Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19
15 March 2018
The Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19 is due to have its second reading today. The bill would, among other things, require employers to pay job applicants, undertaking trial work periods, at least the National Minimum Wage.
The Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19 is a Private Member’s Bill and was introduced to parliament on 19 July 2017 through the ballot procedure. It is sponsored by Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP.
Geographical extent - the bill would apply to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The bill would, among other things, require employers to pay job applicants, undertaking trial work periods, at least the National Minimum Wage (NMW). It 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.