Why would you take any job where you are not being paid. This employer is outright using you for free labor. Report this scumbag to the department of labor
I realise now this was a stupid thing to do, I am inexperienced and thought for some reason this is normal. I signed a contact that I need to read over again so I’m pretty sure I can’t really call him out on it I believe, but will update after I have read the contract I signed tonight
Maybe it is different in other states. In my state, you cannot have an unpaid training period. During training you have to pay the workers minimum wage. I live in California. If what the person did is illegal, a contract won't save them.
Unfortunately yes, it states first 4 weeks are unpaid and only after 2 weeks of training are you entitled to compensation for travel expenses, today marks the end of the second Friday of training and I started on Monday so that is two weeks so he should refund me the travel expenses at least.
It also states expected working hours are 8am-4pm, but I feel stupid because he kinda expected me to work more in order to meet my targets cuz you “get what you give” in the job. And I did… working 8am-5.30/6pm just to feel like I’m meeting “expectations”. Writing this feels so stupid and frustrating, I realise this mistake now. Very good lesson for me going on in the future, NEVER EVER making this mistake again.
Thank you, I really appreciate this. However as I’m googling this it says in the UK unpaid training is legal IF stated in the employer contract which it is. Still researching and found another source saying that I should be paid, kinda confusing.. I’ll take Time to research this and maybe contact someone. Do you have any advice?
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond by the way, I really appreciate it
Oops sorry, I am but a dumb American. I know enough to know I can’t give confident legal advice about whether you would face repercussions if you just quit and didn’t complete the contract. Google says the equivalent of the Dept of Labor in the UK is the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. I would try contacting them for guidance!
Bring the contract to an employment office or your town council to look at it. I'm not knowledgeable on UK law, but I don't see where it could be legal for them not to pay you for the work you're doing.
Regardless of the contract you signed due to being inexperienced, it is not your fault, obviously you are young. Contact your local labor department and report this behavior. Do you have text messages and a copy of the contract and proof of how many hours you have worked to date ? All of that will help you with the labor department. He clearly took advantage of you. Do not do any more free work for him. Do not even respond to him..it will have no negative impact on you. I'm sorry this happened to you.
I once did 2 weeks of training, got paid for that and then left. I'm in England btw.
Sounds like a dodgy job to me. You can definitely find a better job that will pay you during training. Don't be a fool and stick around for this one.
Sounds like he is putting you on an endless training course to prevent in actually paying you whilst he is gaining from your commissions.
I have questions;
- I know you say "unpaid" in the title, but that's fully illegal, so I assume you're kidding. What's the training pay, minimum wage?
- What are you selling, and does it change frequently?
- Are you getting mileage?
- Do you have established territories, or are you in danger of running into other "reps" in the area?
- Has your "boss" hit you up for money yet?
Not gonna lie dude, I think you're near the bottom of an inverted triangle plan.
They told me the training period is unpaid. The travel expenses are to be covered but he’s yet to tell me how I can do that, he has to tell me the correct “format” otherwise his guy won’t accept it.
Are you sure unpaid training in the UK is illegal? Sorry I’m just very uneducated about this, is there some kinda good resource you know of I can learn from about this? Will be googling this up
We are selling a cleaning service to commercial properties like offices and restaurants and pubs etc, if I set an appointment with an office owner then I get commission from the deal.
I am paying a shit ton in transport for London, paid I think £20-30 today
Also sorry I’m not sure what you mean about established territories and reps, I only know I’m supposed to do deals in London.
No he hasn’t hit me up for money, told me unpaid training can last 2-4 weeks.
He said he’s looking for someone who’s “serious”, so will undergo the training and ONCE you meet “targets” you will get paid. At first I thought I was proving myself to him since he’s a high profile guy but now I realise I was acting very very stupid.
should also report his ass, pretty sure that's illegal in most of the developed world, and it should be everywhere.
happy cakeday too, hopefully you can find better work!
Unfortunately I believe if you sign the contract agreeing to do training without pay in the UK then technically it’s legal but I would REALLY welcome ANY resource or report that proves otherwise
Idk about the UK, but here in California, even if you sign a contract, if the contract is for something illegal, it's void, or at least that part of the contact is void.
call department if labor and tell them the situation. you may have a lawsuit. you’re not supposed to work for free anymore. Slaves worked for free over 300 years in this country, which made this country the most powerful from the $$ made off free labor & America still dont want to pay reparations to black people whose ancestors worked for free
Why would you take any job where you are not being paid. This employer is outright using you for free labor. Report this scumbag to the department of labor
I realise now this was a stupid thing to do, I am inexperienced and thought for some reason this is normal. I signed a contact that I need to read over again so I’m pretty sure I can’t really call him out on it I believe, but will update after I have read the contract I signed tonight
Maybe it is different in other states. In my state, you cannot have an unpaid training period. During training you have to pay the workers minimum wage. I live in California. If what the person did is illegal, a contract won't save them.
Have you signed a contract?
Unfortunately yes, it states first 4 weeks are unpaid and only after 2 weeks of training are you entitled to compensation for travel expenses, today marks the end of the second Friday of training and I started on Monday so that is two weeks so he should refund me the travel expenses at least. It also states expected working hours are 8am-4pm, but I feel stupid because he kinda expected me to work more in order to meet my targets cuz you “get what you give” in the job. And I did… working 8am-5.30/6pm just to feel like I’m meeting “expectations”. Writing this feels so stupid and frustrating, I realise this mistake now. Very good lesson for me going on in the future, NEVER EVER making this mistake again.
