Glenrothes & Central Fife SNP candidate Peter Grant has welcomed the announcement that the SNP Manifesto will contain a commitment to introducing legislation to ban unpaid “trial shifts”. Mr Grant said it was estimated that abuse of trial shifts by unscrupulous employers contributes to workers losing £3 billion in wages every year.
Mr Grant said: “This is a scandalous practice that must be outlawed. The SNP have heard of cases where applicants for a job were asked to work for several days without pay, supposedly as a ‘trial’ to see if they’re suitable. At the end of the trial the worker is told they are not being kept on, and next day someone else is brought in to work further unpaid shifts. Unscrupulous employers, who in the past have included some of the biggest names in the retail and catering sector, are abusing their workers and ignoring their right to a fair wage.”
During the last Parliament SNP MP Stewart McDonald introduced a Private Member’s Bill to outlaw unpaid trial shifts but the Bill was “talked out” by the Government.
Mr Grant added: “Last time the Tories abused the procedures of the house of commons to prevent Stewart’s bill from even being put to the vote. Today I’m challenging every party in this election to give a guarantee not to obstruct the Bill that the SNP will introduce after the election. It’s not enough for individual candidates to say nice things about the Bill. Either they stand four square behind the SNP to get rid of unpaid trial shifts, or they stand with the Tories and deny workers a fair wage”.