16 year old on phone constantly!!

[betweenthelines]

OP needs to get the lad to sign a note that he has been told not to use a phone while driving--in the field or on the road. If he doesn't and the lad has an accident, he (OP) will be liable as he knows the law is being broken and has done nothing about it.

As for all the farmers who want their staff to answer the phone when they call, you do know that if you "cause" someone to answer a call while they are on the road, you are committing an offence? What's the driver going to say when the police stop him-"Boss says I must answer the phone when he rings"

While "hands free" sounds OK, it really isn't, as it's a distraction from driving aka "Driving without due care and attention"

As for phones being "needed" in case of an accident, it's a miracle that the fields weren't full of injured workers in the days before mobile phones.

You go to work to, well, work-not to fart about on face book.

 

[AGN76]

I think your right but I think it’s probably your duty to provide a simple mobile phone for his safety and both of yours convenience at work that you can see who and when he rings texts on the bill

I got absolutely rollocked by my boss once for using my work mobile to facilitate an "affair" I was having. The number I had been ringing was the office mobile to check for orders!!

 

[Pluggyp]

Update to my problem.
The young lad involved with phone use has been talked too and been told politely but sternly, that it’s not acceptable and told he won’t be needed any more!!
it’s been a real eye opener to me as to the pitfalls of trying to help the next generation of young farmer!! I’m sure they’re not all the same!!! Thanks for replies R

 

[Al R]

Update to my problem.
The young lad involved with phone use has been talked too and been told politely but sternly, that it’s not acceptable and told he won’t be needed any more!!
it’s been a real eye opener to me as to the pitfalls of trying to help the next generation of young farmer!! I’m sure they’re not all the same!!! Thanks for replies R

Was he any good besides being on the phone? A warning first I would have said?

 

[Pluggyp]

Had high hopes for the boy!! But why couldn’t he get out of tractor without phone in his hand!! Lost faith in him,
Realised it’s much easier to do the job myself and the responsibility starts and stops with me

 

[Al R]

Had high hopes for the boy!! But why couldn’t he get out of tractor without phone in his hand!! Lost faith in him,
Realised it’s much easier to do the job myself and the responsibility starts and stops with me

Fair enough, I know that feeling!!!!

 

[kiwi pom]

Right now we've decided on the no phones at work thing, how long before the next, "why don't truck drivers call ahead" thread?

 

[Estate fencing.]

Update to my problem.
The young lad involved with phone use has been talked too and been told politely but sternly, that it’s not acceptable and told he won’t be needed any more!!
it’s been a real eye opener to me as to the pitfalls of trying to help the next generation of young farmer!! I’m sure they’re not all the same!!! Thanks for replies R

So you didn't give him a warning and just got rid, that sounds really harsh.
I agree that no one needs to be on the phone at work but did you teach him this? You might not think you need to teach that whenever you have have a 2 seconds with nothing to do you don’t check your phone, but as a 16 year old he would have probably done this most of his life.

 

[Fendt516profi]

OP needs to get the lad to sign a note that he has been told not to use a phone while driving--in the field or on the road. If he doesn't and the lad has an accident, he (OP) will be liable as he knows the law is being broken and has done nothing about it.

As for all the farmers who want their staff to answer the phone when they call, you do know that if you "cause" someone to answer a call while they are on the road, you are committing an offence? What's the driver going to say when the police stop him-"Boss says I must answer the phone when he rings"

While "hands free" sounds OK, it really isn't, as it's a distraction from driving aka "Driving without due care and attention"

As for phones being "needed" in case of an accident, it's a miracle that the fields weren't full of injured workers in the days before mobile phones.

You go to work to, well, work-not to fart about on face book.

Think there was alot less lone working before mobile phones

 

[Zippy768]

I think it all needs a bit of "give and take".
How many have workers that start the day at a certain time, but the worker will have no idea what time they'll finish that evening? Are they required at the weekend etc?. Especially this time of year.
But god forbid they dare keep their own phone with them all day!

 

[manhill]

Is a kid like him not a sentient being and therefore an act of extreme cruelty to separate him from his phone?

 

[Castle Farm]

What is more important to him his wage packet or his social life. Sack the loser

 

[Zippy768]

What is more important to him his wage packet or his social life. Sack the loser

He's 16! Little harsh.
I image at that age his social life is more important to him.
It was for me at that age. I now actively avoid having one now

 

[Ffermer Bach]

So you didn't give him a warning and just got rid, that sounds really harsh.
I agree that no one needs to be on the phone at work but did you teach him this? You might not think you need to teach that whenever you have have a 2 seconds with nothing to do you don’t check your phone, but as a 16 year old he would have probably done this most of his life.

I blame the college tutors for not impressing on their students that phones are only to be used at bait time/lunch time, what happens in college during practical lessons, do the students get their phones out then I wonder?

 

[Ffermer Bach]

Is a kid like him not a sentient being and therefore an act of extreme cruelty to separate him from his phone?

micro aggression from a Gammon!!! ha ha ha

 

[kiwi pom]

I think it all needs a bit of "give and take".
How many have workers that start the day at a certain time, but the worker will have no idea what time they'll finish that evening? Are they required at the weekend etc?. Especially this time of year.
But god forbid they dare keep their own phone with them all day!

You do wonder whether some of the commenters have ever been employees.
Checking social media etc isn't on but taking a call, while carrying on with what you're doing or using it to play music or for something work related, doesn't seem like a big deal to me, especially as you say, for staff who don't know when they will be knocking off, or doing big hours.

 

[SteveHants]

I now show prospective workers on the first day, this is the locker you put your mobile in until you go home. I don't have one they don't need one.

This is now standard operating procedure in the pig and poultry industries.

This is the way I'd go with it, to be honest. Say you are introducing it as a health and safety measure, be positive about it, not negative - he's 16 and still learning. Make him understand the importance of safety on farm to his health and wellbeing.

 

[Ffermer Bach]

This is now standard operating procedure in the pig and poultry industries.

This is the way I'd go with it, to be honest. Say you are introducing it as a health and safety measure, be positive about it, not negative - he's 16 and still learning. Make him understand the importance of safety on farm to his health and wellbeing.

I agree, but also quite like the idea of a lone worker policy, which includes giving a cheap pay as you phone for work related telephone calls during the day.

 

[SteveHants]

You cannot smash his property but as a short term employee you can decide to terminate his employment without warning. I would tell him what was expected once, and once only for something so serious, and if he disobeyed he would be down the road.

Thing is, the buck does NOT stop with him. It stops with his employer. As such he should not be driving a large [aren't they all?] tractor and trailer on the road at 16 as I doubt whether it is legal or whether it or him are covered by insurance.

Unless you have plenty of yard work and can supervise such a young 'worker' nearly all the time, they are a total liability, especially the type that gets distracted easily, whether by phone or seeking a smoke or being just incompetent and not seeing dangers.

I've mentioned this before on threads like these:
Teenagers are undergoing massive physiological changes in their brain structure as they grow. They are not always thinking like an adult or like a child because of this. They do need supervising, they do need coaching and they shouldn't be in charge of heavy machinery unsupervised.

The kick back to that statement is usually: "In my day (when we didn't know the above, we were expected to do x, y or z - so why can't they?"
My answer to that is that machinery has increased in size, but also, more importantly, more people were injured or died as a result of that way of thinking.

 

[SteveHants]

I agree, but also quite like the idea of a lone worker policy, which includes giving a cheap pay as you phone for work related telephone calls during the day.

Yes, if he's going to be on his own, that's fair, but as I've said above - he really shouldn't be at that age for any length of time.