I worked a trial shift at the Ginger Dog pub. I was told that it would last for a 'couple' of hours. After three hours of working, I was told that it was going really well and that I had the job. In my experience, bosses in the hospitality sector will say this just to get people to work longer for free. I was asked to stay on and agreed to work for an extra three hours, meaning that I worked for six hours in total. I decided after this to not take the job and I contacted them the next day to tell them. I also requested payment for the full six hours worked. They did not respond to my email. I sent them another email and received no response again. I emailed them again and told them that if they didn't pay me, I would take action via Brighton SolFed, and I sent them some links to articles about previous cases. They emailed me back the same day and agreed to pay me for the three additional hours I worked beyond the initial three hour trial shift, which I accepted. I know that they had two other people working trial shifts that week and I don't think they got paid for them. This seems to be a common theme in hospitality. Hopefully this will encourage others to take action - the Ginger Dog were obviously worried about the power of direct action solidarity!
Say no to unpaid trials! If you have had trouble with an unpaid trial, you can get in touch with us at brighton@solfed.org.uk