TGI Fridays ‘named and shamed’ over unpaid trial shifts
21 March 2018
Members of Unite the union, have revealed that the American dining chain TGI Fridays, uses unpaid trial shifts for up to six hours.
The revelation comes just days after TGI Fridays was named and shamed by the government for failing to pay workers the legal minimum wage; 2,302 workers were underpaid by a total of £59,347.64.
The company is also under fire by Unite over its decision to take 40 percent of waiters’ card tips without proper consultation.
A recent snapshot poll of Unite members, working at TGI Fridays, has revealed that of the 95 who responded, 76 had worked an unpaid shift before being hired, of these 43 worked around a two-hour unpaid trial shift, with a further 27 working for more than two hours.
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CIPP comment This news comes at the same time as the second reading of the Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19. This bill would outlaw unpaid trial shifts and among other things, would require employers to pay job applicants, undertaking trial work periods, at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The Private Member’s Bill is a response to anecdotal evidence that some employers request that job applicants undertake unpaid trial shifts to prove their ability to perform the work. This has given rise to concerns that the practice is being used to exploit job applicants through extracting free labour with no guarantee of work. |