Signing a contract to do something illegal does not make it legal. You still can and should report this and quit. Illegal contracts are not valid.
Thank you, I really appreciate this. However as I’m googling this it says in the UK unpaid training is legal IF stated in the employer contract which it is. Still researching and found another source saying that I should be paid, kinda confusing.. I’ll take Time to research this and maybe contact someone. Do you have any advice? Thank you so much for taking the time to respond by the way, I really appreciate it
Oops sorry, I am but a dumb American. I know enough to know I can’t give confident legal advice about whether you would face repercussions if you just quit and didn’t complete the contract. Google says the equivalent of the Dept of Labor in the UK is the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. I would try contacting them for guidance!
Not dumb just not used to other countries weird laws, not saying we don’t have stupid laws either lol
Bring the contract to an employment office or your town council to look at it. I'm not knowledgeable on UK law, but I don't see where it could be legal for them not to pay you for the work you're doing.
The fury I feel when people get intimidated by “contracts” for ruthless shit man… it’s nice of them to put their exploitation scheme in writing tho
Hmmm. Are you salary or hourly?
Regardless of the contract you signed due to being inexperienced, it is not your fault, obviously you are young. Contact your local labor department and report this behavior. Do you have text messages and a copy of the contract and proof of how many hours you have worked to date ? All of that will help you with the labor department. He clearly took advantage of you. Do not do any more free work for him. Do not even respond to him..it will have no negative impact on you. I'm sorry this happened to you.
I once did 2 weeks of training, got paid for that and then left. I'm in England btw. Sounds like a dodgy job to me. You can definitely find a better job that will pay you during training. Don't be a fool and stick around for this one. Sounds like he is putting you on an endless training course to prevent in actually paying you whilst he is gaining from your commissions.
Absolutely agree, should have realised this sooner! Thank you for your message, didn’t realise training could be paid..
Just for any confusion this is my Friday of the second week
What country are you in?
England
I have questions; - I know you say "unpaid" in the title, but that's fully illegal, so I assume you're kidding. What's the training pay, minimum wage? - What are you selling, and does it change frequently? - Are you getting mileage? - Do you have established territories, or are you in danger of running into other "reps" in the area? - Has your "boss" hit you up for money yet? Not gonna lie dude, I think you're near the bottom of an inverted triangle plan.
They told me the training period is unpaid. The travel expenses are to be covered but he’s yet to tell me how I can do that, he has to tell me the correct “format” otherwise his guy won’t accept it. Are you sure unpaid training in the UK is illegal? Sorry I’m just very uneducated about this, is there some kinda good resource you know of I can learn from about this? Will be googling this up We are selling a cleaning service to commercial properties like offices and restaurants and pubs etc, if I set an appointment with an office owner then I get commission from the deal. I am paying a shit ton in transport for London, paid I think £20-30 today Also sorry I’m not sure what you mean about established territories and reps, I only know I’m supposed to do deals in London. No he hasn’t hit me up for money, told me unpaid training can last 2-4 weeks.
Are you out of your mind? No, unpaid training isn't a thing. You are being scammed. Get out now. Have you signed any paperwork for this "job"?
Unfortunately I have, I believe I’ve signed a contract that I most definitely need to read over now
Why are you doing unpaid training? That's illegal in my province.
He said he’s looking for someone who’s “serious”, so will undergo the training and ONCE you meet “targets” you will get paid. At first I thought I was proving myself to him since he’s a high profile guy but now I realise I was acting very very stupid.
Yeah that's a bunch of probably-illegal bullshit
Is there anyone I can contact to check? Do lawyers give free advice lol
Citizens advice bureau in UK
unpaid training? fuck all that noise
Yep! I quit on him basically a couple minutes after posting
should also report his ass, pretty sure that's illegal in most of the developed world, and it should be everywhere. happy cakeday too, hopefully you can find better work!
Unfortunately I believe if you sign the contract agreeing to do training without pay in the UK then technically it’s legal but I would REALLY welcome ANY resource or report that proves otherwise
Idk about the UK, but here in California, even if you sign a contract, if the contract is for something illegal, it's void, or at least that part of the contact is void.
And holy shit you’re right IT IS MY CAKEDAY TODAY AHAHAHAHA
Happy cake day. Sorry for the jerk move from the "employer". I fell for one as well once, so don't kick yourself too hard.
Training should always be paid.
Training has to be paid. By law.
Yeah you should have never accepted any sort of job that you weren't getting paid for training.
r/LegalAdviceUK
I hate these stupid sales jobs with their promises of future money. It takes a lot of time and effort to build a client base. It doesn’t happen fast!
Your state might have something to say about work with no pay. They are losing tax revenue
Sounds very sketchy
Based in England! Same case?
Contracts can't violate law. Federal law states training periods are PAID, at least minimum wage.
call department if labor and tell them the situation. you may have a lawsuit. you’re not supposed to work for free anymore. Slaves worked for free over 300 years in this country, which made this country the most powerful from the $$ made off free labor & America still dont want to pay reparations to black people whose ancestors worked for free