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1461857

registered interest
date	11/05/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of (a) the average number of hours of unpaid labour carried out in the UK each year as part of trial shifts and (b) the potential benefits of introducing regulations on trial shifts to ensure that jobseekers are not exploited.
tabling member constituency	Twickenham
tabling member printed	Munira Wilson
uin	972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>The Department does not hold the data requested.</p><p> </p><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.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The DWP Work Trial scheme is a key enabler to help some of our most disadvantaged claimants try work in a risk-free environment. It provides them with a job guarantee providing both they and the employer are satisfied following the trial. It removes the requirement for them to compete with other candidates giving them an opportunity to demonstrate their suitability to the employer whilst having the knowledge that if it doesn’t work out for either party there will be no effect on their current benefit entitlement with no requirement to reclaim benefits.</p><p> </p><p>The requirement for the employer to guarantee that the Work Trial is linked to a genuine vacancy provides an additional safeguard to claimants.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 18/05/2022 16:42:15 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4776 label Biography information for Munira Wilson

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

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