Interviewed at a restaurant and they asked me to do a “trial shift” unpaid to see how I fit. It felt off but I needed the job. Is that common practice or something I should have pushed back on?

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Common enough to ask for a trial shift. Most places at least have the decency to pay you for the hours though, even if it's straight minimum wage. Kind of bogus that they didn't even offer that.

Yeah not sure I appreciate that it’s not paid!

No idea if it’s common, but I have heard of trial shifts. It’s a fine line for the company, because they can get into legal issues with unpaid labor. I’d just consider what they expect. An hour or so to see if I fit with the team would be ok. A full day running the show, absolutely not.

I don’t really understand it, even from the company perspective. If they can’t figure out from the interviews, it’s already a red flag. But we don’t always have a lot of choice in the matter.

An unpaid trial shift is a red flag. Observing for an hour is one thing, but actually working the floor unpaid is not normal or ethical in most cases. If they need to see you in action, they can put you on payroll for that shift. Needing the job is understandable, but that practice is questionable.

I see! Depends or not if you really need it I guess!

That’s pretty common in restaurants, but it’s also a gray area. A short, supervised trial to observe can be normal, but if you’re actually working and covering tasks, it really should be paid. Trust your gut, if it felt off, it’s fair to question it or set limits next time.

Ah, I see!! That’s true!

It’s common. However, in some places, this is illegal. If it’s just a few hrs, I’d say go for it. Anything more than 3 hrs should be payed. If it’s not, I’d decline.

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