Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1674178

registered interest
date	29/11/2023
answering body	Department for Business and Trade
answering dept id	214
answering dept short name	Business and Trade
answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
hansard heading	Unpaid Work
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what data her Department holds on the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in (a) England and Wales and (b) Scotland in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow East
tabling member printed	David Linden
uin	4509
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2023 answer text <p>Minimum wage legislation prohibits unpaid work trials that are excessive and not part of a genuine recruitment process. An unpaid trial work period lasting a few hours may be reasonable and legal. This is because the main purpose would be to test the individual, and what is done would probably have little or no other value to the employer. However, an unpaid trial lasting more than one day is probably illegal in all but exceptional circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>DBT does not hold information about the number of people who have undertaken unpaid trial shifts in England, Wales and Scotland in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><p>If someone has undertaken an unpaid work trial and thinks they should have been paid NMW, they can call the ACAS helpline or make a complaint to HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Thirsk and Malton answering member printed Kevin Hollinrake question first answered 04/12/2023 17:12:31 answering member 4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake
tabling member	4640 label Biography information for David Linden

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

1551238

registered interest
date	13/12/2022
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, what recent assessment he has made of the value to the British economy of unpaid household work.
tabling member constituency	North East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Ranil Jayawardena
uin	109656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text The ONS produce regular estimates of unpaid household labour. This data is currently up to date until 2016, when the total value of unpaid household service work was £1.24 trillion, equivalent to 63.1% of gross domestic product. Estimates for 2017 to 2021 are due to be released in Q4 2022.<p> </p><p>The Government has provided the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with an additional £25 million to help implement the recommendations of Sir Charles Bean’s 2016 Review of Economics Statistics, including through an initiative called ‘Beyond GDP’ that aims to address the limitations in GDP by developing broader measures of welfare and activity. Part of this work is looking to improve estimates of unpaid household work, and integrate them into extended measures of GDP such as Net Inclusive Income.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Salisbury answering member printed John Glen question first answered 19/12/2022 14:16:17 answering member 4051 label Biography information for John Glen
tabling member	4498 label Biography information for Mr Ranil Jayawardena

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

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