Work Trials

saxonrosecliff

This is a bit of a long story but I'll try to condense it as much as possible.

I found out that a local company was opening a new branch. I contacted them and was asked to send my CV. The director of the company read my CV and asked me to go in for an informal chat just to explain what they do. I attended this last Friday. At the end she said she thought I had the necessary skills and asked me if I would like to attend a work trial. At this point we were in the middle of the office and another employee who turned out to be a relative of the Director said that as I was unemployed the DWP would continue to pay my benefits. She also said that it would be handy for the work trial to start next week as somebody would be going on holiday and I could help to cover! Plus she said that she had to let the previous Administrator go because she wasn't up to speed and the three weeks should be enough for me to learn the job - I'm slightly dubious as its quite a varied role. I agreed to find out about work trials and let her know.

Since then I've been going round in circles trying to find out about them. I'm on the work programme and getting anybody to answer the phone in their office is nearly impossible. I sent an email to my advisor who has finally replied this morning saying that I need to speak to an advisor at the job centre and to ring her for details. I'm about to go to my voluntary work position so intend to ring her when I get back.

I have a suspicion that this work trial is to purely to help them cover the office and there might not be a job at the end of it especially as I've only got three weeks to learn the role. Of course I could be completely wrong and it could be the start of a great new life of employment! Its a very small branch I would be working in. There would be me plus 4 others, 3 of which are related.

So any advice about work trials would be greatly appreciated. The thing I am most concerned about is that if I do this trial and they decide they don't won't me will I be penalised by the DWP?

zzzLazyDaisy

Just to be clear - are you saying that they want you to work for them for three weeks without pay?

saxonrosecliff

I'm currently unemployed and get JSA. Apparently the DWP will continue to pay me that while I am on the trial.

Caroline_a

I would ask the Benefit staff. I think the company has to do this through them -see here - as you will not be available for work during this time, so will be fraudulently claiming if they are unaware of it!

zzzLazyDaisy

Caroline_a wrote: »

I would ask the Benefit staff. I think the company has to do this through them -see here - as you will not be available for work during this time, so will be fraudulently claiming if they are unaware of it!

This is my concern. Yes it is possible to do an unpaid work trial authorised by the job centre, but the employer must meet certain requirements, and complete the relevant paperwork. If this is genuinely an official work trial, I would have expected the employer to contact the job centre and make the necessary arrangements, but if not, they should at least be as concerned a you are to ensure that the relevant documentation has been completed and approval obtained, before the work trial starts.

If you simply organise your own informal work trial, between you and the employer, without obtaining authority from JC, then you are not meeting the requirements for your JSA as you are not available for work.

Also HMRC are clamping down on these 'informal' work trials on the basis that they are an illegal avoidance of the NMW. If this is more of a 'private arrangement' than a formal work trial arranged with the agreement of the job centre, you might want to give the Pay and Work Rights helpline a ring 0800 917 2668 and ask their advice.

Morlock

saxonrosecliff wrote: »

I have a suspicion that this work trial is to purely to help them cover the office and there might not be a job at the end of it ...

I suspect that is very much the case, as with most work trials there is no 'job' available, just an opportunity for participating companies to 'employ' free labour on a rolling basis. When one claimant has finished the work trial, another claimant is shipped in for another four weeks. I know of one cash and carry supermarket that has had ongoing work trial places simultaneously for four claimants over the last two years, that is a lot of free labour.

saxonrosecliff

Thanks for all your advice. Its really put my mind at rest! I was always going to make sure it was done properly through the DWP rather than informally. Coincidentally where I do voluntary work they had a benefits advisor in today and I asked him. He said virtually what you all have said - that its so open to abuse that the conditions have been tightened. He also said that the company have to arrange it with the DWP rather than me and it could be when they see the forms they will have to fill in they will lose interest! Funnily enough my work programme provider just called and said exactly the same thing - I was expecting her to say I had to do it which was what was really worrying me.

I've now emailed the company telling them this and saying that I am still interested in working for them when the time comes and now I guess its a case of waiting to see what happens.

A big thank you to you all - my anxiety levels have been sky high about this and I feel a lot better. If I could click a "thanks" button 100 times I would do!

gibson123

I would like to first of all congratulate you on your initiative in approaching this company, good for you.

From an employers perspective we are inundated with "providers" trying to persaud us to put in work trials. My understanding is there has to be a vacancy before a trial can begin. However we decided not to participate, so I don't have a lot of detail on this. Also as we have limited desk space and no spare IT (cut to the bone we are) we could only do trails when some-one else was off work, which sort of leaves too much room to question our motives (free cover for holidays). The reason i am bringing this up is that many offices do not have spaces for extra bodies nowadays, so the remark about the holiday may have been more about space that cover.