- June 25, 2024
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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Unpaid Trial Period: A Shocking Discovery
The Initial Agreement
They did not inform me that this 1 week "trial period" was actually a trial and unpaid. I was led to believe that I was starting a new job, and I was excited to begin my new role. However, the reality was far from what I expected.
The Unpaid Work
I worked 9-6, Monday to Friday, for a week, without any compensation. I was not paid a single penny for my labor. It was only when I tried to continue with the job that I was told it was unpaid. The lack of transparency and communication was appalling.
The Unforeseen Circumstances
However, fate had other plans. The next week, I ended up in the hospital due to a severe allergic reaction, which remains unknown to this day. I have proof of my hospitalization, and I am certain that this unexpected event prevented me from continuing with the "trial".
The Question of Legality
Can they even do this? Can a company legally require an employee to work for a week without pay? The answer is no. In most jurisdictions, employees are entitled to fair compensation for their work. The lack of a contract or verbal agreement only adds to the complexity of the situation.
The AI Legalese Decoder to the Rescue
In this situation, AI Legalese Decoder can be a valuable tool. This AI-powered platform can help decipher the legal implications of the situation and provide guidance on how to proceed. With AI Legalese Decoder, you can:
- Analyze the contract (or lack thereof) and identify potential legal issues
- Understand the employment laws and regulations that apply to your situation
- Determine the best course of action to take, including potential legal recourse
- Gain confidence in your decision-making process with expert analysis and guidance
Conclusion
The experience was frustrating and demoralizing. However, with the help of AI Legalese Decoder, you can take control of the situation and ensure that your rights are protected. Don’t let the company’s lack of transparency and communication go unchecked. Use AI Legalese Decoder to fight for your rights and get the compensation you deserve.
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****** just grabbed a
They have to pay you at least minimum wage for the hours you worked. They can’t retroactively decide that you did an unpaid week-long ‘trial period’ when this was never agreed.
What exactly did they say before you agreed to start working for them? What were the terms?
I’ve read the SpottedAlpaca thread before writing this
Ho ho ho you’re in for a small windfall.
1. It’s not an unpaid trial period unless you agreed explicitly in advance that it was. All the evidence you have (them offering you the position etc.) suggests this was a normal job.
2. All the evidence you have also suggests this was not self employment, but employment. The lead case in this area was the Uber 2021 supreme Court case (summary here https://www.supremecourt.uk/press-summary/uksc-2019-0029.html). You went into this thinking it was a normal job, and they don’t seem to have actually raised this point yet.
Therefore this was, to quote Ruth Langmore from Ozark “gainful f***ing employment”. As you were there less a month, you had no minimum notice period. You have no claim for unfair/wrongful dismissal, no statutory right to any notice pay.
3. As there was no explicit agreement as to pay, you default to the NMW. If you worked 9-6 for 5 days, assuming 30m for lunch, that’s 42.5h at £11.44/hr = £486.20. You can ask for this then go via an employment tribunal and report them to HMRC. NMW Act 1998 and Regs 2015. Not paying NMW is a criminal offence. The actual legislation that allows you to bring a claim for the unpaid wages is S13 and 23 ERA96 (unauthorised deductions), because the NMW laws imply the NMW as a statutory minimum into every employment contract.
NB you *can* report them to HMRC but this takes it out your hands. There is nothing preventing you from pursuing a claim for your pay via informally asking, escalating to a grievance and/or warning letter, then notifying ACAS you want to do a claim, then an actual employment tribunal claim at the same time as a HMRC NMW investigation is ongoing. You *can* go via the small claims court instead, but the ET is free, usually on a costs-free basis if you lose, and some of the other heads of award I’ve gone through here can only be awarded by an ET.
4. But that’s not all. You have a right under S10 NMW Act 1998 to access to records to determine whether or not you were, or should have been paid NMW. Non-compliance gets you an automatic 80 hours of NMW as compensation. That’s £915.20. You have to ask in writing, referring to this legislation and then they have 14 days to comply or else 🤑 – they won’t comply because they can’t because those records don’t exist because they never intended to pay you anyway.
