Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will hold discussions with business representatives on ensuring that they do not (a) advertise and (b) use unpaid work trials as part of a recruitment process.

Unpaid work trials can play an important role in helping people into work opportunities, however they are not permissible if they are excessive or not part of a genuine recruitment process. Following consultation with representatives of workers and employers, the Government updated the Calculating the Minimum Wage guidance to clarify this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculating-the-minimum-wage.

HM Revenue and Customs and BEIS speak regularly to businesses, reminding them of their responsibilities.