How much would you pay him?

I would give him £10 an hour

Yorki

25Avalon.. I didn't think of all the health / safety & law issues regarding hiring a twelve year old, I stand corrected. However , If the OP pursued and employed the youngster. I do think £5 is a bit mean for the work involved . I would still double it .

It is against the law to employ anyone under the age of 13. Once he is 13 then a different matter. Whilst gardeners might charge £20 an hour, grounds men who cut grass and trim edges normally get £9-10 per hour.

you are doing a good thing OP,
and so is he with the work.
why would people be so mean as to say pay only £5.
i bet those could afford to pay more. a very poor attitude.

I still think £5 is miserly . But that's me ,I hate to feel someone's been ripped off, regardless of age or status. just because £5s the going rate it doesn't make it right in my eyes . When someone's said that to me and are only allowed to take a small going rate , I,ll tip them generously if I can afford it. My conscience wouldn't allow me not to
But again, that's just me . Maybe it was because my mums a skinflint and some times I find it embarrassing. She'd do anything not to pay if she could get away with it . And I often thought how mean she was , even though money wasn,t an issue. I swore I'd never do that to anyone.

My GS is watering the garden for us when we are (hopefully) away.

We have agreed £10 ph plus £3 travel expenses.

We wouldn’t want him to be out of pocket as a result of doing us a huge favour.

I have paid him £10. He does a good job and uses his own mower. The end result of his work is no different from an adult - he did all the edging very nicely.

In fact I think he might be 13. I will ask his Mum.

It is a way of getting him out of bed and out of his sad mood at present. I make sure I praise him for good work done.

I think gardeners in our area would charge at least £20 per hour.

grannyactivist

It seems as though some posters are making a case for children to be paid at the same rate or even considerably more than an adult. If this is the case then what would the justification be? My mind is boggled by a child earning more per hour than his/her parent.

I think what has to be borne in mind is the type of job too. Rates per hour vary according to the work.
Our lawn man probably takes an hour and a half, charges £30 for an excellent job but brings all his own equipment.

One small lawn may only take half an hour therefore the charge would technically be £5.

25Avalon.. I didn't think of all the health / safety & law issues regarding hiring a twelve year old, I stand corrected. However , If the OP pursued and employed the youngster. I do think £5 is a bit mean for the work involved . I would still double it .

Lucky girl,... I'd double it to £10 or £12.00 per hour. A twelve year should be encouraged to earn a living and if he's willing to take on the responsibility he deserves better pay to encourage his hard work. If he doesn't charge much he could lose interest or become disheartened when he's working hard, especially in hot /cold wet weather conditions. He might realise its not worth his while. he needs incentive via reward, good luck to him. If people want it doing they'll pay a decent going rate, there's always someone who'll try to take advantage of a youngster who's afraid to argue back. If someone's paying him a decent wage, he'll be less inclined to be taken for granted.
after all a small 12 year old would find it a lot harder than a mature tall male. He deserves to be rewarded for his courage. I hope things work out well for him. Respect ?

If he`s doing a good job then I would pay him a tenner, he`ll be thrilled to bits.

It seems as though some posters are making a case for children to be paid at the same rate or even considerably more than an adult. If this is the case then what would the justification be? My mind is boggled by a child earning more per hour than his/her parent.

i know it sounds really mean but be careful as he is only 12 and there maybe issues about paying him a lot as then classed as employment .(https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/paying) if that is the case then he is probably due holiday pay too. So pay him what he has asked for and then give him a "bonus" when he finishes at the end of the summer . make sure your lawnmower is safe as there is could be liability issues . I think children should be encouraged to work ( i had a part time job at 12 but even then it was on the edge of any legal issues) but just be careful - for both your sakes

I think £10 an hour is reasonable. A professional gardener would charge you much more

He sounds a lovely boy and worth more than £5, £10 would be suitable I am sure,and as other have said a bonus every now and then, and of course refreshments after he finishes cutting the lawn.Encourage him he is worth keeping.

I would not dream of paying anyone £5 for my lawn to be cut especially a young lad £5. It’s exploiting him It’s morally wrong for an hours hard work and apart from anything else what about health and safety. He could seriously injure himself, his parents can’t surely know about it. A neighbour took advantage of my kind hearted son , 13, by getting him up a ladder cleaning her guttering for five pounds. I was furious and almost through the money back at her and said I would report her as I was disgusted, I didn’t report her but it hopefully stopped her doing it to someone else’s son.

This is a hard one because under-13s are not allowed to work for money. You should also check if your insurance covers him.

£5 and hour is fine. these are the national minimum wage rates
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage Rates for 2021/22
AgeMinimum hourly rate 2021/22
23 and over£8.91
21 to 22£8.36
18 to 20£6.56
under 18£4.62
Apprentice£4.30

If you want to give him more do it as a gift at Christmas. Once you pay him over the rate his friends may want to come and work for you and then you will find that they expect the same rate as him etc. It will lead to fewer difficulties in the future if you pay the rate for his age.

I don't know what you should be paying, but perhaps you could have a word with his parents?

If you feel £5 is too little, you could ask what they think. Or check the rate for school-leavers. At twelve, he shouldn't in fairness to school-leavers and students be paid at their rate, but slightly less.

If he happy to take 5.00 I would give him 10.00 you are both winners then

I'd give him £10 cos it sounds like he's doing a good job. Well done to the young lad for going out and earning some money.

I'm one if the millions working in a minimum wage job and get £8.91 an hour. Maybe I should reconsider my options and take up gardening instead, I could also cancel my gym membership as I probably wouldn't need it to keep fit

Ahhhhh... I'd give him £15 bless his heart

I don’t think pay depends on anything to do with his situation at home, contributing to bills etc, you wouldn’t take that into consideration for an adult. I think £10ph is fair as it takes about an hour. Hopefully it will boost his self esteem that you think he’s doing such a good job that you pay more than he asked.

I pay my window cleaner £7.50. It takes him 20 minutes and he has a squeegee and a cloth. It's a small 1 bedroom bungalow. 3 double windows a porch and a bathroom. The going rate for most things now is about £10 per hour.at least.