How shady is this!

[Amy Jade]

So my friend went for an interview for a job at B&M and got asked to go in for a trial Saturday 'for a few hours' to see how he coped with the job, he got there and was told he was going to shadow someone. After about 30 minutes they sent him to work on his own and after over an hour of him putting stock out alone he went to find someone to say he had finished and the bloke said something along the lines of that was quick etc. Anyway they asked him to stay longer to cover dinners which he did. After being there almost 5 hours without a break the manager asked him to come in Sunday to speak to somebody and they would plan his induction.

He went in Sunday and they had him working stock again for 2 hours while people had breaks and then he spoke to a different guy who asked him what hours he could do and he said any, shook his hand and said they would ring him.

Tonight at about 11 he got a text off the guy who rang him about the interview to begin with saying they had no hours at the moment but thanks for the interest...

So ****ing scummy! they literally used him and stole about 8 hours of his time to cover breaks and made out they were interested and then text him at 11pm saying they have no hours? I would demand paying that is genuinely slave labour.

[Marsh.]

He wasn't paid at all for his trial?

That doesn't sound right at all.

[Jordan.]

Did he ask to be paid for the induction? Sounds like they just took advantage of his willingness.

[RileyH]

A tad messy

[Marsh.]

Doesn't Lostie work for B&M? You should ask him about their procedures and stuff.

[Amy Jade]

He wasn't paid at all for his trial?

That doesn't sound right at all.

No, paid nothing. I suggested he text back asking to be reimbursed for his time. I have no idea how it would work though as he never clocked on, they could argue he was only there an hour but he was there 5ish hours Saturday, because when he said so another person in our snapchat group said he was entitled to 15 minutes of break time

[montblanc]

messy

[Amy Jade]

Did he ask to be paid for the induction? Sounds like they just took advantage of his willingness.

As far as I know no, they told him a few hours but as both the woman he was initially shadowing (he called her a training buddy?) and they guy he met on the saturday made out he was a shoe in and when they asked him to stay he thought he best had to show willing...then to ask him in sunday to speak about an induction and have him covering breaks instead and then say there are no hours. They must have known before hand they had no hours.

[Jason.]

Stories like this are why I'm thankful I don't work in retail. I'd complain if I were him. It sounds like they were just using him to cover shifts, knowing they weren't going to pay him and then turn around and say "we don't want you."

[Jordan.]

He should try complaining to head office, they might at least send some vouchers to compensate for his lack of pay

[Cal.]

Give me their number so

[Greg!]

Next are. Tory scum

[Ammi]

...it sounds very exploitative, Amy...that just sucks so much for him to have given those hours and have felt so hopeful, with what was said to him...:sad:...I guess it depends how far he would want to go with it..?...it could be a local newspaper story..?...I’m sure they may be interested in how badly and unfairly he was treated...may Citizens Advice could advise...becUse someone else will very possibly have the same../..similar experience ...and it’s so wrong for employers to do...I’m so sorry this has been such a rubbish experience for him..but there are good employers out there who won’t exploit...so I hope he doesn’t lose faith...:hug:...

[bots]

the moral of the story is to ask what the terms are before you start. It's not just about pay, if he wasn't employed, he wouldn't have been insured, so they were negligent

[hijaxers]

...it sounds very exploitative, Amy...that just sucks so much for him to have given those hours and have felt so hopeful, with what was said to him...:sad:...I guess it depends how far he would want to go with it..?...it could be a local newspaper story..?...I’m sure they may be interested in how badly and unfairly he was treated...may Citizens Advice could advise...becUse someone else will very possibly have the same../..similar experience ...and it’s so wrong for employers to do...I’m so sorry this has been such a rubbish experience for him..but there are good employers out there who won’t exploit...so I hope he doesn’t lose faith...:hug:...

Yes i agree it wouldn't surprise me if they do this kind of thing on a regular basis and some poor person expecting to get employment is is used and then brushed aside and no one finds out what they are up to. It really is shocking behaviour .
Maybe get someone else you know to contact them and ask for work and see if they try pulling the same stunt . I would also contact head office in writing as well as by phone.

