"Trial" Day for Job

weshtawake

My son has been looking for some part time work - waiter principally in Galway and has gone around to a lot of the restaurants and bars as there appears to be a lot of places with vacancies.
What he has found on 3 occasions is that the establishments ask him to work a "trial" day which can turn out to be anything from 8 to 10 hours and for which he has not got any payment. Not alone that but in none of the situations has he even got a response or any follow-up.
Has this now become the abusive norm that they are using these kids as free labour?

Redhairedguy

Moved from Galway City

Hopefully, you will get a better answer here, OP!

In my personal experience, I had often worked a few hours in various jobs over the years to gain experience and to see if I was fitting for the role. No payment was expected. Never 8-10 hours though.

Mrs OBumble

It was the norm during the height of the recession - and people (not only kids) were regularly working trial weeks. (If they were lucky, existing employees tipped them the wink early on that no one was going to get hired.)

I thought the practise had died down now, though.

One approach is to visit Citizen's Information, and get them to ring the employer asking about the pay for the day.

With Irish employment law the way it is (they can fire you for no reason and with no notice in the first 13 weeks), there's really no excuse for trial days at all.

Zipppy

My daughter recently did TWO trial days with no breaks and got no payment for a part time bar position...scandalous

MarkAnthony

Very common in the food service industry. You've no idea what someone is like with customers without it.

I'd just fire lazy/surely sods but it's just easier to get them to do a trial.

As for free labour - they're normally bloody hard work. Where's this, where's that - do I do it like this... As soon as one comes in that can work off their own initiative you take them on, love and cherish them for ever and ever.

TrustedApple

My father does this quite a lot with new staff any one he would hire is on a Trial normally a day or two to see do they have a act for the job as there is no point training staff in if they have no intreat being there at all. Crazily this happens quite a lot in restaurants.

As when i had to work with staff on Trial before all i would show them to do at the start is how to clear tables and what to do if a customer ask them for basic stuff. You can tell if there willing to learn from that you give them a job if they don't care you leave them go.

But we do pay you for your trial days and give you something to eat on your break.

Gadgetman496

I see a lot of hair salons are pulling this trial day act too and not paying anything for the day even if you were more than capable.