Are unpaid trial shifts legal in the UK?
A short skills test can be unpaid. Covering the till, the close or the kitchen is another matter. Here is how to work out what you are owed and ask for it.
You ran the till on a Friday night, closed the cafe or washed a salon’s customers’ hair. The manager called it a trial. If you were covering the job rather than being assessed, you are likely owed at least the minimum wage. Not getting hired does not erase that debt. Save the messages and write down your hours before the details go.
- £12.71
- hourly minimum at 21+, from 1 April 2026
- 1 day
- longer unpaid trials usually require pay
- 200%
- standard underpayment penalty, capped at £20,000 per worker
- 6 mths
- minus a day, new Great Britain non-payments from October 2026
What to do tonight
Write the hours down tonight. The legal clock does not wait for a reply.
- Write the shift down. Date, start, finish, breaks, and the actual work: till, floor, pass, colour, close. Note who else was on, whether anyone watched you, and whether customers paid for what you did.
- Save the paper trail. Advert, rota, WhatsApp, email, uniform receipt. Screenshot it to a personal email. A work phone is a bad place to keep the only copy.
- Ask in writing, with a date. Use the message below. Seven days is a deadline you set, not the legal one. Keep the reply.
- Report a refusal or a silence. Complain to HMRC, which enforces the minimum wage for the Fair Work Agency. Say on the form if your name must not be passed on. Acas is 0300 123 1100 if the form sticks.
- Protect the tribunal clock. A grievance does not stop it. In Great Britain, notify Acas before the limit if you may claim. A helpline call is not that notification. In Northern Ireland, notify the Labour Relations Agency.
For bars, cafes, kitchens and hotels, try Unite or GMB. For retail, try Usdaw. Salon workers can ask Unite or GMB about local representation. Ask what membership covers, including disputes that began before you joined. Acas, Citizens Advice and law centres offer free advice. You do not need a solicitor to report an underpayment.
When an unpaid trial is actually legal
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 does not define a trial shift or give employers a set number of free hours. The legal question is whether you were a worker. Guidance helps HMRC, courts and tribunals assess that question. Calling a shift “recruitment” does not settle it.
Employees and other workers are entitled to the minimum wage, subject to specific exemptions. A worker can have a contract to perform work personally without being an employee. The contract can be spoken or implied by what you and the employer did. Casual, zero-hours and short-term arrangements can qualify, even if nobody put you on the books.
Government guidance weighs whether recruitment was genuine, how long testing reasonably needed, how closely you were observed, whether the tasks matched the role, and whether the business gained value beyond assessment. It also asks whether unpaid trials help the employer reduce labour costs. These are factors, not a checklist where one tick decides the case.
An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.
Kevin Hollinrake, then a business minister, written answer, 17 January 2023. Current guidance takes the same position. Acas says a reasonable unpaid test might be two hours or a shift, and should not usually last longer than one day. That is not permission to make every applicant cover a shift free.
| What you did | Likely position | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Two hours serving in a cafe, owner observing and guiding you, for a genuine Saturday vacancy | No entitlement in the government’s example | Short, observed and proportionate to testing the role |
| A full shift left on the till, the pass or the salon basins | Pay likely due | Little observation and value beyond a test |
| Longer than one day in a real workplace | Pay likely due, barring very exceptional circumstances | Length and productive work weigh strongly towards worker status |
| A week of bar shifts while managers decide how many people to hire | Pay likely due | The trial appears to supply the bar’s labour |
| A short cook-off or colour demonstration, assessed and not sold to customers | No entitlement likely | A simulated assessment, not a replacement for paid staff |
| Twelve hours preparing vegetables and washing dishes in a busy kitchen | Pay likely due | Disproportionate testing, covering service |
These are hypothetical situations based on the government’s guidance, with our till and salon examples added. They are not reported judgments. The cafe example matters: serving real customers does not automatically make a short, observed recruitment test paid work. But being left to run a section while paid staff take a break is strong evidence that the business needed your labour. HMRC assesses the whole arrangement.
The TUC argues that productive trial work should be paid. We agree. Applicants should not have to subsidise recruitment to get a chance at a job. That is our view, not a separate legal rule. Ask whether the trial is paid before accepting it, even where legal entitlement is uncertain.
What you are owed if it was work
Once you qualify as a worker and no exemption applies, the employer must pay at least the applicable minimum wage. These rates have been in force across the UK since 1 April 2026, according to GOV.UK. If a higher rate was agreed, ask for that too.
| Age or category | Minimum per hour |
|---|---|
| 21 and over | £12.71 |
| 18 to 20 | £10.85 |
| Under 18, above school-leaving age | £8.00 |
| Apprentice under 19, or 19 and over in the first year of a qualifying apprenticeship | £8.00 |
Calling you a trainee does not create an apprenticeship. Without a qualifying apprenticeship, the rate for your age applies. People below school-leaving age are not entitled to the minimum wage. Pure shadowing, where you only watch and do no work, does not create minimum-wage entitlement. Taking over the till or washing customers’ hair is different evidence, although a genuine short assessment still needs judging on its facts. The same worker-status question matters for unpaid internships.
