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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all workers on trial periods are paid.

National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation proscribes unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a legitimate recruitment process.

This Government is committed to cracking down on employers who fail to pay the National Minimum or Living Wage. In the last 3 years we have almost doubled HMRC’s budget to enforce the NMW from £13.2 million to a record £26.3 million. In the 2017/18 financial year, HMRC identified a record £15.6 million in arrears for over 200,00 workers.

In December 2018, the Government published new work trials guidance that clarifies the rights of workers and the responsibilities of employers.

Anyone who is concerned about an unpaid work trial can seek advice from ACAS which offers tailored advice and refers cases to HMRC, which considers every worker complaint received.