Job trial 16 year old - Unpaid

[Poppalina37]

Hi there,

16-year- old DD applied for Saturday job at local hairdressers. She has had a trial today. 3 hours unpaid.

The manager has had several girls trialing and on the Saturday last month and this month.

Is it me or is this a quick way of gaining unpaid labour?

My daughter has been invited back for another 3 hour shift paid in half term.

She washed 4 people's hair, swept the floors and made lots of tea and coffee.

Just interested in what others think and have experienced.

With my DD (18) and her circle of friends it seems the norm in the city where they live. DD did a 4 hr unpaid trial in a Japanese restaurant and dropped a pile of very ornate plates! She wasn't invited back!

I don't like this practise either, as some places certainly use it for free labour with no one actually getting a paid job.
I do think at least a token amount should be paid. On the bright side at least your DD has been offered the job.
I do understand that trials are helpful before hiring but it's tough for the ones who don't get hired. It's often their first job experience and some don't even get feedback.

my DS wasn’t paid his trial shift (restaurant) but has been well treated ever since (2.5 years). His manager has subsequently said he should have been paid. But I get the impression that lots of people coming for trial shifts are utterly useless- just stand around and don’t do any actual work or show any initiative, so the “reward” is getting the actual job.
Im not sure what the law is.

Completely normal, and not a very efficient way of getting unpaid labour, taking into account all the faff to get a single trial set up

I had to work for a year unpaid before I was offered any position 😒it’s my fault for choosing such a competitive field 😣

The thing is... she hasn't actually got the 'Saturday' job x she's just been invited back again. It's nice to hear others have experienced this though.

I own a restaurant and always pay for trial shifts.

I don't expect anyone to work for nothing.

@Poppalina37 Ah I see, I suppose that's feedback of sorts as they must have liked her to offer a paid shift.
The ones I have the biggest problem with is when they don't give an answer or feedback after an unpaid shift. My DD only did one unpaid trial and got the job but I've heard of others who just never heard either way which is dreadful behaviour.

This is morally wrong, and you should not have colluded with this - it completely disqualifies anyone who does not have the resources to work unpaid for a year - hugely unjust.

Maybe see if you can find anything about the business on your local Facebook page . There’s a hairdressers in our city centre that have been running unpaid job trials with youngsters for over a year and not offering any a paid job . They literally just have free labour most weekends. It’s well known , but still happening.

@Sunflower8848

What field was this!?

DD did a trial shift at a restaurant just before Christmas and they paid her for it.

An Italian restaurant round here was getting teenagers in all the time for "trial shifts", getting them clearing tables and washing pots, telling them they didn't think it was right for them at the end of the shift and getting more kids in for the following week. There was a post from one of the teens on the local FB group and it all kind of went a bit mad with dozens of people saying it had happened to them or their kids too. Lots of locals stopped going there after that and they never really managed to get over the damage to their reputation.

My 16 year old did a 4 hour trial cleaning shift at a holiday park. They didn't pay her. They also underpaid her by around £40 and when she queried it they ghosted her and then sent her a P45. She now has a vastly better job with more than double the pay and lots of perks and she's learned a lot about exploitation and ruthless dodgy practices.

Hairdressing

I challenged the manager and she wasn't happy when I asked if she's doing this type of thing with other children in the area. My daughter waited 3 weeks for her trial x

I'm guessing that this was a film or tv role. Unpaid runners were very common back in the late 80s, it was a way of getting a foot in the door for other paid positions. You needed to be London based and have parents that were willing to fund you.

My 14-year-old did a full free shift at the local livery yard because many teens applied and they were looking for the best candidate.

I thought they were just looking for free labour, but my daughter actually got the job (waited weeks for all trials to finish) and she's been very well-paid (for her age) ever since.

I think it's a good sign they invited your daughter back for a paid shift.

It seems unpaid trial shifts are a grey area https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculating-the-minimum-wage/eligibility-for-the-minimum-wage#unpaid-work-trial-periods but where the hairdresser has a permanent unpaid shifts taking place at weekends it should have been reported.

If she's been invited back for a paid shift then I would assume she now has a (zero hours) job. I wouldn't be doing any more unpaid shifts. Did she get any tips for the unpaid one? I think it is a grey area and if there was an endless stream of unpaid shifts worked by different people would think that salon was taking the piss. However if they are taking on the ones who worked well, would think it worth the 3 hours.

The lady message her this morning cancelling her paid shift stating that she wasn't happy that i challenged her about the first shift being unpaid. She did however ask for my daughter's bank details to pay her for her 3 hours.

My DD is gutted and currently hates me.

I think you owe your daughter an apology. Why would you get involved?

@XelaM why on earth do you think I wouldn't apologise!

I won't be sorry for advocating against child exploitation though!

No

A 16 year old for 3 hours is more of a liability than anything else.

Most kids of that age, including my own DS are worthless for at least a week. And even after that they have nominal value until they are “workplace educated”.

Just hope she makes it through to something more permanent and don’t get uptight about it.

I am not surprised your dd is annoyed! She had been offered a paid shift on the basis that she did a good job for the unpaid trial. It really wasn't your call to make.

I didn’t say you wouldn’t apologise 😳but she’s 16 and looking for a grown-up job - it looks absolutely terrible for a parent to get involved. Would you be happy about your mum calling your boss? It’s not child exploitation to get them to do an unpaid trial run of 3 hours making teas and coffees, hardly Dickensian working conditions. Especially as she was offered paid work afterwards.

Don’t get involved with your daughter’s employers in future. She’s old enough to handle things herself.