Example: Samira’s Friday night
Samira is 22. A cafe asks her to run the till from 6pm to 10pm and close up. The manager looks in twice rather than assessing her work. Customers pay for the drinks. She does not get the job. On these facts, this looks like four hours of work supplying the cafe’s labour, not a proportionate recruitment test.
If she qualifies as a worker, 4 × £12.71 = £50.84 in minimum wages. If HMRC issues a notice with the standard penalty, the cafe also owes the government 200% of the underpayment, or £101.68. The minimum penalty is £100 per notice and the maximum is £20,000 per worker. The penalty can be halved for prompt payment under the rules. Samira receives her wages, not the penalty.
Under section 17 of the Act, older minimum-wage arrears are uplifted if the current rate is higher. Use the current rate for the age band that applied when you were underpaid, not automatically the band you are in now. The enforcement statement explains the calculation.
Example: Leon’s unpaid weekends
Leon was 19 when a kitchen had him cover two eight-hour trials in June 2025. Assume all 16 hours qualify for minimum wage and nothing was paid. The 18 to 20 rate was £10.00, so the original shortfall was £160. At the October 2026 rate for that same band, the arrears become 16 × £10.85 = £173.60.
Example: Priya’s part-payment
Priya is 25. She works six hours at a salon and receives £20 as wages. Assume she qualifies as a worker and has no unpaid breaks. The minimum is 6 × £12.71 = £76.26. After subtracting the £20 wage payment, £56.26 remains due. This example is a wage payment, not reimbursement of a separate expense.
Tips cannot make up the minimum wage. Deductions or payments for required uniforms and tools can reduce the pay that counts. If the employer provides living accommodation, separate offset rules apply. Our minimum wage guide covers those calculations. A probation period after hiring does not create an exemption from minimum wage.
What to say to the manager
Keep the request in writing. It gives you a record of what you asked for and how the employer responded. Adapt this message to what actually happened.
Face to face, keep it short. “That shift covered normal work. Please confirm when the wages will be paid.” Send the written request afterwards.
They say
- “It was only a trial.”
- “You signed to say it was unpaid.”
- “You didn’t get the job.”
- “It was training, not work.”
- “Everyone does a shift for free.”
You can say
- “The work and the assessment matter, not the label.”
- “An agreement cannot waive minimum wage rights.”
- “The pay is for the work, not the job offer.”
- “Doing normal work while learning can still require pay.”
- “That does not decide whether this shift was lawful.”
Do not hand over your only copy of the messages or let a promise of future shifts replace the wage request. Seven days is your requested response period, not a legal deadline. If no payday was agreed, ask Acas or the Labour Relations Agency when non-payment occurred. Do not assume the employer’s silence gives you more time.
How to get the money, or report it
You can chase the wage and report the employer. Neither route requires you to still be in the building, or to have been hired.
Report to HMRC
Since 7 April 2026, HMRC officers have enforced minimum wage on behalf of the Fair Work Agency. Use the pay and work rights complaint form. Someone else can complain with your permission. If you do not want HMRC to tell the employer who complained, say so on the form. This is a request for confidentiality, not a promise that the employer cannot guess from the shift details. The Acas helpline, 0300 123 1100, can help if you have difficulty with the form and has a free translation service.
GOV.UK says HMRC cannot take your complaint forward if you have already started tribunal action for a minimum-wage issue. Do not assume submitting the complaint first guarantees parallel proceedings. Tell your adviser about both routes before choosing. A complaint to HMRC does not pause your tribunal deadline.
Protect a tribunal claim
You may be able to bring an unlawful-deduction claim or a minimum-wage claim. In Great Britain, Acas confirms the limit changed on 1 October 2026. If the non-payment happened on or after that date, the usual limit is six months minus one day. Earlier non-payments keep the usual three months minus one day. The relevant date is when you were not paid correctly, not automatically the date of the trial.
For example, a short payday of 1 October 2026 gives a basic deadline of 31 March 2027. A short payday of 30 September 2026 gives 29 December 2026. Both are before any early-conciliation adjustment. Notify Acas within the applicable limit. Early conciliation pauses the clock if notification is in time; a grievance does not. See our time limits guide and deadline calculator. For a series of deductions, the last deduction usually starts the clock. Great Britain deductions claims normally have a two-year recovery cap.
In Northern Ireland, contact the Labour Relations Agency and use an industrial tribunal, not Acas and a Great Britain employment tribunal. Government guidance confirms that the October extension applies to National Minimum Wage Act claims there. Do not assume it extends an unlawful-deduction claim under Northern Ireland’s separate employment legislation. Ask the Labour Relations Agency which claim and deadline fit your case. The Great Britain two-year deductions cap should not be assumed to apply there.
A civil-court claim may be another option, particularly if a tribunal deadline has passed. The route, fees and limitation rules differ between nations and depend on the claim. Ask a law centre, union adviser or solicitor before relying on a longer civil deadline. A late tribunal claim is not automatically accepted.
If you are worried about losing shifts or a visa tied to an employer, get confidential advice before approaching management or filing a claim. Explain that risk to your union, Citizens Advice or a law centre. HMRC can withhold your identity at your request, but that does not remove every practical risk.
