Employment law RE apprentices

chrispy108

underdog said:

Cheers for the input, I'm going to ring the guys we takes care of our legal contracts (as part of our perks of FSB membership) tomorrow, but thought (correctly) it was worth asking on here.

It seems one of the girls has made a slight f**k up in that her or her family memeber has been asking other studios about potential for work when she's fully trained, so honestly this was a question to try and save the years of training we gave her and keep her employed with us while giving us a little security.

Don't assume malice until you know more information, it might have just been her Mum innocently bumped into someone at the bank and put her foot in it...

Does she know you want her to stay? If they don't feel confident that you want them to stay then you can't blame them for looking around.

If they do know you want them on a proper wage, but still want to leave, then surely you're better off letting them go, surely tattooing isn't the kind of job you want a member of staff doing half-heartadly?

underdog

chrispy108;581247" said:

underdog said:

Cheers for the input, I'm going to ring the guys we takes care of our legal contracts (as part of our perks of FSB membership) tomorrow, but thought (correctly) it was worth asking on here.



It seems one of the girls has made a slight f**k up in that her or her family memeber has been asking other studios about potential for work when she's fully trained, so honestly this was a question to try and save the years of training we gave her and keep her employed with us while giving us a little security.





Don't assume malice until you know more information, it might have just been her Mum innocently bumped into someone at the bank and put her foot in it...

Does she know you want her to stay? If they don't feel confident that you want them to stay then you can't blame them for looking around.

If they do know you want them on a proper wage, but still want to leave, then surely you're better off letting them go, surely tattooing isn't the kind of job you want a member of staff doing half-heartadly?

Her mother took her to another tattooist in a different town, I'm not so sure that can be seen any other way than malicious good news is that having spoken to the girl it was just her mother sticking her nose in, and her own wishes.

Drew_TNBD

underdog said:

 they kind of feel like our children to us.

But they're not. That's the crux here. They're your employees, and they have rights.

chrispy108

Still not necessarily malicious trying to "rip you off" @underdog - she's just looking out for her daughter and trying to find her a job/the best job she can.

Loyalty goes so far, but it doesn't pay the bills. They aren't monsters if they're looking around. They're just trying to get their lives going.

Have you made them offers for "a proper job" once their training finishes? Either formal or informal. The looking around may just be insecurity.

underdog

Drew_fx;581259" said:

underdog said:

 they kind of feel like our children to us.










But they're not. That's the crux here. They're your employees, and they have rights.

Of course they do, i was just asking what mine were

@chrispy108 yeah she knows she has a job afterwards and only has to look at our other apprentice (who has progressed quicker) and is currently earning more than her wage.

Drew_TNBD

underdog said:

Drew_fx;581259" said:

underdog said:

 they kind of feel like our children to us.










But they're not. That's the crux here. They're your employees, and they have rights.

Of course they do, i was just asking what mine were

@chrispy108 yeah she knows she has a job afterwards and only has to look at our other apprentice (who has progressed quicker) and is currently earning more than her wage.

Has she been FORMALLY told? I mean... c'mon dude... that blackslapping thing worked years and years ago. You said you wanted to try and break the mould, so why not make her an official offer... written down on a bit of paper like...

You say she knows that stuff, but she very well may not.

chrispy108

underdog said:

@chrispy108 yeah she knows she has a job afterwards and only has to look at our other apprentice (who has progressed quicker) and is currently earning more than her wage.

Or in her eyes, she only has to look at the other apprentice who is earning more to see that she isn't wanted long-term and should jump before she's pushed.

A bit of clarity goes a long way.

Do you do formal performance/development/training meetings with them? When I had interns (unpaid sadly, not my call) I met with them monthly to talk about how their work was going, what they'd learned, what they wanted to learn next month, what I wanted them to work on, and just generally get a feel for how they were feeling. It might sound a bit HR/jobsworthy, but it was a genuinely useful way to spend half an hour.

joneve

I just thought all budding tattooists just practice on themselves/family members! THat's what my mate did any way. His legs have some absolutely gopping tattoos on them!  

He's properly good now though

underdog

joneve;581397" said:

I just thought all budding tattooists just practice on themselves/family members! THat's what my mate did any way. His legs have some absolutely gopping tattoos on them!  

He's properly good now though

We try to avoid that, the pair of them are only 18, I'd hate them to grow up hating tattoos they have, though one has done a tiny one on herself. We aim to get them to be good enough before they tattoo on real skin, and it's working.

The one in question done a really good sex pistol portrait on her step father the other week, and the other apprentice has 7 tattoos to do tomorrow as part of a charity event we're running, my wife has 18 to do

Drew_TNBD

18 year old tat'd up poon.... mmmmmmmmmm

underdog

Drew_fx;581784" said:

18 year old tat'd up poon.... mmmmmmmmmm

They have collected quite a few tattoos since they turned 18, one of them had a half sleeve on her birthday in one sitting and didn't flinch. She's only the size of a pixy but tough as hell.

holnrew

Can I have a free tattoo?

boogieman

Sounds like you're treating them very well. My daughter did a so called apprenticeship at a hairdressing salon in Covent Garden. £2 an hour for a 48 hour week including working every Saturday and Sunday. Most of her wages went on tube fares, so we were helping her out with money. She was supposed to be getting on the job training, but all she ended up doing was taking bookings, making coffee, sweeping, washing hair etc. She packed it in after 6 months as she was constantly exhausted. Nothing but slave labour IMO.