Use of unpaid trial periods of employment is outrageous and illegal – Codd

Businesses advertising jobs with the requirement of carrying out unpaid trial periods are engaged in illegal exploitation of workers, according to a local election candidate. Jim Codd of Aontu said that the use of stipulations demanding unpaid labour ‘up front’ to gain employment represented a new low in Irish employment.

“It’s come to my attention that some employers, mainly in the service industry, demand unpaid labour from potential employees,” Mr Codd said. “This is illegal as the National Minimum Wage Act does not contain any exemption for work trials, and failure to pay the minimum wage is punishable by a fine not exceeding €2,500 or a prison sentence not exceeding six months. The Restaurants Association of Ireland and the Vintners Association have both came out hard against unpaid trials.”

“So desperate is our current labour market, that some young people put a note on their CVs to indicate that they are happy to offer unpaid work in a trial if it helps their chances of getting a job. Even in these situations, any employer taking advantage is clearly exploring the worker and breaking the law.”

“These type of situations shouldn’t exist in a healthy labour market. If our economy was as strong as the government claims, and jobs were as freely available to all, then unpaid trials would not exist. This is a symptom of a much larger issue; a fake economy that has been allowed to develop in the wake of recession and has resulted in 100,000 people in employment living in poverty in this state.”