A Foolish Guide To Fantastic Summer Jobs

Emma Lunn reveals the secret to getting a fantastic summer job.

This article was first sent to Fools as part of our Summer Lolly email campaign.

Summertime. The living is easy. but it sure ain't cheap!

So isn't it time your child got a job?

From teenagers who have just finished their GCSE exams to graduates more keen on a gap year than a career, persuading your kids that at some point they will have to work for their money can be tricky. The good news is that children can be sent out to work from the age of 13 and their first job can be the ideal opportunity to teach them about managing their finances.

But before you rush to send your child down a mine or up a chimney it's a good idea to check what work kids can and cannot do. The rules are complex but basically, until a child reaches school-leaving age, working before 7am or after 7pm is out, as is working within school hours. On school days and Sundays, working hours are limited to a maximum of two per day, and five hours on Saturdays or in school holidays (rising to eight hours per day for 15 and 16-year-olds).

Government statistics show that most children undertake some kind of part-time work before they leave school, with paper rounds and work in shops or restaurants most common. The law states that children of school age should do only `light work' and kids are barred from certain jobs such as working in cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and betting shops. They can't do door-to-door or telephone-based selling either, and have to be 18 to serve behind a bar.

I'd barely entered my teens when my parents thoughtfully signed me up for a paper round. And so I embarked on three years of early mornings spent traipsing the streets with a back-breaking bag of newspapers, dreaming that maybe one day I'd be writing rather than delivering the news.

Alas, my path to a successful journalism career proved to be anything other than straightforward and the paper round was the first of a good ten years of `McJobs', defined on Wikipedia as a `low-paying, low-prestige job that requires few skills and offers very little chance of intracompany advancement'.

Teach teens the value of money

Once I reached 16 my CV became littered with this kind of work, and I worked everywhere from McDonalds and various high street shops to the strawberry fields of Kent. Deaf to my complaints about slave labour, my parents insisted that the work was "character building" and they were probably right. Much as I hate to say it, I quickly learnt about the value of money and the relationship between working and buying the things I wanted.

In those days, there was no minimum age but legislation introduced in 1999 set the minimum amount employers had to pay adult workers at £3.60 an hour. The rates have gone up several times since then and anyone aged over 22 now earns a minimum of £5.52 an hour (rising to £5.73 in October). Workers aged between 18 and 21 are entitled to £4.60 an hour (going up to £4.77) and 16 and 17-year-olds £3.40 an hour (£3.53 from October).

Although everyone is subject to income tax, most teenagers and young adults fitting in part-time jobs around school or university won't end up paying any. Everyone has a personal allowance of £6,035 for the 2008-9 tax year and don't have to pay any tax until this threshold is reached. To make sure they're not taxed by mistake teenagers and students should complete a P38 form available from the HMRC website or from the local tax office, and give it to their employer who will not deduct tax.

University and work

One of the most popular jobs for university students tends to be bar work, partly because it fits in around lectures and partly because.. Well, for other obvious reasons.

Mind you, there's no reason you should necessarily opt for the obvious. There are plenty of more interesting, well-paid options for those over 18 and at college or university.

Keep an eye out at uni for PhD students who need volunteers for psychological experiments -

anything from having a brain scan to doing simple computer tests.

 If you fancy passing on your knowledge to younger students or school children, tutoring can be pretty lucrative and pay up to £20 an hour. Check out uktutors.com or Fleet Tutors for more details (discerning Londoners may also want to check out Osborne Cawkwell Educational Consultants).

Alternatively, you could advertise your services for free in Loot or on Gumtree, but you will probably get more work if you register with an agency which looks professional and can match you up with clients. But bear in mind that most reputable agencies will require you to pay about £30 upfront for a Criminal Records Bureau check since you will be working with children. And remember that you will need to keep records of your incomings and outgoings so that you can fill in a tax return!

Other job options for students include dog-walking, babysitting or house-sitting for people while they're on holiday - or even better, doing research. Lecturers and PhD students in certain subjects, such as anthropology and archaeology, are likely to go abroad for months in the summer and may well need someone to look after their moggie/plants. So you could save hundreds in rent - and get paid into the bargain!

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