Sounds like we're lucky down here. The beaters are paid Ł25 a day and get a day at the end of the season, there is meant to be beer at lunch if we dont eat at the end of a drive, but this doesn't often materialise.
There isn't any option for vermin control whixh would be equal if not better than pay, although I can get acess to a nice pit to zero a rifle if needed. It's all swings and roundabouts really, the guns will shirk their role on beaters day, or are not worthy of calling themselves beaters. As for the young, we do have two kids out, both who have bought themselves radios and are a pest. Their dad does not control them and they complain when I deliver a rollocking, everyone including the keeper has had a rollocking off of me at some point, I cant stand bent lines with beaters out of place. Now that I have a vantage point of a quad (the game cart)I can see more of what goes on. I believe that kids should be supervised by parents/beaters for 2 years without much pay until they can get to grips with it. My son will be starting next season hopefully. He is now 8 but I dont consider him mature enough yet to do a good job without becoming disheartened by people telling him he has got it wrong.