5. No contract for 3 months you say? *Tuts in Henry Cavill* |-/ *oh my sweet summer child scene from Game of Thrones*
Someone needs to read S1 Employment Rights Act 1996. A written contract is a day one right, end of. Not getting one is an automatic 2 or 4 weeks’ pay (a week’s pay for you would be £486.20) as compensation under S38 Employment Act 2002 *if* you bring a claim of a type listed in Sch 5 of that act (basically all common claims). In lay terms, this claim has to be attached to another claim, it’s not a standalone right. This isn’t covered by much case law, but there’s an EAT case (https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2013/0617_12_2205.html, all you care about is para’s 44-46). EAT or Employment Appeals Tribunal cases are generally considered “binding” case law – lower courts can’t disagree with it. The following ET cases all got the higher amount of 4 weeks’ pay –
S/4104584/2017 (final hearing judgement) at [27] – no evidence of compliance (with S1 ERA96), which led to confusion as to who the claimant’s employer actually was.
4100969/2020 at [124] – no evidence of compliance.
2303064/2015 (remedy judgement) at [41] – partial compliance but approach was typical of the respondent’s disregard for the claimant’s employment rights.
4112610/2018 (first judgement with reasons dated 26 April 2019) at [244- 247] had still not provided a written contract after a request from the claimant, i.e. a first-instance failure merits the lower amount, a second- instance failure on request merits the second award, no explanation provided for failure to provide, had one been provided some of the issues in the claim would have become apparent.
S/4102782/2019 at [27] no compliance whatsoever.
1400258/2018 (first judgement dated 16 April 2018) at [16] “utter failure [to comply]” and “fabrication of a contract document”
So that’s probably £1944.80. The case law tends to view anything more than a bare minimum breach, in this case a positive refusal to provide a written contact, as meriting the higher 4 weeks’ pay.
6. Annual leave, Regs 14 and 30 WTR98. You’re entitled to be paid for the statutory leave you didn’t take. Use the gov.uk statutory leave calculator, you’re entitled to NMW for those hours. The other easier way to work it out is just slap 12.07% on the pay for the week = £58.68.
6. Grievance – ex employees can raise grievances (don’t wait for them to respond to it they’ll use the time to go bankrupt, move fast). If they don’t follow ACAS COP1, and you win a claim of a type listed in Sch A2 to TULR(C) Act 1992, slap 25% on your winnings but only for the Pay and holiday pay claims = £136.22.
Potential total £3,541.10 (if you get it via settlement it could be tax free as well)
Actions
You need to put this all to them in a warning letter and give them 14 days (of rope). Also call ACAS today, check I’m right, see what they suggest etc. They can give more personalised and specific advice, short of actual employment law advice.
Don’t be scared of burning this bridge, you won’t be going back.
NAL, happy to be corrected or answer any questions.
NB watch out for time limits, in general you have 3 months less a day, but the rules around when the clock starts can be messy. To be safe I would suggest to treat your first day in the job as this date (e.g. last Monday 17 June 2024 if it was then, meaning Monday 16 September 2024). You have until then to notify ACAS you intend to pursue a claim (https://www.acas.org.uk/notify/start) which stops the clock to allow time for mediation (if both parties are willing). ACAS will usually give you a 1 hour meditation phone call, if you settle, that is legally binding. If you don’t settle ACAS will issue you an EC1 certificate which will have a future date, usually 30 days later, by when you would need to start the claim. Just be aware that if the employer don’t settle, the ET are currently listing cases into 2026 so even though your claim is fairly straightforward.
Make a complaint to ACAS or direct to HMRC for unpaid minimum wage. HMRC investigate every complaint.
HMRC will issue a notice to your employer if they failed to pay you at least NMW for the pay period.
HMRC will pursue the employer through the courts and can get the directors disqualified from being directors.
I bet you’re not the first person they’ve done this to. Wouldn’t be surprised if they had a revolving door of “new hires” that they are getting away without paying.
One week is without doubt far too long a trial period for national minimum wage purposes. As others have already given you the link for the HMRC minimum wage enforcement department I won’t repeat it. What I will say is that isn’t the only means of enforcing your right to the minimum wage for the time you worked for this company – you could alternatively bring an employment tribunal claim. The first step in that is to enter early conciliation with Acas.
Speak to ACAS as soon as possible. A trial period is to determine whether or not they want to take you on. Given youve stated in another comment that they text you offering you the job theyre past this point, and no one can make you do a week long free trial. They have to pay you at least minimum wage for this time frame. Keep any communication youve had with them saved and provide it to ACAS when raising the problem.
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