Unpaid work

Unpaid work often involves gaining experience or skills in a particular field without receiving a salary. This can be part of educational programs, where students do internships or work placements as part of their course, or as voluntary work experience to gain practical skills in a specific industry. While these opportunities can provide valuable experience, they should be carefully structured to ensure they are fair and beneficial to the individual.

When unpaid work is lawful

Unpaid work is generally only lawful for a vocational placement that is a required part of an education or training course, genuine volunteering, or a short unpaid trial that only tests a candidate's skills for the job under supervision. If an unpaid arrangement is really employment, the worker must be paid at least the award rate or national minimum wage. For example, asking a job applicant to work a full unpaid shift serving customers is likely to be work that should be paid.

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