Unpaid 8 hour Trial Shift

Meepin

Title pretty much says it all.
I applied for a waitressing job and the owner told me that she'd bring me in for an evening. She never mentioned my hours or anything over the phone. I worked eight hours straight with no break. She then asked me to come in a second day and a couple of days later she then sat down with me to discuss things officially. I had literally worked three eight hour days for her at this stage before she sat down with me.
She told me that she doesn't pay for trial evenings.
I just feel she could have told me that over the phone first at least. I'm a Uni student, so needless to say I'm busy enough as it is. Oh and the trial evening was eight hours on a Saturday night.

Any advice would great!

jjpep

Meepin wrote: »

Title pretty much says it all.
I applied for a waitressing job and the owner told me that she'd bring me in for an evening. She never mentioned my hours or anything over the phone. I worked eight hours straight with no break. She then asked me to come in a second day and a couple of days later she then sat down with me to discuss things officially. I had literally worked three eight hour days for her at this stage before she sat down with me.
She told me that she doesn't pay for trial evenings.
I just feel she could have told me that over the phone first at least. I'm a Uni student, so needless to say I'm busy enough as it is. Oh and the trial evening was eight hours on a Saturday night.

Any advice would great!

That's pulling the p. name and shame.

Meepin

Should this thread be in the legal section?

It's probably better that I don't name and shame. I just feel taken advantage of.

Mrs OBumble

Did you get a job out of it? Do you want to avoid making waves? If so, all you can do is suck it up and believe that karma will get her in the end.

But if you didn't, or you did but don't particularly want to work there, then pay a visit to Citizen's Information: they are likely to be good at having a conversation with her that will see you get paid for the shifts worked..


MOD-NOTE: Please don't name and shame here .. that just makes mods have to do nasty things like delete posts or names, so that boards.ie doesn't get into trouble.



... but there's nothing to stop you telling other people elsewhere what she does to her staff. Do you have any friends who have parents etc who eat there?

Bepolite

Meepin wrote: »

Should this thread be in the legal section?

It's probably better that I don't name and shame. I just feel taken advantage of.

No as the legal discussions forum is not there for legal advice. If you want legal advice, consult your college FLAC.

While trials are perfectly acceptable (I used to run them myself) you need a maximum of a couple of hours to evaluate someone. Even then it's not free to the employer as you have to ensure your insurance covers it. The situation you describe is clearly taking the mickey. Get on to NERA or as I say take advice from your college FLAC.

therealme

Ring NERA.

Meepin

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Did you get a job out of it? Do you want to avoid making waves? If so, all you can do is suck it up and believe that karma will get her in the end.

But if you didn't, or you did but don't particularly want to work there, then pay a visit to Citizen's Information: they are likely to be good at having a conversation with her that will see you get paid for the shifts worked..

Yes, I did get a job out of it thankfully. I just feel it wasn't good form to wait 3 days after I've worked three eight hour shifts to discuss my pay and whatnot. I didn't even get a break either. I really want to work there but I feel I should say something.

Meepin

Should an eight hour trial be paid for?

I'l defo get on to my Uni's FLAC.

ROY RACE

Meepin wrote: »

Yes, I did get a job out of it thankfully. I just feel it wasn't good form to wait 3 days after I've worked three eight hour shifts to discuss my pay and whatnot. I didn't even get a break either. I really want to work there but I feel I should say something.

Itll only get worse they will work ya to death-id leave

ROY RACE

Meepin wrote: »

Should an eight hour trial be paid for?

I'l defo get on to my Uni's FLAC.

you should of asked them before you agreed to it-trials can be unpaid

Faith

I did an unpaid trial at a café years ago. I didn't know it would be unpaid, nor did I know that the boss has a city-wide reputation for being an absolute dragon. I was run off my feet for 6 hours, constantly getting shouted contradictory orders by the boss ("Clear that table!" followed immediately by "Why are you clearing that table? I need you making coffee!"). By the end of the shift, I just desperately wanted to get out of there and I wouldn't have taken the job even if they'd offered it.

So I think unpaid trials are common unfortunately. Now that you're officially working there though, I think you should be paid for those 3 days. You could try discussing it with your boss. And remember to insist upon breaks!

Meepin

Faith wrote: »

I did an unpaid trial at a café years ago. I didn't know it would be unpaid, nor did I know that the boss has a city-wide reputation for being an absolute dragon. I was run off my feet for 6 hours, constantly getting shouted contradictory orders by the boss ("Clear that table!" followed immediately by "Why are you clearing that table? I need you making coffee!"). By the end of the shift, I just desperately wanted to get out of there and I wouldn't have taken the job even if they'd offered it.

So I think unpaid trials are common unfortunately. Now that you're officially working there though, I think you should be paid for those 3 days. You could try discussing it with your boss. And remember to insist upon breaks!

Oh okay, I just feel like an idiot I didn't ask before hand. I've to bring in my numbers next week so I can be paid. It's just a let down because my friends are waitresses and they had gotten paid for their trials in other restaurants.

Lesson learned.

Faith

Meepin wrote: »

Title pretty much says it all.
I applied for a waitressing job and the owner told me that she'd bring me in for an evening. She never mentioned my hours or anything over the phone. I worked eight hours straight with no break. She then asked me to come in a second day and a couple of days later she then sat down with me to discuss things officially. I had literally worked three eight hour days for her at this stage before she sat down with me.
She told me that she doesn't pay for trial evenings.
I just feel she could have told me that over the phone first at least. I'm a Uni student, so needless to say I'm busy enough as it is. Oh and the trial evening was eight hours on a Saturday night.

Any advice would great!

I've highlighted some important parts of your first post. I've worked in several service jobs during my studies, and employers know that students need the money badly, and are unlikely to complain about poor conditions. In my experience, they can often try to take advantage.

So, I'll suggest that you approach your employer and be assertive (not aggressive!). Say something along the lines of "I wanted to clarify that it was just the first evening that was a trial, and that I can expect to be paid for the subsequent 16 hours that I worked this week?". If she refuses to pay you for 24 hours work, then she's exploiting you and it was slave labour. It sets a bad precedent for what's to come, and I'd strongly consider leaving the job at that point. I know you're probably caught for money but think carefully about whether you could stick the environment.

If you decide to stay, familiarise yourself thoroughly with the law regarding break times. Then before you commit to anything definite, ask her straight out what the breaks are. If she says anything that's not compliant with the law, then stand your ground, tell her what she's proposing is not legal, and that you would require the correct amount of break time.

Now, I have a feeling, but I'm not sure, that the laws around breaks in the service industry might be a bit different to other work environments so check that out. I seem to remember friends in the waitressing/bar trade saying it wasn't the same.

gifted

Walk in there with a bag of live mice and tell her that their your pets..then ask her about the 8 hours...might just persuade her






Only joking..ish, sounds like a take advantage episode.