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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

1270873

registered interest
date	14/12/2020
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 he plans to update the guidance on unpaid work trials in the Government's Calculating the National Minimum Wage document.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	129050
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. HM Revenue and Customs considers all worker complaints and will take enforcement action in any cases of abuse.</p><p> </p><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 Calculated the Minimum Wage guidance to clarify this.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully grouped question UIN 129051 question first answered 17/12/2020 16:26:06 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1270874

registered interest
date	14/12/2020
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) businesses, (b) trade unions, (c) employees and (d) employment lawyers on the use of unpaid work trials at the outset of employment.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	129051
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. HM Revenue and Customs considers all worker complaints and will take enforcement action in any cases of abuse.</p><p> </p><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 Calculated the Minimum Wage guidance to clarify this.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully grouped question UIN 129050 question first answered 17/12/2020 16:26:07 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1180066

registered interest
date	24/02/2020
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, pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2020 to Question 1951, whether his Department's definition of unpaid working time includes unpaid work trials.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	20014
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or National Living Wage (NLW) should receive it. We are committed to cracking down on employers who fail to pay the NMW/NLW.</p><p> </p><p>It is important to ensure that all working time is considered for minimum wage purposes. Employers are responsible for recognising and recording all working time for their workers. However, not all time constitutes working time. Government guidance entitled Calculating the Minimum Wage provides further information.</p><p> </p><p>A work trial that it is for recruitment purposes and that it is reasonable and not of excessive duration would probably not constitute “work” under a worker’s contract. An unpaid trial lasting more than one day is probably illegal in all but exceptional circumstances and would therefore entitle the individual to be paid at least the minimum wage.</p> answering member constituency Sutton and Cheam answering member printed Paul Scully question first answered 27/02/2020 09:30:55 answering member 4414 label Biography information for Paul Scully
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1171097

registered interest
date	15/01/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy for HMRC to record the number of complaints it receives on unpaid work trials.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	3809
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2020 answer text <p>HMRC take seriously and investigate all complaints from workers referred by the Acas helpline, or received via the online complaints form.</p><p> </p><p>Complaint-led National Minimum Wage (NMW) cases often involve a range of different NMW breaches. It is only possible to determine the full extent of any underpayments, and the underlying reasons for these breaches, at the conclusion of an investigation.</p><p> </p><p>In conjunction with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, HMRC publish information on completed investigations in an annual compliance and enforcement report. The latest report can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-living-wage-and-national-minimum-wage-government-evidence-on-compliance-and-enforcement-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-living-wage-and-national-minimum-wage-government-evidence-on-compliance-and-enforcement-2018</a></p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 20/01/2020 16:05:21 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1168739

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
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 she will make it her Department's policy to ban the use of unpaid work trials at the outset of employment in UK businesses.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	322
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>Unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a genuine recruitment process are prohibited by National Minimum Wage legislation. It is simply wrong to exploit workers by setting up excessive unpaid trials.  The law is clear that if someone is “working” for minimum wage purposes, they must be paid at least the National Minimum or National Living Wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. HMRC consider all worker complaints and will take enforcement action in any cases of abuse.</p><p> </p><p>BEIS published guidance in December 2018 clarifying that unpaid work trials are not permissible if they are excessive or not part of a genuine recruitment process. They can, however, play an important role in helping people into work opportunities, if used correctly.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst question first answered 07/01/2020 15:53:08 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1166705

registered interest
date	28/10/2019
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints HMRC has received on employers advertising unpaid work trials in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	6442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) receives it.</p><p>All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector, are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff.</p><p>HMRC do not record numbers of complaints relating specifically to unpaid work trials.</p><p>HMRC take seriously and review all complaints from workers; and if anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact Acas, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online using the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints</a>.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 31/10/2019 13:42:59 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1145813

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
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 she will make it her Department's policy to centrally record the number of workers underpaid through work trials.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	290796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. We have increased the annual budget for National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance and enforcement to £27.4m; more than doubling the level of resources since 2015/16.</p><p>HMRC NMW enforcement data records the reasons for employers’ failure to pay the correct minimum wage; this includes the broader category of <em>unpaid working time</em>. No estimate has been made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2018-19.</p><p>“Calculating the Minimum Wage” guidance is kept under review and updates are published as required to ensure that employers are aware of their obligations and are able to comply with minimum wage legislation. Guidance relating to work trials was most recently updated in December.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 290799 290811 question first answered 04/10/2019 11:33:47 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1145816

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
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 she has made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
uin	290799
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that all employers pay their workers correctly. We have increased the annual budget for National Minimum Wage (NMW) compliance and enforcement to £27.4m; more than doubling the level of resources since 2015/16.</p><p>HMRC NMW enforcement data records the reasons for employers’ failure to pay the correct minimum wage; this includes the broader category of <em>unpaid working time</em>. No estimate has been made of the number of people who have undertaken unpaid work trials in 2018-19.</p><p>“Calculating the Minimum Wage” guidance is kept under review and updates are published as required to ensure that employers are aware of their obligations and are able to comply with minimum wage legislation. Guidance relating to work trials was most recently updated in December.</p> answering member constituency Rochester and Strood answering member printed Kelly Tolhurst grouped question UIN 290796 290811 question first answered 04/10/2019 11:33:47 answering member 4487 label Biography information for Kelly Tolhurst
tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald