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NMW and work trial periods
20 December 2018 Caroline Jones, Employment tax director
Many employers now use unpaid trial work periods as part of their recruitment process. BEIS has updated its guidance to include commentary on trial work periods. There is no definition of what a 'trial work period' is, or when during a work trial, NMW must be paid. The updated guidance (pages 20 and 21) has been published to help employers decide whether trial work periods should be taken into account for the purposes of NMW
The following factors need to be considered:
How long the trial period lasts – the government’s view is that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, any trial lasting longer than a day is likely to result in NMW having to be paid.
Whether a 'work trial' is genuinely for recruitment purposes.
The extent of observations during the trial.
Whether the trial period is important to the employer’s business taking into account the type of work undertaken and the value of this to the employer.
Institutions will still need to assess whether work trial periods should to be paid at or above the appropriate NMW rates on a case-by-case basis, as this is likely to be tested by HMRC in the event of an NMW review. The updated guidance highlights areas to consider
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20 December 2018 
Caroline Jones, Employment tax director
