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1566533

registered interest
date	12/01/2023
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban employers from using unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	122161
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2023 answer text <p>Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.</p><p>It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage.</p> answering member constituency Thirsk and Malton answering member printed Kevin Hollinrake question first answered 17/01/2023 16:53:51 answering member 4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1541591

registered interest
date	11/11/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether it remains his Department's policy to ban unpaid internships.
tabling member constituency	Ashton-under-Lyne
tabling member printed	Angela Rayner
uin	84887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2022 answer text <p>Current legislation is clear that an individual’s entitlement to the minimum wage depends on whether they are a “worker” for minimum wage purposes. Most internships are already highly likely to constitute work and entitle the individual to be paid at least the minimum wage from the first day of employment.</p><p>It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage. Since 2015 we have ordered employers to repay £100 million of unpaid wages to 1 million workers.</p> answering member constituency Thirsk and Malton answering member printed Kevin Hollinrake question first answered 21/11/2022 17:18:08 answering member 4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake
tabling member	4356 label Biography information for Angela Rayner

1523377

registered interest
date	18/10/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to end unpaid internships.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	65843
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2022 answer text <p>Current legislation is clear that an individual’s entitlement to the minimum wage depends on whether they are a “worker” for minimum wage purposes. Most internships are already highly likely to constitute work and entitle the individual to be paid at least the minimum wage from the first day of employment.</p><p>It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage. Since 2015 we have ordered employers to repay £100 million of unpaid wages to 1 million workers.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Dean Russell question first answered 26/10/2022 16:50:32 answering member 4812 label Biography information for Dean Russell
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1505847

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	49181
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2022 answer text <p>Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.</p><p>It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage. Since 2015 we have ordered employers to repay £100 million of unpaid wages to 1 million workers.</p> answering member constituency Thurrock answering member printed Jackie Doyle-Price question first answered 22/09/2022 08:12:48 answering member 4065 label Biography information for Dame Jackie Doyle-Price
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1451921

registered interest
date	16/03/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	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.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	141225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2022 answer text <p>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:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculating-the-minimum-wage" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/calculating-the-minimum-wage</a>.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs and BEIS speak regularly to businesses, reminding them of their responsibilities.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 21/03/2022 15:16:10 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1451923

registered interest
date	16/03/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with (a) trade unions and (b) employees on the potential merits of banning the use of unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	141226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2022 answer text <p>The Government regularly speaks to stakeholders including trade unions, on a wide range of employment issues. If someone has undertaken an unpaid work trial and thinks they should have been paid NMW, they can call the ACAS helpline or use the online helpline tool for free, confidential advice about their rights and entitlements. If they want to make a complaint through HMRC, they can do so in complete confidence.</p><p> </p><p>Unpaid work trials that are exploitative are already against the law. When recruiting, an employer can ask an individual to carry out a short unpaid work trial to demonstrate that they have the skills required for the job. But if a work trial is excessively long, or not part of a genuine recruitment purpose, employers must pay participants at least the legal minimum wage.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 21/03/2022 15:14:55 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1385498

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have taken part in unpaid work trials at the outset of employment in the 2021 calendar year.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	87739
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2021 answer text <p>Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or are excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>If someone has undertaken an illegal unpaid work trial, I would strongly encourage them to complain to HMRC, who enforce the minimum wage. HMRC consider every worker complaint that they receive.</p><p> </p><p>It is never acceptable to underpay workers and employers who do so do not get off lightly. Where HMRC finds breaches, they order the employer to repay the workers and pay a penalty to government of up to 200%. Once HMRC has completed its investigation, it refers each case to BEIS for consideration for public naming. The Government named 191 employers on 5th August 2021 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage</a>). This includes employers in the Greater Glasgow area who had breaches involving unpaid work trials.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 09/12/2021 17:47:04 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1385499

registered interest
date	06/12/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) wages (b) number of hours lost to unpaid work trials at the outset of employment to date in 2021.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	87740
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2021 answer text <p>Existing legislation already bans unpaid work trials that are not part of a legitimate recruitment process. They are not permitted if they are simply for the financial benefit of the employer or are excessive in length. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is highly likely to be illegal in all but very exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>If someone has undertaken an illegal unpaid work trial, I would strongly encourage them to complain to HMRC, who enforce the minimum wage. HMRC consider every worker complaint that they receive.</p><p> </p><p>It is never acceptable to underpay workers and employers who do so do not get off lightly. Where HMRC finds breaches, they order the employer to repay the workers and pay a penalty to government of up to 200%. Once HMRC has completed its investigation, it refers each case to BEIS for consideration for public naming. The Government named 191 employers on 5th August 2021 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/employers-named-and-shamed-for-paying-less-than-minimum-wage</a>). This includes employers in the Greater Glasgow area who had breaches involving unpaid work trials.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 14/12/2021 09:01:22 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1348360

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to assess the potential merits of banning unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	35745
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>Unpaid work trials that are exploitative are already against the law. When recruiting, an employer can ask an individual to carry out a short unpaid work trial to demonstrate that they have the skills required for the job. But if a work trial is excessively long, or not part of a genuine recruitment purpose, employers must pay participants at least the legal minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage receives it. Since 2015, we have ordered employers to repay £100 million of unpaid wages to 1 million workers.</p><p> </p><p>The existing legislation and enforcement are sufficiently robust to ensure that no worker undertakes an exploitative unpaid work trial. It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully grouped question UIN 35746 question first answered 22/07/2021 15:38:44 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1348362

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will bring forward legislation banning the use of unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	35746
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>Unpaid work trials that are exploitative are already against the law. When recruiting, an employer can ask an individual to carry out a short unpaid work trial to demonstrate that they have the skills required for the job. But if a work trial is excessively long, or not part of a genuine recruitment purpose, employers must pay participants at least the legal minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage receives it. Since 2015, we have ordered employers to repay £100 million of unpaid wages to 1 million workers.</p><p> </p><p>The existing legislation and enforcement are sufficiently robust to ensure that no worker undertakes an exploitative unpaid work trial. It is the responsibility of all employers to ensure they are paying their staff correctly and we will continue to take robust enforcement action against employers who fail to pay the minimum wage.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully grouped question UIN 35745 question first answered 22/07/2021 15:38:44 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald