The laws around the minimum age Australian kids can work are notoriously rubbery and, as any young worker will tell you, inconsistent or thoughtless laws leave young people vulnerable and open to exploitation, like I was, writes Virginia Trioli.
‘The exact same work’ is the part I have a problem with here. People with less experience are less productive in general, and trying to get teenagers to do anything useful is like herding cats.
I disagree. On the experience side of things, you can apply that to anybody who’s first starting work, or who’s just landed their first job in a new field. I get the other bit, but that does feel like a massive generalisation and rather disrespectful.
Perhaps a minor pay decrease can be justified - I don’t disagree that being younger you’ll probably be less productive, at least for your first year or 2 in employment. But I don’t think it’s fair to pay somebody 40% of the wage when they generate you the same amount in sales and revenue. I certainly don’t think you’d receive 60% more productivity from somebody over 21
‘The exact same work’ is the part I have a problem with here. People with less experience are less productive in general, and trying to get teenagers to do anything useful is like herding cats.
I disagree. On the experience side of things, you can apply that to anybody who’s first starting work, or who’s just landed their first job in a new field. I get the other bit, but that does feel like a massive generalisation and rather disrespectful.
Perhaps a minor pay decrease can be justified - I don’t disagree that being younger you’ll probably be less productive, at least for your first year or 2 in employment. But I don’t think it’s fair to pay somebody 40% of the wage when they generate you the same amount in sales and revenue. I certainly don’t think you’d receive 60% more productivity from somebody over 21