Copy article

Newspage RawSource: Kate Underwood, Kate Underwood HR & Training

World Day for Decent Work

ended 07. October 2026

The first job that goes wrong follows them for years

Tomorrow is World Day for Decent Work, and the ITUC has made 2026 about young workers organising for the future. https://www.ituc-csi.org/world-day-for-decent-work-2026 Most first jobs in Britain start in a small business, which means small employers are the ones teaching a whole generation what work is.

The CIPD counts roughly 500,000 young people and 250,000 students on zero-hours contracts. https://hrreview.co.uk/spotlight/new-zero-hours-rules-risk-raising-employment-costs-and-limiting-job-opportunities/390607

New HP research says 64% of desk-based workers now think leaving a job is too risky, rising to 68% of Gen Z. https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1971681/two-thirds-desk-based-workers-say-leaving-job-too-risky-survey-finds That isn't loyalty. That's fear doing your retention for you.

And from 30 October, unions get a right of access to workplaces, with firms under 21 workers exempt. https://www.business.gov.uk/campaign/employment-changes/employers/trade-union-reform/

A rotten first job is a stone in the shoe for ten years. Small employers can't fix the labour market, but you can write down what you promise a 19-year-old, and then actually keep it.

Over to you:

  • Who is really responsible for a decent first job, the employer or the government?
  • Zero hours for students: useful flexibility, or a contract nobody would sign if they had a choice?
  • Should small employers get a pass on union access rights, or is 21 workers an arbitrary line?
  • Is "too risky to leave" good retention or a quiet failure?
  • What did your first job teach you that you still use, or still resent?

5 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Story Source
Copy

Pro
Kate UnderwoodVerified
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR & Training
iContact details are shown to logged-in members. Log in
Most people's first boss is a small business owner, not a corporate. That's a privilege and it's a responsibility, and nobody hands you a manual for it. You don't need a policy suite to do this well. You need to say what the hours are, pay them on time, tell them when they've done something right, and tell them properly when they haven't. Do that, and you'll keep them. Get it wrong, and you've taught a 19-year-old that work is something done to you. They'll carry that into every job after yours, and we all pay for it.
Copy

Pro
Tony SanchezVerified
Founder at Bridging Loan Directory
iContact details are shown to logged-in members. Log in
My first job taught me resilience, discipline and how to work unsupervised. Those lessons have stayed with me throughout my working life.

A good first job should do more than pay someone. It should teach them how to turn up, take responsibility, solve problems and earn trust. Young people remember very quickly whether they were treated properly and whether expectations were fair.

Small employers have a big role to play because they are often where people first learn what work actually feels like. You may not be able to control the wider labour market, but you can give someone a solid start, clear expectations and the confidence that comes from being trusted to do the job.
Copy

Plus
David BelleVerified
Founder and Trader at Fink Money
iContact details are shown to logged-in members. Log in
It was found that most people on zero hours contracts want the flexibility. It is uncertain to me why this is paraded around as a bad thing. Usually it is students who want this but certainly moves into other sectors of the working population too.
Copy

Plus
Amelia BrookeVerified
Career Coach at Amelia Brooke Career Vision
iContact details are shown to logged-in members. Log in
I'm increasingly speaking with clients who are unhappy at work. Some believe that, rather than making costly redundancies, their employers are pressuring staff through return-to-office mandates, hiring freezes, and increased workloads, hoping people will leave of their own accord. Historically, these professionals would walk away, take time to work out their next move, and re-enter the job market with confidence. Today, heightened competition for fewer vacancies means people stay put in roles even if it's affecting their wellbeing, until something better is secured. And they work with career coaches like me to make their next move strategically behind the scenes.
Copy

Plus
Debbie PorterVerified
Managing Director at Destination Digital Marketing
iContact details are shown to logged-in members. Log in
Whether you have a good first job or a bad first job, if you don’t like your situation, then make a change. It’s no one else’s responsibility.

My first job was incredibly poorly paid, and I also had to move to London to get it. Having no money and having to establish myself in the country’s economically toughest city for low paid people was hard, hard work. But what it taught me was resilience and resourcefulness, and how to keep my eye on the long-term plan in building a career.

I eventually found the London streets that are paved with the promised gold, but my success was built with my own hands, with a determination that has been an invaluable learning for the rest of my career. You make your own luck in life, and no one owes you a living. When you arrive at self-driven success, it’s all the sweeter for having created it for yourself.