paying a teenager for watering

Sorry Norah I think maybe I've not been clear here.

I meant that you are saying your grandchildren are paid £10 an hour for gardening - which is basically what I was suggesting for the OP's young person.
You were suggesting £10 for a half-hour for the OP's young person.

I didn't understand why his time was twice as valuable (i.e. £20 an hour) as your grandchildren's.

Calendargirl

Hope you paid yourself a generous wage Callistemon

Strawberries and runner beans at best, Calendargirl 😁

NotSpaghetti

GoldenAge

£10 for a half-hour visit is fairer than £5 in my opinion. If the boy does the job as good as an adult why pay him less? The onus is then on you to ensure that he knows exactly what to do and how to operate the hose pipe (not to be assumed). £5 won't make that much difference to you but it will to him, and if you're seen as a fair employer, he'll want to come back the next time you need him. I pay my grandchildren £10 an hour for gardening.

If you pay your grandchildren £10 an hour, why do you think this young person needs £20 an hour?

Just curious.

We pay our 'various age' GC between £10-20 an hour, they have to walk over and back, wasting time, included in the payment.

Why? Because we want to. My husband calls it 'GC wage rate'.

vampirequeen

You should pay him whatever the adult minimum wage is. He's doing a job and should be paid accordingly. Would you be happy to pay an adult less that the minimum wage? Watering plants is hardly rocket science. It's not a skill that has to be learned through experience so why think about paying him less just because he's 'only' 14.

£10.42 is the new rate adult minimum wage per hour once you reach 23.

Age 21 to 22 it's £10.18

18 to 20 year olds it's £7.49

Paying £5 for half an hour is fine however you look at it, I think.

GoldenAge

£10 for a half-hour visit is fairer than £5 in my opinion. If the boy does the job as good as an adult why pay him less? The onus is then on you to ensure that he knows exactly what to do and how to operate the hose pipe (not to be assumed). £5 won't make that much difference to you but it will to him, and if you're seen as a fair employer, he'll want to come back the next time you need him. I pay my grandchildren £10 an hour for gardening.

If you pay your grandchildren £10 an hour, why do you think this young person needs £20 an hour?

Just curious.

Hope you paid yourself a generous wage Callistemon

Just watered 33 pots, plus strawberries and beans in 25 minutes.
😁 bring on some 🌧 overnight.

Bring back bob a job!

Saggi

I’m with you VioletSky…disgraceful to pay a teenager less for doing the same job as an adult. I would pay £10 per visit. Tell him you trust him to do the job …and explain how much water the different plants need .watering

But that's lawful.

Joseann

If you pay him a reasonable sum in advance, then he can always nip to the garden centre to replace any he has killed just before your return!
Well I would anyway!

😁😁😁

I was thinking that, at the rates some would offer, you might as well not bother with anyone watering, let the plants take their chances and replace if necessary.

I’m with you VioletSky…disgraceful to pay a teenager less for doing the same job as an adult. I would pay £10 per visit. Tell him you trust him to do the job …and explain how much water the different plants need .watering

If you pay him a reasonable sum in advance, then he can always nip to the garden centre to replace any he has killed just before your return!
Well I would anyway!

I think £5 a watering is enough. I’ve worked in childcare and earn £11 an hour ( just recently upped) I wish I lived near you I’d do it for that!

I would give him a one off payment say £50 for the 2 weeks. However depends how much you want him to do. If its going to take quite a while I would up that amount to £75 - £100.

Surely you not paying him £10 per visit.

That to me seems excessive and unnecessary.

How often is he required to water plants?

Why don’t you offer a round sum of money. Not pay per visit.

I would ask his parents. Sometimes they have strong views on young people being given too much as well as too little. Most likely they will be keeping an eye on him anyway. I would also give him a 'training session' (paid at whatever rate you and parents decide). That way he will be learning something and have proper responsibility. My niece got a job in a garden centre that way, her neighbour taught her very well how to water plants properly in pots, what time of day is best and to do dead heading. She liked the job so much she ended up with Saturday work watering plants in the garden centre when she was old enough (paid at the Government mandated rate per hour for her age).

Once it gets to be a large amount, it stops being pocket money, except for those will have parents who can afford to give their children large amounts of pocket money. Then, as he gets older, the element of tax will come in.

You should pay him whatever the adult minimum wage is

Why? He’s not an adult, he’s 14.

vampirequeen

You should pay him whatever the adult minimum wage is. He's doing a job and should be paid accordingly. Would you be happy to pay an adult less that the minimum wage? Watering plants is hardly rocket science. It's not a skill that has to be learned through experience so why think about paying him less just because he's 'only' 14.

Why an adult wage?

Young workers aged 16 to 17 are entitled to at least £5.28 per hour.
Gov.UK

He's doing a favour, light work, and earning pocket money.

Catlover123 can give him £25 or £250 for doing it but it's not work and putting it on a formal basis, paying per hour could cause problems.
She can give him an extra bonus if she wants, too, if the plants look good and healthy!

You should pay him whatever the adult minimum wage is. He's doing a job and should be paid accordingly. Would you be happy to pay an adult less that the minimum wage? Watering plants is hardly rocket science. It's not a skill that has to be learned through experience so why think about paying him less just because he's 'only' 14.

Aldom

Norah

Aldom Gosh, you're lucky to find someone to do gardening for £12 per hour. Mine charged £18. He wasn't all that good either. Had to let him go as he did more harm than good.

Costs to gardeners seem to be higher this season. But well worth it when the gardener does the heavy bark work.

This particular gardener charged £18 five years ago. Nothing to do with recent price rises. My handyman charges £22 per hour twelve years ago. Last year a handyman charged £50 for the first hour and £40 per hour thereafter.
People who pay tax on earnings need to charge enough to make a reasonable living. They have expenses too. A van, tools and fuel to take into account.

I totally agree. We pay well, people need to earn to live.

We needed 400 bags of bark hauled and spread. Not an easy job, required transport, tools, many work hours - well worth the pay.

Norah

Aldom Gosh, you're lucky to find someone to do gardening for £12 per hour. Mine charged £18. He wasn't all that good either. Had to let him go as he did more harm than good.

Costs to gardeners seem to be higher this season. But well worth it when the gardener does the heavy bark work.

This particular gardener charged £18 five years ago. Nothing to do with recent price rises. My handyman charges £22 per hour twelve years ago. Last year a handyman charged £50 for the first hour and £40 per hour thereafter.
People who pay tax on earnings need to charge enough to make a reasonable living. They have expenses too. A van, tools and fuel to take into account.

If he's a decent lad and your plants look healthy on your return, think you should be generous - between £7-£10 a visit is what I'd suggest. Presume he won't be doing it every day. If you are generous you will hope you can rely on him to do the same on future occasions.

I would ask him if he could do every other day perhaps, and give him seventy pounds.

I don’t go on holiday often but last time I did I got the kids big paddling pool out filled it maybe four or five inches deep, and put it in the shade, with help I got my pots into it, swooshed some liquid plant feed around in it, I put all pots close together. They all looked in great condition when I got back after a week or so.

Time before that I did ask a neighbour and she actually thought you just had to stand there with the hose pipe on a fine spray aimed at the leaves and flowers (as opposed to the soil).
This caused more problems than enough, so the paddling pool was much better for me.

I don't understand why you need anybody to do this. You're only away for a couple of weeks and your pots / plants are outside. Drench the garden before you go. Should be fine and you can also pray for rain! 🥴