[Cherie]

My friends son had a similar experience at the Gadgetshop, he was asked to come in in a Satyrday for a "trial" worked the whole day, the manager said he would call him, when he didn't get a call back he rang the manager who asked him if he had covered cashing up, my friends son said no, so the manager asked if he could go to a different store on a Sunday, at that point He asked if he would be paid and the manager said it was a further trial so he said no, basically like your friend Amy ..he gave them 8 hours free, he was only 17 as well, disgusting tactics

[Crimson Dynamo]

Good tactic that, good for the bottom line and for profits

[AnnieK]

No, paid nothing. I suggested he text back asking to be reimbursed for his time. I have no idea how it would work though as he never clocked on, they could argue he was only there an hour but he was there 5ish hours Saturday, because when he said so another person in our snapchat group said he was entitled to 15 minutes of break time

By law you are entitled to a minimum 20 minute break if you work over 6 hours, anything less and you don't have to have a break. It sounds like a working interview but it sounds like they were taking advantage of his willingness. Its a shoddy thing to do but I doubt he will be able to get any pay for it unless he was told he would be paid for his time, verbally or in writing (in writing would be better as otherwise its their word against his).

[thesheriff443]

This happens all the time in all sorts of jobs including, cleaning.
You have to ask is there is a job or hours available if I do come in.

[Jay.]

same thing happened to me in mountain warehouse a few years ago, worked 4 hours and they said they'd get back to me after, ****ing ***** :nono:

[Amy Jade]

This happens all the time in all sorts of jobs including, cleaning.
You have to ask is there is a job or hours available if I do come in.

They did speak about hours, he mentioned that. They were looking for part time staff. They told him overtime was available and he told them he was willing to take any hours basically.

I would understand if they said other candidates had filled the positions but its unprofessional to shoot a text over at 11pm saying there are no hours. I believe they took advantage of him.

[Amy Jade]

Good tactic that, good for the bottom line and for profits

Yes lets exploit prople for profit. Hilarious.

[Niamh.]

Very unfair of them to do that imo, legally speaking I don't know where he'd stand but morally it's a ****ty thing to do

[Fetch The Bolt Cutters]

MMMq6V7VgK9

[Crimson Dynamo]

this is, of course, anecdotal and one side of the tale....

[Cherie]

this is, of course, anecdotal and one side of the tale....

my friends story is true, a full days trial is pretty ridiculous and they didn't even offer to buy him his lunch :nono:

[bots]

my friends story is true, a full days trial is pretty ridiculous and they didn't even offer to buy him his lunch :nono:

would you do a days work as a trial? I wouldn't :shrug:

[Cherie]

would you do a days work as a trial? I wouldn't :shrug:

No I wouldn't and my friend didn't want her son to do it either, but he was 17 and was desperate to get a part time job so didn't listen to her when she said it didn't sound right that they needed a full day off him.....

[thesheriff443]

people do lots of things for free if they think they will get a return on their investment.

A man will take a women out and pay for meals and gifts if he thinks he will get a ride at the end.

[-Sue-]

Found this about B&M!
http://www.boycottworkfare.org/tales-of-unpaid-toil-workfare-continues-at-bm/

which is basically a link to others who have suffered the same fate with B&M (Tales of unpaid toil: workfare continues at B&M)

[Rob!]

That is SO retail. So glad I'm out of it. There will be some clause somewhere which means they're entitled to do that.

[Vicky.]

This happened to me years back. Interview for a waitressing job, they said I had a trial and such. Ended up working for 20 hours in total (2 days they scammed me for) before they decided they did not actually need staff at all and refused to pay me as I had not 'worked' I had just been on a trial :bored: Turned out they did this a lot..every weekend actually. So they were just scamming young people into working for free in their busiest periods.

I am surprised it still goes on, and especially in large well known companies.

