky star that you have a young person who is interested in doing some physical work a bit like hens teeth now a days/ When I was a lad I worked  Friday after school till sunday night and just for a few pounds, The farm was on a small scale and the farmer supplemented his earnings buy working as a security guard at night and after the morning milking he slept till the afternoon milking and I did every think that needed to be done during that time, it was hard work . I stayed they all weekend and was treated as one of the family. The farmers wife was a fantastic cook and baker and her fair was to die for. Fond memories

[Big Light]

I agree with the earlier post pay by result agree an amount per bag -  a fantastic lesson that hard work pays!

[NormandyMary]

Oh how I miss "bob a job" week!!!
Ive got loads of wood to be stacked in the barn, and so much weeding to do. There's never a boy scout around when you want one!

[goosepimple]

10p a plant, if he knows how much it is per plant he will be counting up as he goes - a good insentive - make sure he takes them out properly though!

[Moleskins]

My first ever job was weeding sugar beet which was wet as it'd been raining, I got  shilling a row and the rows were that long you couldn't see the end of them.
From that job I earned the money to buy my first bike. It taught me a valuable lesson, that you don't get anything without working for it.
Also because I persevered I got a regular job out of it and what's more, got to drive a tractor, a Fordson Major with sacking on the metal seat, which was soaking wet. But it didn't matter I'd driven something.