Bar rules out jobs for young people if parents apply for them

ByKaya Black

BBC News, Reporting fromWarrington

A bar owner has said he is taking a "hard-line stance" on applications put in by parents trying to get jobs for their children.

Owen Williams, owner of Tank Bar and Live Lounge in Warrington, said that unless applicants walk in with a CV, or applied directly, he would "not employ them, or consider interviewing them".

He said the hospitality industry needed to know that applicants were confident and able enough, "as opposed to letting their parents do it".

"I don't think... parents doing everything for them is any good for the future," Williams said, after he rejected 10 such applications in a week.

About one million young people in the UK aged between 16 and 24 were not in education, employment or training from January to March 2026.

The figure was 9% in Liverpool, and 7.4% in Manchester - higher than the 5.8% national average.

Rushid Afzali, from the Be Free Campaign in Liverpool, said it was normal for parents to want to support their children to find a job.

"Of course a parent is going to be concerned when its nearly impossible to find a job, of course they want to support.

"It's not a motivational issue, and a lot of people try to put the blame on to young people," said Rushid.

Williams said said young people should "offer CV, walk around, speak to people, especially independently owned businesses like ourselves".

He said he thought parents were "quite soft", adding that when his own child grew up, there was "absolutely categorically not a chance that I would apply for a job for them."

He added there been an increase in the past year of parents emailing and messaging the bar asking if their child can work there.

And he said he wondered whether some children who had grown up during the coronavirus pandemic had had their confidence affected.

Two businesses in Liverpool told the BBC they agreed with Williams' stance.

Carlos Brito, head chef and owner of 19 BLVD, and Rob Bastow, manager of Botanico, also said they looked for confidence and would not want to hire people who relied on their parents to apply.

The BBC spoke to young people who had had their parents help in finding jobs.

Brad, 23, said his mum had applied for his jobs for him and had helped write his CV since he was 16.

"It's hard for people to get a job, so people with experience in recruitment like my mum made it easier for me to get a job," he said.

Amanda, a parent in Warrington, said she thought that COVID had "caused anxiety and confidence issues in that generation," and therefore parents felt they had to step in to build up their children's confidence.

Sue, from Warrington, said she helped her 16-year-old daughter to get a job, because she said it was harder now for teenagers to find work.

"I had my first job when I was 14, and my mum got me that job, so my mum helped me and I helped my daughter," she said, adding that businesses needed to help young people get work by "giving them a chance".

Since posting a status on Facebook telling people in Warrington he would no longer accept applications through parents, Owen said he had had nearly 100 applications from school leavers.

"Its a shame we don't have jobs for all of them," he said.

"Maybe the status opened their eyes to what they need to do to get a job."