To encourage DS not to take an unpaid job for 2 months unpaid and sacrifice the ‘experience’

[gegs73]

I’m trying not to out myself!

DS has just finished year 13 at college in a trade. He’s not as good as someone who’ve been doing it for years, however, he’s pretty decent and definitely good enough to do it professionally just not at the top level at the minute. He’s gone back to college for year 14 and is learning additional skills there to enhance what he’s doing. On top of this he’s been working on a self employed basis in his trade and has regular clients with great feedback.

He had an interview today for said trade. I understand that unpaid trial shifts are a thing and fair enough. However, they wanted him to work 3.5 days a week with 9-6 pm hours Friday to Sunday. Catch being that it would be totally unpaid for 2 months. All those hours for free! Apparently in about 2 months time (so after Christmas), they wouldn’t need him and there would be no chance of a paid job.

Is this the new landscape for our young people, I’m absolutely flabbergasted. Or should he of taken it for the experience.

Absolutely not they are taking the piss.

First post nails it as the saying goes!

I believe that's illegal unless volunteering for a charity. Even internships have to be paid now if they are not part integral part of a course.

That's totally disgraceful, they are a poor employer to be carrying out practices like that. You are totally right to advise your son not to touch them with a barge poll. It's exploitative.

That’s a long time, and wouldn’t sit well with me, but. The employment market for young, inexperienced people at the moment is absolutely shocking.

I don’t know anyone trying to get into trades, but new graduates are facing the worst market for years. So I wouldn’t just say no. Much as I think it’s awful and exploitative.

He can keep looking while there? And is gaining experience. But it is dreadful

He'd be treated as an employee (he'd have to turn up and do what he was told), so would have the right to be paid. But not worth the hassle. He can rely on his current customers when he applies for other jobs.

It's true that the market for young graduates is terrible, but there's a shortage of tradespeople. I can't swear that that's the case for someone still in college, but your son should be able to find that out easily enough.

That's ridiculous. They clearly don't need someone then. Saying 'come and work for free for months and we guarantee that it will catagorically NOT lead to any form of gainful employment'. 🤔

What's not to love?! Fucking rip off artists.

Good on him doing his self employed work. Get him to stick with that for now until he's finished studying and hopefully find a proper paid job in his trade. Would he be interested in an apprenticeship? That might be a good route?

Dreadful company.

They are taking the piss big time and it is not legal. He would not be covered by insurance, as his status would be dubious and he is not on a recognised training or school programme, so he doesn't flip legal status. What's the trade?

In that case I agree he should say no. Good luck to him

I would also love to know what trade.

I work in an industry where unpaid internships aren’t uncommon, but I’m pretty sure the specific days and hours can’t be dictated by someone without them then being considered an employer, nor can the intern carry out a job which is considered necessary to the company. Both of these things would mean that the intern needs to be remunerated. I did short term internships when starting out and they were hugely beneficial but they were totally on my own terms and worked around other paid work. There was a landmark case in my industry where some interns successfully sued someone because he started dictating their hours - they won because he was putting himself in the role of an employer at this point and therefore should have been paying the interns. Whenever someone wants to intern for me, I’m always clear that they can shadow me and I will mentor them but they need to get out of the role what they want, when they want.

Nope - maybe if he'd left college a year ago, had few interviews, been told he needs more experience by employers who rejected him, then yes work experience might give him a better edge at interviews and stop people thinking he was a lazy bum who wasn't trying. But 4 maybe 5 months out of College - no he should keep applying for jobs.

Cover weekend work so presumably they're trimming their overtime bill for regular workers and stitching your son up in the process.

No way! He’s better off carrying on doing the trade self employed until he finds a paid job in employment.

Unless it's to learn a very specialised part of the trade which isn't covered in college, and will significantly enhance his skill set,

or it's working closely with the business owner so that he can pick his brains about working for yourself and running a business,

then it's not worth a two-month unpaid commitment.

But it's hard to know how favourable that experience would look on a CV if applying for another job in the future. Can he ask one of the teachers on his course if this type of unpaid internship will pay off?

Have I understand it correctly that they want him work all that time and there definitely won’t be a job at the end of it? So they’re not even saying do a good job and we’ll take you on?

If that right then absolutely not, it will cost him and he will lose opportunities elsewhere. That is so exploitative.

This sounds like a pisstake.
We offer unpaid placements at my workplace and whilst I don’t think it’s great, we do not dictate the hours and these people are usually on a training course and doing the hours towards their qualification.

I thought that kind of thing had been made illegal?

It's pathetic

Tell him to say no and report that company to the Ombudsman

My son volunteered in the job he really wanted to get into. He showed up for 4 hrs every Sunday for free. After a year they took him on and paid him but he had only worked 48 hrs in total. Had they not taken him on after that then he would have continued to volunteer. He would have said thanks for the opportunity but I need to find paid work now as well as school.

If your son wants some experience nothing wrong with doing the odd weekend but what they are asking seems far too much if all he is going to get is a reference.

Thanks everyone, much as I thought, very much taking the p* He’s texted the guy telling him no thanks and that he can’t commit to unpaid work for so many hours. If it had of been a day a week for say a month he might of gone for the experience, but apparently 1 day wasn’t enough only the full 3.5 days until after Christmas. He has had other work experience through college in the past which worked well, a day a week and time limited.

He’s going to try and get more clients and experience on his own and apply for jobs as well. Onwards and upwards.

It would be things he’s done before on other work experience, so I’m not sure it would add much to his CV which isn’t already there. He might be able to practice more but 2 months wouldn’t necessarily make him lots more employable. It’s likely he would be supporting rather than doing/being trained more so 🤷‍♀️

I agree dd did same has your ds and was offered a payed position after 6 months.