I have been out of work for a few years while addressing my mental health through NHS therapy, a slow bureaucratic process. But I’m good now, and have been planning my future.
I was offered a job with my city council but I must have a driving licence, which I currently don’t have, so I have gone for interviews with some low level work to pay for a driving test and the other day I had a job offer that will hopefully pay okay.
The issue is, I volunteered for a trial shift which I have done previously. Usually this consists of a 4 hour shift with form filling and shadowing. I received an email stating a few things I feel uncomfortable about.
- 8 hour trial shift. In the uk a trial shift can not be profitable for the company. And obviously I can’t be shadowing and form filling for that amount of time.
- fingerprint scanning for safety, hours are up to manager discression. This has me concerned that the employer will be short changing me.
- pension scheme,
"For employees on minimum wage who have yet to enrol in our pension scheme then you will be paid and receive normal national living wage rates of pay in line with government age guidelines until your first pay rise above these rates
Once an employee receives a pay award more than minimum wage and becomes eligible to enrol and is invited onto our company pension scheme then the new hourly rate of pay we offer will include the 3% pension contribution. The way your hourly rate of pay is calculated will be clearly shown on all correspondence and will include the additional 3% portion of your pay which is a pension contribution. Whether the employee then decides to join the pension scheme or not is completely up to each employee to decide. Employee’s who decide to join the pension scheme will have the additional 3% portion of their hourly pay diverted to the pension scheme as required by the pension regulations to meet the employer’s liability while employee’s not joining the pension scheme will be paid the hourly rate as set out and agreed in correspondence. This policy ensures that all employees are always paid equally and there are no benefits or advantages to any employee regardless of their choice of joining the pension scheme or not.
Please note that employee’s enrolling to the pension scheme will also be subject to additional 5% deductions from their hourly pay which will then be paid into the employee’s pension scheme, again in line with all government rules.
Our company pension scheme is open to all employees when eligible. It is the employee’s choice to decide whether they join the pension scheme and whether it fits with their personal circumstances.
Please note - if the percentage contributed by the employer to the pension scheme should be increased by the government at any future time, then hourly pay would be re-calculated, and the new proportion of pension payment re-directed to pension schemes.
Information about our company policies and procedures can be found on our portal page."
Sorry wall of text for the last bullet, I haven’t seen a Pension Scheme done this way before.
I have sent an email back asking for confirmation on 8 hours unpaid labour. Will this have me seen as a trouble maker?
How concerned should I be with this employer?
I’ve never heard the term trail shift before, but I can’t see anything other than that that implies unpaid labour. You’re right to check though. If you’re seen as a troublemaker for that, they’re not a company you’d want to work for anyway.
My mistake, trial shift.
Update: I had asked HR if I would be working the 8 hours and said I was not used to this length of trial shift. Hr replied in loose language with what I would be doing, which further lead to me believing that I would be working anywhere between 2 to 4 hours.
I brought this up onsite to management nearing the 4 hour mark, showed him the email and he called HR to then confirm verbally that I would need to work the full 8 hours unpaid to get the job.
I pointed out how this was legally grey and left.
Other bits I did not like were: through the online training session I did on their computer. Forced me to agree to fingerprint scanning which luckily I only sign an agreement and never actually had to scan my prints.
Also on the online training, they stipulate that any sign in issues would encure fees to the employee due to admin work, these fees would equate to an hours pay.
HR lead bor the same last name as the company.
The onsite manager made anti communist remarks. Also when I said “nice to meet you John” his reply, "you won’t be saying that later.
Hard pass on unpaid labour, legal or not.
Life is too short for games.I did a trial at my last job, took an hour where they had me soldering an old busted PCB and filling paperwork for employment, proof of address, banking details etc etc, which I was happy to do. And this current place that demands physical labour for the role, I’m slim built and assumed they’d see if I could lift and move stock, or use a till, communicate with customers, all this can be condensed down to an hour really and I would happily do that. Free labour though, the company smells rotten.
How badly do you need this job?
It would be good to be back in work asap, having a gap in employment been very detrimental for my employability. Getting far few interviews than before for lower level jobs.
So I need a gap filler. I have sent an email back to Hr asking for confirmation, my hope is that they are reasonable and legally savvy enough to give me an actual trail. I am however worried that with that confrontation they may choice to drop the offer.
But beyond that, their pension scheme, clocking in and even promotions (pay increases) seem to sign that they are a company that want to pay as little as possible.
That’s what I thought, or otherwise we wouldn’t be having this discussion as you wouldn’t even consider it.
With that said, contrary to the other comments, I would suggest that you tough it out as you seek for something better.
Do your job, but keep your head down as standing out would make you more likely to be a target for abuse. Do not excel at your job and just do bare minimum. Do not be a smart-ass, play dumb if you have to.
Try to be social and lookout for people who are stuck in the same situation. Friends can be handy at times, especially for future work reference. Whatever you do, do not talk shit, especially about work or other colleagues while on the clock and on the premise.
Best of luck out there!
seem to sign that they are a company that want to pay as little as possible.
Isn’t that nearly all companies? Personally, from a pragmatic stand point, I think it behooves one to put up with some level of that until one builds enough of a resume to be able to be choosey. If they prove to be downright abusive, or what you have to put up with harms your mental health, move on.
Don’t expect companies to be altruistic. How well they treat you will tend to depend on your value in the job market, i.e. how much they need you vs how much you need them. You likely need to deal with some unideal situations to get yourself to a point where they see you as valuable.
