Unpaid "trial shift" as part of job application process

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extopia

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A young relative was asked to work a 2-hour shift for no pay to evaluate her skills following an interview at a Dublin bar/restaurant. She did this, and has now been asked to work a second shift, having "made it through to the next round". Again, no pay offered, although it has been strongly suggested she will probably get the job if the second unpaid shift is a success.

Is this legal?
 
Can't comment on legality.

My sister did similar in the late 1980s. The long gone Pancake HQ ( yep thats what it was called) beside Busaras had her do a trial week for free and then told her no job.

Different Ireland back then.

Personally if it was my daughter I know what I would tell them.
 
According to Claude AI.....

In Ireland, unpaid trial shifts are illegal. Here's the key point:

Under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, any time a person performs work for an employer — including a trial shift — they are entitled to be paid at least the national minimum wage.

A trial shift is considered work, not training or observation. If someone is serving customers, preparing food, or doing any productive task, they must be paid regardless of whether it's framed as a "trial."

What's allowed:
A short skills demonstration (e.g., 15–30 minutes of observed food prep or a practical test) that's more of an interview assessment may sit in a grey area, but once it extends to a full or substantial shift, payment is legally required.

Unpaid job shadowing where the person is purely observing and doing no actual work is generally considered acceptable.

If an employer doesn't pay:
The worker can make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at workplacerelations.ie
The employer risks a WRC award ordering back-pay plus potential penalties

This is a well-known issue in the Irish hospitality sector, and the WRC has ruled against employers in such cases. So to answer directly: no, it's not legal to ask someone to do a productive trial shift without paying them.
 
Against my better judgment I let my son take on an unpaid internship. There were particular circumstances that he felt it was his best option.
But it’s a bad road IMO.

I wonder how many other kids are working for the same landlord for free,

It’s just tight IMO, and inappropriate for what is usually very part time casual work. They aren’t being signed up to an executive leadership program that is costing the employer thousands. Usually KP and table clearing role for a week or two to see if they cut it is enough for the employer to see if they are any good before letting them loose on customer orders.

Even mucky d’s pay their staff when training them!
 
I would actually advise to move to the next vacancy. If that is the approach taken in terms of recruitment, I would say they would have the same type of approach for employee management. I have a young relative that has been working for the past 2 summers. This year, he avoided shops and was more selective as last year he worked in one for 14 weeks from 8 to 40 hours a week with less than 48 hours notice for the shifts for the following week. With no advance notice and a 7 days a week timetable from 8 to 10 pm, absolutely nothing could be planned without advising his workplace, not even a dentist appointment despite the fact that he worked 8 to 18 hours (2 to 3 shifts most of the weeks).
 
The principle is the same… pay for the work!

Just because people were exploited in the past doesn’t make it right.

Customers don’t pay less if they have unpaid staff waiting on them. And my son earned thousands in fees during his 6 months unpaid internship. Their customers didn’t get a discount either.
 
My take on this if the employee volunteers to work for free it's legal, but not if the employer asks.
 
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