7 hour unpaid trial shift

melb

thanks for your support Kathryn but wouldn't feel happy naming them on here. I'm afraid it is very widespread from our experience. A well known restaurant that regularly wins awards in our local paper pays all of its staff minimum wage and does not give them a break or anything to eat during a 6-7 hour shift.
My daughter also was asked to do a trial shift at a cafe in Hyde Park. She was asked to arrive at 11.00 am and not told how long the shift would last. Eventually at 2.30 pm with in customers in the shop, having not had anything to eat or drink and having seen other members of staff go outside for a cigarette break, and not knowing when this trial shift was going to end, she asked to do the same and was told "you don't ask for a break when you're on a trial shift".

piglet25

The NHS is a fan of this too, two unpaid shifts expected when you start, and that is for any age.

martinsurrey

kathrynha wrote: »

A 1-2 hour trial shift isn't too bad, but a 7 hour one like the OP is complaining about is unfair. As most of the places offering trial shifts are probably offering zero hour contracts, and it is easy to get rid of new staff, then I don't think the trial is really necessary, and neither is asking for lots of experience.

Maybe they wanted to see how the person's behavior and attitude was after 5 hours working, we can all turn on the charm for a 1 hour interview, or serving a few customers, but doing it hour after hour is what is required.

And on the ease of getting rid of staff, its the admin of setting up staff that is the problem, if you employ and pay someone for 5 hours and then get rid as they are not working out, you need to provide contracts, check documentation, get tax codes, update HR systems...

I'm not saying its a perfect solution and I 100% agree, but as long as the company is clear that its a trial shift and wont be paid, you can always so no, while it gives people with no experience the ability to show what they can do.

And as for professionals not having to do things like this, you might be surprised...

For my first professional job, I did an online application about 3 hours, 2 phone interviews about 5-6 hours including prep, and then an 8 hour assessment day (which required me to stay in a hotel the night before as the center wasn't near my home), in total over 20 hours of unpaid "work".

They did all of that as my CV had no experience so they wanted to make sure I would fit in.

Rosemary7391

martinsurrey wrote: »

Maybe they wanted to see how the person's behavior and attitude was after 5 hours working, we can all turn on the charm for a 1 hour interview, or serving a few customers, but doing it hour after hour is what is required.

And on the ease of getting rid of staff, its the admin of setting up staff that is the problem, if you employ and pay someone for 5 hours and then get rid as they are not working out, you need to provide contracts, check documentation, get tax codes, update HR systems...

I'm not saying its a perfect solution and I 100% agree, but as long as the company is clear that its a trial shift and wont be paid, you can always so no, while it gives people with no experience the ability to show what they can do.

And as for professionals not having to do things like this, you might be surprised...

For my first professional job, I did an online application about 3 hours, 2 phone interviews about 5-6 hours including prep, and then an 8 hour assessment day (which required me to stay in a hotel the night before as the center wasn't near my home), in total over 20 hours of unpaid "work".

They did all of that as my CV had no experience so they wanted to make sure I would fit in.

I think the difference between your professional experience and the average restaurant worker is that none of your time would have been useful to the company, and the company were obviously paying out to interview/assess you. A restaurant worker is useful after basic verbal instructions for almost the entire shift.

I do think that hiring someone new should have a cost to the company. It gives them an incentive to retain the staff they have, so in theory they don't get treated too badly. Obviously that needs to be balanced with making it possible to hire people, but multiple trial shifts is too far. Work experience is a different problem, but if an adult needs work experience in retail I'd encourage them to volunteer in a charity shop for instance. It should be disconnected from an actual imminent potential job to avoid abuse.

melb

Just to add my daughter has 2 years experience in the jobs she has applied for, as detailed in her CV.

An update she is now being paid for the 7 hour shift. Don't know if this was always to be the case and she was given duff information originally or if it was the casual mention of the government guidelines

nmr1991

I'd actually prefer a work trial to an interview, people like myself can't get past the interview stage but think they will do very well in the workplace since it can be sort of compared to a written exam and a practical exam. Practical being work trial and written being interview.

I don't have that good communication skills which is probably why I don't get past the interview stage but always feel the practical approach is better.

bibirella

I hate this! You should get a least a small compensation! Or as people were mentioning you should at least know how long the trial will be! I think this is a very bad move!

Benzie

Personally I don't think there is anything wrong in doing a trial day, it gives both parties a chance to see if they suit. I do think expenses such as bus fare should be paid and maybe lunch if doing a full day. However I can totally see how some employers would exploit this.

FWIW I've done trial days and I've had people do trial days for me when I had my own business, it worked very well on both sides.

shortcrust

I don't see the problem with this as long as there's actually the real possibility of a job at the end of it. Lots of office based jobs get you in for a whole day to do tests, interviews, group exercises etc and no one expects to be paid for that.