A chef has been forced to defend the practice of unpaid trial shifts in his restaurant after he was accused of using them to fill labour gaps in his workforce.
Mark Greenaway was accused by the Scottish trade union group Better Than Zero of using trial shifts “to cover busy periods and use desperate young workers as a free cleaning service,” at his eponymous Edinburgh restaurant, according to The Caterer. The restaurant was recently voted the 15th best in the UK outside London by Square Meal readers.
The group said they “were sent a tip off about working practices at Mark Greenaway’s while we were gathering info on unpaid trial shifts,” and would be taking “direct action” against the chef unless he made a public commitment to pay trial workers. It's unclear what that direct action would involve. In a Facebook post, Better Than Zero claimed: "We have heard from many sources (past and present employees) that [Greenaway] brings in between more than three trial shifts *per day* to cover busy periods."
Greenaway responded in a lengthy Facebook post, saying, "I can assure everyone that if successful in securing the job then yes they do get paid for their trial. We do not and never have done this to get free labour or to fill a labour gap." The trials typically last two to four hours and involve basic tasks, and, he said, it would cost more for him to arrange payment for trial workers than they would earn.
The practice is legal and standard across the industry, but a Scottish MP has recently lodged a Bill to end unpaid trial shifts all together.
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