One job offer and other deciding

[Kaesuri]

Hi,

I currently work in retail, a dead end job if you will, and have been offered a Legal PA job in a small law firm, and is an ideal step towards helping me qualify as a lawyer in the future. Problem is, I was asked to undertake an unpaid work trial for three months before I'm paid slightly more than what I'm earning in my retail position. During this work trial I will be trained on the job. The job itself will give me all the necessary Legal PA experience to apply for much higher salary Legal PA jobs in the future though.

I have until Monday morning to decide if I want to accept this job. If I accept it, I will be relying a lot of my credit card to survive. I've done the budgeting and I can manage, but it's going to be two-three months of barely having any disposable income and eating basic foods.

I also have one other company who said I interviewed well. It's for a Legal Admin job and the company provides services to courts, gov bodies and law firms, and isn't a law firm itself. The salary is substantially higher than what I'm currently earning which will help fund studying further qualifications, but they're still deciding. The Legal Admin job is basically transcription work, communicating with clients and general admin duties. The transcription experience should help me land better paying jobs in the future.

If my long-term goal is to qualify as a lawyer, should I accept the Legal PA job or wait for the higher paying Legal Admin job that might be offered to me in a week's time? I'm having trouble deciding.

[des8]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

Hi and welcome

I'm not employment savvy, but if I was offered a three month unpaid position whilst training I wouldn't dream of accepting it.
What sort of employer are they.

Besides that I suspect they are breaking the law .......... minimum wage?
If you are a worker ..........

I'll leave it toothers to fill the gaps!

[Kati]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

[MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] might be able to advise on whether it's a good idea to accept (I've tagged her ) xx

[Kaesuri]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

Hi and welcome

I'm not employment savvy, but if I was offered a three month unpaid position whilst training I wouldn't dream of accepting it.
What sort of employer are they.

Besides that I suspect they are breaking the law .......... minimum wage?
If you are a worker ..........

I'll leave it toothers to fill the gaps!

I'll be classed as an unpaid intern during the three months before properly being recognized as a permanent full-time employee upon passing the performance review.

[wales01man]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

What happens if you fail the review think very hard about this

[Kaesuri]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

What happens if you fail the review think very hard about this

It means I'll have used up my savings, racked up a lot of credit card bills, and need to job hunt once again and hope I can find a job in time to pay my bills or perhaps go bankrupt. If I fail the performance review the three months becomes useless to help me get an alternative position in a law firm.

If I accept the Legal PA job and renege the acceptance once I'm offered the Legal Admin job, I can have a higher salary to help fund further qualifications, but when I'm trying to say get a training contract, law firms will be thinking I have experience in transcription and working with courts etc, but I haven't experienced working in a law firm before. The first employer might also bad mouth me.

[des8]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

As an intern who has been promised future chances, it is likely that you will be working under a contract (expressed or implied) and thus entitled to minimum wage as per S1 of the National Minimum Wage act.
If there was no commitment about the future you may not have that right.

It all depends on the terms, but I just have a personal aversion to employers who think trainees (or interns) can live on thin air!

[Diana M]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

I'm going to answer this hypothetically

If, for example, I was offered the chance of an internship (minimum wage doesn't apply to interns) in a law firm whose reputation could only improve my chances of getting a step up the legal ladder then I would grab it with both hands.

If that meant I had to live on bread and water for three months then I'd do that too.

However (and it's a big 'however') you need to distinguish between a genuine internship which may lead to a proper job and a firm which has a succession of disposable interns in order to avoid paying for proper staff.

Living off credit cards is not a good idea. But if you'll have no income (as an intern) then maybe check out your entitlement to benefits during this unpaid period.

Di

[des8]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

An person (and that includes an intern) is a worker if they work under
a) “a contract of employment; or
b) any other contract, whether express or implied and (if it is express) whether oral or in writing, whereby the individual undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract whose status is not by virtue of the contract that of a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual;”
( s54 of the National Minimum Wage Act,)

Workers are entitled to the minimum wage.
What will your duties be?

[Diana M]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

As I understand it an internship is defined as "an educational experience"

It certainly was in my case

Di

[des8]

Re: One job offer and other deciding

My limited understanding is that if it is solely "educational" that is a true internship.
If however one is being taught "on the job" one is actually doing work for the "trainer" whilst being trained.
Thus one is a worker and entitled to minimum wage
A fine difference, but it should stop those who would in [MENTION=87380]Diana M[/MENTION] 's words use interns as a " succession of disposable interns in order to avoid paying for proper staff."