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<p>National Minimum Wage legislation provides that, if an individual is a “worker”
for minimum wage purposes, he or she must be paid at least the national minimum or
living wage. Short unpaid trials are permissible if they are part of a genuine recruitment
exercise.</p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs take action against employers attempting
to exploit workers by not complying with minimum wage legislation. They respond to
all complaints and assess the facts of each case. Where they come to the view that
unpaid work trials are in fact “work” under National Minimum Wage legislation, they
will require the employer to pay any arrears to the worker and to pay a fine of up
to 200% of the arrears.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s policy is that it is unacceptable
to exploit workers through excessively long unpaid work trials. We are therefore preparing
guidance that will bring clarity on the responsibility of employers to pay the National
Minimum Wage. We will work with key business and worker stakeholders in developing
that guidance.</p><p> </p>
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