Jobcentre trials have separate rules
A Jobcentre Plus work trial is a specific scheme, not a manager’s excuse for a week without wages. The employer must agree it with Jobcentre Plus before offering it. You volunteer after an interview for a particular vacancy and must be the only person being considered for that job. You keep your benefits and receive no wage during the trial.
The trial must end once the employer can decide whether you are suitable. Recruiter guidance caps it at five days for jobs lasting less than six months, and 30 days for jobs lasting six months or more. Even for the longer jobs, it usually lasts around five days. The minimum-wage exemption describes Jobcentre Plus trials of six weeks or less. If both sides are satisfied, the scheme provides a job guarantee; an employer who finds you unsuitable need not offer the role.
Other specified government schemes can also have exemptions. Do not assume every multi-day unpaid trial is unlawful, or that the words “Jobcentre trial” make it lawful. Ask your work coach to confirm the scheme and conditions before starting. Being on benefits alone is not an exemption. See working while claiming Universal Credit for the separate benefit rules.
Who is covered, and who is not
Employees and other workers are covered, including casual, part-time and zero-hours workers. A genuinely self-employed person running a business for a client is not entitled to the minimum wage. Being told when to attend and required to work personally can point towards worker status, but the whole arrangement matters. Neither “freelance” nor a £20 payment decides it. Our worker-status guide explains the distinction.
If an agency supplies you for a “trial”, section 34 of the Act can treat you as having a worker’s contract with whoever is responsible for paying you. In Great Britain, an employment business must pay agency workers for hours worked even if the hirer has not paid it. Do not accept “the salon has not paid us” as the answer to an unpaid shift.
Specific exemptions include some voluntary workers at charities or other qualifying bodies, required placements of up to a year on UK further or higher education courses, people below school-leaving age and participants in specified government schemes. Genuine volunteers without a contract are not workers. Being a student or agreeing to “volunteer” for a commercial salon does not, by itself, remove your wage rights.
What has not changed
As at 1 October 2026, government guidance still assesses unpaid recruitment trials case by case. There is no blanket rule requiring every skills test to be paid, and no automatic one-day exemption. Your existing minimum-wage rights are the starting point, not a promise of future reform.
Questions people ask
Are unpaid trial shifts legal in the UK?
A genuine, proportionate recruitment test can be unpaid. A shift used to cover normal work is likely to require minimum wage. Worker status depends on the arrangement, not what the manager called it.
How long can a trial shift be unpaid?
There is no fixed allowance of free hours. Acas gives two hours or a shift as possible reasonable periods, not guaranteed exemptions. Government guidance says a trial longer than one day is likely to create entitlement in all but very exceptional circumstances. Shorter trials can also require pay.
What can you do if a bar refuses to pay for a trial shift?
Save the evidence, ask for payment in writing and complain to HMRC if it is refused. Protect any tribunal claim separately. In Great Britain, the usual basic limit is six months minus one day for non-payments on or after 1 October 2026, or three months minus one day for earlier non-payments. Notify Acas within that limit. The non-payment date, not necessarily the shift date, matters.
Do you get paid if they do not give you the job?
Yes, if the arrangement made you a worker entitled to minimum wage. The wage is for work done, not for getting an offer. A genuine short assessment may not create entitlement.
Can you report them without them knowing it was you?
You can ask HMRC not to disclose who complained. Someone else can complain with your permission, and you can report an employer you have left. The employer might still infer who complained. HMRC says it cannot take a complaint forward if you have already started tribunal action for a minimum-wage issue.
Is a Jobcentre work trial different?
Yes. Jobcentre Plus must agree the scheme before the employer offers it. You volunteer, keep benefits and receive no wage. Duration and vacancy conditions apply. A manager telling you to work a week unpaid has not, by that statement alone, put you on the scheme.
Sources
- National Minimum Wage Act 1998, legislation.gov.uk, particularly sections 17, 34 and 54
- Calculating the minimum wage: eligibility, including unpaid work trial periods, GOV.UK
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates, GOV.UK
- National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026, legislation.gov.uk
- Interviewing job applicants: unpaid work trials, Acas
- If your employer does not pay you, Acas
- Employment tribunal time limits, Acas, updated 1 October 2026
- Employment tribunal time limits, including Northern Ireland National Minimum Wage Act claims, GOV.UK, updated 1 October 2026
- Complain about pay and work rights, GOV.UK
- Pay and work rights, GOV.UK
- Unpaid work, written question 122161, UK Parliament, answer by Kevin Hollinrake, 17 January 2023
- Fair Work Agency enforcement statement, GOV.UK, including arrears uplift and penalties
- Hundreds of employers handed penalties for illegally underpaying workers, GOV.UK, 19 March 2026
- Over 370,000 workers were underpaid in April 2024, Low Pay Commission, GOV.UK
- Jobcentre Plus work trials, GOV.UK
- Time to end the injustice of unpaid trial shifts, TUC, 5 December 2018
- TGI Fridays named and shamed over unpaid trial shifts, Unite, March 2018