[user104658]

I once had a "trial" in a small independent bistro type restaurant, send a good 5 hours doing prep (chopping veg, making salads, prepping fish etc) then was told I "unfortunately hadn't got the job". Got suspicious when the "staff wanted" sign was still up several months later... Turns out the guy was just getting people in on Weekends to do the extra prep on busy days for free.

He also had an illegal immigrant from Pakistan working 50 hour weeks for £2.50 an hour.

I think people reported him, nothing happened for ages but last I saw the place was shut down so I guess it all caught up with him eventually.

Oh, he also employed 16/17 year olds as waiting staff and seemed to be paying them almost exclusively with bags of cannabis :think:. Plus the staff room was Literally FULL of bongs :joker:.

[Maru]

We don't do work trials here... closest is unpaid internship but you're told clearly it will be unpaid and is meant to be resume building,

I wouldn't say retail is better here though. But maybe the laws are enforced as companies I worked for prior were adamant I stayed on clock. If I clocked out and got stopped by a customer, if I didn't fill out a timesheet I could get into trouble...

Now some places, not retail but a beaurocracy, if you can't clock in until your shift due to the way the system is designed, but they asked you to come in 15 minutes early for shift change or roll call...timesheets were discouraged so that was a free 15 minutes probably there but if they had to report somewherd, then yes its logged...


Maybe culturally it is much more difficult to get away with. Americans are quite adamant about being paid.., though I wouldn't say our work ethic is as good for it, What's in it for me is pretty common I would say... on the other hand, in Japan, these practices are super common I think...

Oh it does hapoen in the creative field... this concept of having a group of designers to submit work in order to "bid" for the job... is actually a complete scam, especially those logo design contests.... I've heard it called "spec" work. I just call it bull****. Being ripped as a contractor or otherwise being shorted part of your fee is unfortunately quite common..

I'm sure it helps that people here are very litigious. Everything is a lawsuit waiting to happen... your conception alone brought unwarranted harm to the world and now we must sue you... maybe they won't win, but they'll bankrupt the defendant along the way to court with all it's meticulous proceedings...

[Oliver_W]

A friend of mine has to do "work experience" at B&M - 30 hours a week, just for JSA. When he's employed he works with computers, so the "work experience" there is completely valueless to him, a complete waste of time he could spend looking for a job in his actual field, or perhaps just volunteering with computers to keep his foot in.

I was thinking of making a thread in SD&N to see what people thought of that and if they knew anyone in similar circs, maybe I will/

[Marsh.]

Tbf it's not completely useless.
It can help to fill a gap.

I did a couple of short term "unpaid" work experiences when I was claiming job seekers. One of which I wasn't forced to do, I found it myself.

I still got some money, the employers were always nice enough to give me something for my time but I wasn't officially earning a proper wage and it was just for a couple of months.

Anyway, it prevents a gap on your CV. Gaps are always a turn off for employers.

If I never bothered with any job outside the field I am actually passionate about pursuing I'd have not earned much to this day. Sometimes needs must and work is work. Employers will appreciate someone with a good work ethic who's done what they needed to keep busy or pay the bills over someone just waiting for the perfect job to land in their lap.

[Smithy]

I heard on the radio today that this kind of thing has increased tonnes over the last three years and now the government are considering making “trial” unpaid shifts illegal

[Cherie]

I heard on the radio today that this kind of thing has increased tonnes over the last three years and now the government are considering making “trial” unpaid shifts illegal

yeah heard that too, whole day or even two day trials seem to be very common in some work practices, that is what a probationary period is for

[AnnieK]

There is a second hearing of a bill to stop long term unpaid trials. Companies will still be able to offer "working interviews" that can be unpaid but they will have to be more transparent with them and not use it as a way to obtain free labour.

As Marsh has said, there are benefits to undertaking voluntary work as it enhances your CV, the problems start when companies do what Amy has described in the OP

[Amy Jade]

Sadly he left it and took it as a learning curve, he's honestly too nice I would have been livid, I 100% believe they took advantage of him with absoloutely no intention of ever taking him on.