Trial Shift Pay Checker
Answer five quick questions about your trial shift. We will tell you whether your employer was likely required to pay you National Minimum Wage — and exactly what you can do if they should have.
Trial Shift Pay Checker
Find out if you must be paid for a trial shift in the UK. Check your employment rights and when unpaid work trials are illegal.
If a trial shift involves real work, you are a worker and entitled to NMW. Source: GOV.UK. Contact ACAS if unpaid.
What Makes a Trial Shift Legal?
Whether NMW is owed depends on the substance of what happened, not what the employer calls it. The Fair Work Agency (formerly HMRC NMW enforcement) applies four key tests:
1. Length of the shift
A genuine skills assessment is short — typically under two hours. A shift lasting half a day or more strongly suggests the employer was benefiting from your labour.
2. Whether you were observed throughout
A lawful unpaid trial involves a manager evaluating you the entire time. If you were left to work independently, it was not a genuine assessment.
3. Whether you did productive work
Serving customers, preparing food, handling calls, or doing tasks that benefited the business counts as work — and NMW is owed for every hour of it.
4. The purpose of the trial
Was the purpose to assess your skills, or to get work done? If the employer needed the shift covered and used you to do it, NMW applies regardless of the label used.
How Much Should You Have Been Paid?
If NMW was owed, these are the rates that applied from 1 April 2026. Multiply your rate by the hours you worked to find your minimum entitlement.
| Age / Category | Hourly Rate | 2 hrs owed | 8 hrs owed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 & Over (National Living Wage) | £12.71 | £25.42 | £101.68 |
| 18 – 20 | £10.85 | £21.70 | £86.80 |
| Under 18 | £8.00 | £16.00 | £64.00 |
| Apprentice (Year 1 or under 19) | £8.00 | £16.00 | £64.00 |
Rates apply from 1 April 2026. If your trial shift was before this date, the rate for the relevant period applies.
What Can You Do?
Fair Work Agency
Report unpaid trial shifts. Complaints are confidential and the FWA can recover your arrears plus impose penalties on the employer.
ACAS Helpline
0300 123 1100 — Free advice. ACAS early conciliation is required before bringing an Employment Tribunal claim.
Employment Tribunal
Claim unpaid wages directly. You must bring your claim within 3 months of the shift. Free to apply.
Citizens Advice
Free, confidential advice on unpaid wages, employment rights and next steps.
Consider raising it informally first. A short, polite message to your employer asking for payment may resolve the matter quickly. If they refuse or do not respond within a reasonable time, you have the options above. It is unlawful for an employer to penalise you for asserting your right to minimum wage.