To withdraw my job applications when employers want me to do an unpaid trial shift?

I had this once and took them to court over an unpaid day - they paid up the day before court - small claims - you have nothing to lose if you are in the right. They pay the costs.

Brava

Yes, I was thinking this. Although I don't actually mind doing one lesson as part of a morning of interview, tour, lesson, second interview with someone else - you don't waste more time than just going for two interviews really. Obviously as lkng as the job offer follows promptly, which tbh it always did.

I'm not teaching anymore but do a related job and the "trial" isn't working but shadowing, and I wouldn't take a job that didn't do it tbh because it's essential to be a good fit. I'd hate to commit to starting a new role and know after a day it wasn't right for me and have to resign and have a period of unemployment - I always apply for a job from a job and have never been unemployed in between, by choice.

For waitressing, kitchen help, and other jobs where you can actually properly work from day one obviously it should absolutely be paid. Where it's more giving a demo by teaching an observed 45 minutes as part of a full day of interviews, or it's shadowing to see how you react to the environment and what questions you ask etc. it can be a very good thing for both sides.

I was asked to do a whole week unpaid like this, a few years ago. I was told it was to see if I liked them and if they liked me and at the end of the week we'd discuss where we went from there. At the same time I was offered another job, starting on full pay immediately, you can guess which job I took!

The other thing that infuriates me is that companies set the applicant a whole project that takes days to prepare, get them to write it up and present it, then they steal and use the ideas but don't offer a job. (IT jobs).

@ PrincessAnne5Eva
“every teacher is expected to plan and teach an unpaid "trial lesson" as standard or you can't get a job as a teacher in this country”

I’m surprised - a head-teacher friend used to go and see potential employees in their own school, teaching their own class, because she didn’t think it was fair to give them a “random” class to teach, and she wanted to give them an opportunity to show what they could do, and also so she could see what sort of rapport they had with their class.

Horrible situation. This might be useful info:

https://www.safeworkers.co.uk/employment-law/trial-shifts/

Basically you don’t recruit a violinist by asking them to tell you about playing the violin.

No. You ask them to prepare a piece for audition,, then you listen to them play it. Once you introduce a paying audience and keep the money, it’s not an audition any more.

They're not using trial lessons as free labour. It would be easier to teach the class themselves than to observe it 🤣

All professionals are expected to present as part of the recruitment process.

Nope.

Do not work for free.

I consider that to be taking the piss too. There's a probation period during which they can get rid of you at the drop of a hat. No job needs hours of interviews. Should be one hour max. Then job offer or not. Nobody gets 4hrs of my time for free.

Thanks to Angela Raynor, this kind of thing is going to get more common. No employer in their right mind is going to give someone full employment rights including sick pay from day one without making absolutely sure they're suitable for the role. But we will need to see what the final law looks like in practice.

Raynor, whose afaik never employed anyone in her life, and never had a proper private sector job, simply hasn't got a clue about what it's like to run a business, particularly a smaller one. Combined with Reeve's punishment of employers with the NI raise last year, this government really do hate business.

Hopefully this legislation will prove easy to undo in four years time.

Yes it's a pisstake. One trial shift (ideally an hour or two) should be all that's necessary to see what they need. A full shift or more is just free labour and so cheeky.

My son had this with a part time job. Was asked to do a week of trial shifts for free. Then given a job with 4 weeks probation. At the end of 4 weeks he AND the other two taken on at the same time were all told they hadn't passed and were being let go. They got paid their wages but no share of tips because conveniently you were ineligible if you had been fired. Immediately replaced by the next lot of hopeful mugs doing a week of free trial shifts.

I wouldn't do it out of principle. It's wrong. Anything after interview should be paid.

How long a "shift" are we talking here? I remember during an interview for Next they had me on the changing room for about 15 minutes doing like a mock role play (cringe), which is fine as it was part of the interview.

It's different for a teacher as the lesson observation is part of the interview and it's usually 30-45 mins max of teaching not a few hours like a "shift".

An unpaid shift isn't fine at all. This crap needs to be stamped out.

An inclusion talk I was at recently suggested that it can replace interviews for people who don’t have the interpersonal skill to do well in interviews.
Basically you don’t recruit a violinist by asking them to tell you about playing the violin.

It makes sense in that context.

But clearly needs boundaries.

A trial shift, should be a paid shift an hourly rate, with the understanding that it can end any time within the 8 hour time frame.

Scandalous expecting people to work for free.

Similarly with cleaning roles. My friend runs a company that offered trials, now you get your 3rd booking for free, cutting out the freeloaders.

She paid the staff for the cleaning trials.

Agree. I’ve had to prepare presentations for most interviews I’ve done. I’ve also had to attend assessment days - full days of interviews and assessments as just one part the recruitment process.

Yes a local cafe did the same with serving staff. They would bring in young staff for trials over busy weekends and then at the end say they were not suitable.

A month?! 🤯

But if it’s a single class then that could be seen as part of the interview. Lots of jobs require you to create a PowerPoint mock presentation or attend three to four interviews including group activities and mock situation settings.

its when people are asked to work for a day or week even for no pay that it’s a problem.

I Googled because I was sure I'd seen something about legislation to prevent this, but no, it seems trials of up to 30 days are fine 😮

https://www.gov.uk/jobcentre-plus-help-for-recruiters/work-trials

Never the less, I think you're right to withdraw and I might also be inclined to put a curious poston the local FB group. "Xyz have asked me to do x hours as an unpaid trial shift, is that usual or acceptable?".

As PP said, this is widely abused.

Oh and it is going even further now.
Write a medium term plan for RE
Write a sample report
Mark some books so we can see how you pick up on errors and give feedback
Update a policy
AND teach a lesson and show how that links into a week's worth of lesson PLUS the standard interview.

It's ridiculous. Back when I got my job I had an interview and a short session with the other candidates where we brainstormed ideas on how to improve attendance. This was mainly to see how we interacted and listens to each other/conducted ourselves in a working party. The whole thing took less than a morning and there was no prep before hand.

Also, I used to take a portfolio of all of the things above that I had already done as part of my current job. I get that they need to see them but not to be done specifically for the new job.

Edit - sorry quoted wrong poster! This was in response to the teaching job

What they may do is have you go on the job for a couple hours max, shadowing someone else, and they're training you on the job. I guess at a push they could claim that as being part of the interview process.

But if it's actually doing genuine customer calls or sales or whatever then you should still be paid.

Otherwise it's just extracting free labour out of people.

Happened to me in my early twenties, twice. Got given a trial morning and told I’d be paid and hear back and never was, despite chasing.