Deductions, hours and complaints
Unpaid trial shifts: test of skills or unpaid work?
Enter your age and the hours of the trial: the tool shows what the trial is worth at the minimum wage if it went beyond a genuine short test.
What an unpaid trial shift is worth
Minimum due for the trial
£86.80
| Rate | £10.85 (National Minimum Wage (18 to 20)) |
| From 1 April 2027 | £90.16 |
Due when the trial goes beyond a genuine short test of skills and you do real work for the business.
An unpaid trial is lawful when it is a short, genuine part of recruitment, used to see whether you have the skills for the job. It becomes paid work, at the minimum wage, when it goes on longer than the employer reasonably needs to judge you, when you are left to get on with real tasks that help the business, or when trials are a way of covering staff shortages. No statute defines a trial shift, so HMRC weighs the facts: in the government's view, a trial of more than one day is likely to require the minimum wage in all but very exceptional cases, while a few observed hours may be reasonable. An 8 hour trial in a real workplace at age 19 is worth at least £86.80 at the April 2026 rate of £10.85; at 21 and over, £101.68. One scheme is a clear exception: a Jobcentre Plus Work Trial of 6 weeks or less, arranged through the government programme, is unpaid by design and comes with the prospect of a job.
Unpaid working time and your hourly pay
Real pay per hour worked
£10.00
| Hours that count | 30 |
| Minimum for your age | £10.85 |
| Result | £25.50 short |
Rates and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The six factors HMRC weighs
The HMRC eligibility guidance admits that the law does not define a trial work period or say exactly when the minimum wage starts. It lists the points a court or tribunal is likely to consider, in the government's view:
- whether the trial is really part of recruitment; if not, it is generally work;
- whether it lasts longer than the employer reasonably needs to test your ability for the job on offer;
- how far you are watched while you do the tasks;
- how closely the tasks match the job: unrelated chores suggest the employer wants the tasks done rather than a test;
- whether the tasks have value for the business beyond the test, which a simulated setting usually rules out;
- whether trials matter to how the business runs, for instance as a way to keep labour costs down.
The longer a trial goes on, the more likely it is to be work. Several unpaid days, or more than one full shift in a real workplace, will almost always create a right to the minimum wage, especially in sectors where pay is near the legal floor.
HMRC's six example trials
| Trial | Length | Likely outcome | Value at 21 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| New bar, staff on trial across shifts while managers decide numbers | One week | Paid | £381.30 for 30 hours |
| Café candidate watched serving customers | 2 hours | Unpaid can be lawful | - |
| Warehouse candidate moving stock alone before any interview | 8 hours | Paid | £101.68 |
| Teacher candidate teaching two observed classes on an assessment day | An afternoon | Unpaid can be lawful | - |
| Trainee chef chopping vegetables then loading dishwashers on a busy Saturday | 12 hours | Paid | £152.52 |
| Head chef candidates cooking dishes for a tasting panel only | Assessment day | Unpaid can be lawful | - |
The patterns are clear. Watching the candidate, a length that fits the job and a simulated or genuinely assessed task point towards a lawful unpaid test. Being left alone, doing work unrelated to the job, working before even being interviewed, or a trial set on the busiest day to cover a gap point towards paid work. In the teacher's case, the regular teacher stayed in the room to assess, so the school gained little; in the warehouse case, nobody watched and the stock got moved.
What a trial is worth
If your trial crossed the line, the minimum wage is owed for every hour of it, at the rate for your age on that day. At the rates in force from 1 April 2026, an 8 hour trial is worth £86.80 at 18 to 20 and £64.00 at 16 or 17. From 1 April 2027, if the announced rates are confirmed in regulations, the same day would be worth £90.16 at 18 to 20 and £105.68 at 21 and over. Briefings before the trial and time kept waiting on site count as hours too, as the page on working time explains.
A trial that is paid below the minimum, rather than unpaid, is checked the same way. The tool below shows how unpaid trial or induction hours added to a first paid week pull the real hourly rate down.
The Work Trial exception and other schemes
Minimum wage law allows a handful of unpaid trials linked to government programmes. The main one is the Jobcentre Plus Work Trial, up to 6 weeks, designed to let people on benefits try a job and backed by a job offer if it works out. Work experience done as part of other government training or job-seeking schemes is also outside the rules. A trial set up privately by an employer, however it is described, is judged by the six factors above. Internships follow their own logic, covered on the internship page.
If you were not paid
You do not need to have got the job to be owed the money. Keep your own record of the hours and tasks, ask the employer in writing, and if that fails, use the pay and work rights complaint form or the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. HMRC says its officers look at every complaint and act where they think workers are being exploited under the cover of recruitment. The step by step complaint page gives the full route.