I have been asked by a concerned friend about a contract her daughter (under 16) has been asked to sign by a large supermarket chain, which holds her to a 15 hour week and stipulates that her rostered hours must be adhered to. My friend has written to the supermarket to request that the hours be cut to 12 and that no weekends be rostered in. The supermarket have refused to reply to the mother and have told the daughter they are ignoring the mother’s letters and only dealing with the daughter. First question: The mother believes that the contract is not binding with the under 16 year old. Is this correct? And if so, what can the mother do to ensure the supermarket does not ride roughshod over the daughter with unreasonable rostering and inflexibility in the hours of the contract?
Jill Little