Employers continue to take advantage of job seekers, and recently I’ve been exposed to this. I, a young student from Manchester with no prior work experience was invited to attend a trial shift, to which my performance during the shift would determine whether they take the application process further or not. During the shift (which was 7 hours long) I didn’t have a single break. On the government website, it clearly states that young workers under the age of 18 should be entitled to a 30 minute rest break if they work more than 4.5 hours; but this was just one of the many dilemmas I experienced in these 7 hours, and days after the shift.

After the shift, the supervisor agreed to contact me within 3-4 days about whether I got the job or not, after this time period I still received no further updates, so therefore had to take matters into my own hands. Eventually after my mother and I contacted them separately, I was informed that I performed excellently and would most likely be taken on, although it just needed confirmation. 4 days later, I was informed that I didn’t get the job, but I’d be paid for my trial shift - which was to my surprise; as throughout the whole process, mixed signals were given as to whether I’d be payed or not, as different people told me different things. I was told that I’d be paid by the end of the month (30/11/21) and yet again I had been lied to and I’m still awaiting any further updates.

This is my personal experience, and I want to do whatever I can in order to ensure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else, as I’m undoubtedly not the first person that this has happened to. Unless the trial shift is part of the genuine recruitment process, workers should be paid National Minimum Wage for excessive work. It is unfair and morally wrong to take advantage or someone naive and vulnerable such as myself, and businesses should not utilise trial shifts as a form of free labour. Under 18’s should be entitled to as much respect as anyone else is in the workplace, and laws should be enforced to ensure that they are not taken advantage of due to their lack of work experience.