If your employer required training, onboarding, shadow shifts, meetings, or certification time — those hours may need to be paid. The law in Canada, USA, UK, France, and Mexico is clear. Document every hour before payroll gaps get dismissed as "part of the process."
Connecting you to top-rated employment attorneys specialized in wage theft and unpaid hours.
Unpaid training hours are one of the most common — and most under-reported — forms of wage theft. Employers regularly relabel paid work as "orientation," "probation," "shadowing," "trial shifts," or "learning time" even when attendance is mandatory, the work benefits the employer, and the training is required to keep or start the job. The law in most countries is clear: if you had to be there, and it benefited the employer, you should be paid.
The label your employer puts on it does not determine whether you get paid. What matters is whether the time meets the legal test in your country — typically: mandatory + job-related + employer benefit. Here are the most common types:
Orientation sessions, policy reviews, HR paperwork meetings, system logins, safety inductions, and required introductions. If you had to attend to start the job, it is likely compensable.
Following another employee on the floor, in a vehicle, at a station, or on a route before being cleared to work independently. If you were present and learning job-specific processes, this is work time.
Team huddles, unpaid pre-shift briefings, safety talks, or job instruction sessions held before your official clock-in. Being required to show up early unpaid for "a quick meeting" is a wage violation.
Courses, tests, licence renewals, or refreshers that the employer requires you to complete to begin or continue your role. If failing the certification would cost you the job, the time is compensable in most jurisdictions.
Setting up stations, opening systems, loading gear, preparing work areas, logging into dispatch, or any task required before your official payroll clock-in. "Be ready to start at 8" when you must arrive at 7:45 to set up — those 15 minutes are work.
Mandatory e-learning modules, compliance videos, policy quizzes, or system training completed from home or off-site on your own time. If completing these was required and tracked, you may be entitled to pay for the time.
Select your country to see the specific legal test that applies, what is covered, and how to file a claim.
In every province, time spent in mandatory training, orientation, or preparation that benefits the employer and is required to get or keep the job must be paid at least at the applicable minimum wage. There is no "probation exemption" from minimum wage.
Employment Standards Code: training required by the employer or required to do the job is compensable work time. Cannot pay below $15.00/hr during training. File complaints with Alberta Employment Standards: 1-877-427-3731.
Employment Standards Act: "hours worked" includes any time an employee is required to be at work. Trial periods and shadow shifts that are required count as work hours. File with BC Employment Standards: 1-833-236-3700.
Employment Standards Act 2000: training mandatory for the job is work time and must be paid. A job posting cannot require unpaid "training days." The student minimum wage ($16.20/hr) still applies — you cannot pay nothing. File at ontario.ca/esa or call 1-800-531-5551.
Act Respecting Labour Standards: all time under the direction and authority of the employer — including training — is work time. Tip workers' minimum wage applies even during training. File with CNESST: 1-844-838-0808.
File an employment standards complaint with your provincial labour board at no cost. You can recover up to 2 years of unpaid wages. Complaints can sometimes be made anonymously before filing formally. No lawyer required.
1-800-531-5551
File unpaid training complaints. No cost. Recover up to 2 years of wages.
1-844-838-0808
Training hours under employer direction must be paid. File online or by phone.
1-833-236-3700
Shadow shifts and trial periods that are required count as paid work hours in BC.
1-877-427-3731
File unpaid training wage claims. No cost. Covers all mandatory training.
1-866-602-9448
Free, 24/7, confidential. For TFW workers facing unpaid training combined with immigration pressure.
Training is unpaid only if ALL four conditions are met: (1) attendance is outside regular hours; (2) attendance is genuinely voluntary; (3) the training is not directly related to the employee's job; and (4) the employee performs no productive work during the session. If any one of these fails — training must be paid.
Even during training, you must be paid at least federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr) or your state's higher rate. Paying $0 for a mandatory orientation or shadow shift is a FLSA violation. California fast food workers must be paid $20/hr minimum even during training.
The "continuous workday rule" means all time between your first and last compensable activity of the day is work time. Being required to set up before clocking in is compensable. Courts have consistently rejected employer arguments that "preliminary activities" are not work.
Mandatory e-learning or compliance training completed on personal time is compensable under the FLSA if it is required, tracked, and the employer knows or should know it is being done. Assigning training with a deadline implies the employer expects it to be completed.
California, New York, Washington, and other states have stricter rules. California's "suffer or permit to work" standard is broader than federal law — if the employer knew or should have known you were working (including training), they owe you pay regardless of whether they authorized it.
File with the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division at no cost. You can recover up to 2 years of back wages (3 years for willful violations) plus equal liquidated damages — effectively doubling your recovery. State labor agencies often have shorter deadlines but faster processes.
1-866-487-9243
File unpaid wage claims including training hours. Free. Recover up to 3 years of wages.
1-800-669-4000
If unpaid training targets workers based on race, national origin, or other protected characteristics.
1-844-522-6734
California's "suffer or permit" standard covers most mandatory training. File at dir.ca.gov.
1-888-469-7365
New York has stricter standards than federal law. File unpaid training wage claims.
1-844-967-5927
Triage and documentation support across CAN/US/MEX.
Any time a worker is required to be at a place of work and is working or available for work counts as "working time" under UK law. Mandatory training, induction, and shadow shifts count as working time. You cannot be paid zero for this time — the NMW/NLW applies from day one.
Any induction that is required to start the role is working time. This includes health and safety briefings, IT setup sessions, company policy reviews, and product training. Labelling it "induction" does not make it unpaid.
Trial shifts — including unpaid "working interviews" — are specifically flagged by HMRC as a minimum wage violation. If you performed work during a trial shift (serving customers, cleaning, cooking, stocking), you must be paid. There is no "trial period exemption" from NMW.
Employer-mandated courses, certifications, or e-learning completed during your contracted hours are working time. Training outside contracted hours is trickier — if the employer requires it for the job and monitors completion, payment is expected under most employment contracts.
Even if you are paid something, any deductions (for uniforms, equipment, or training costs) that bring your effective hourly rate below the NMW/NLW are unlawful. Calculate your effective hourly rate: total pay — hours worked (including training).
Report to HMRC's NMW enforcement team — free and confidential. HMRC can investigate, order back payment, and fine employers up to 200% of unpaid wages (up to —20,000 per worker). You can also claim at an Employment Tribunal within 3 months less 1 day of each underpayment.
0800 328 9100
Report unpaid trial shifts, induction, and training hours. Free, confidential. Can fine employers up to —20,000.
0300 123 1100
Free advice on unpaid wages and training disputes. Required before Employment Tribunal.
0300 123 1024
Claim unpaid wages including training hours. 3 months less 1 day deadline. ACAS first.
0800 144 8848
Free legal guidance on unpaid training and minimum wage rights.
1-844-967-5927
Documentation support for wage claims.
Under Article L.3121-1 of the Code du travail, working time is defined as any period during which the employee is at the employer's disposal and must comply with their directives, without being free to attend to personal matters. Mandatory training meetings this definition.
Training required by the employer during working hours must be paid at the normal rate. Training that is linked to a specific need of the business and imposed without the employee's agreement counts as working time — even if it takes place outside normal hours.
The SMIC (—11.88/hr gross in 2025) is the minimum that applies at all times — including during training periods. An employer cannot pay a "training rate" below the SMIC. Any period below SMIC is a recoverable wage debt.
For training completed via the CPF (personal training account), the rules are different — CPF training is generally not working time. But employer-required training that is separate from CPF must be paid and cannot be charged to the worker's CPF account without consent.
Trial periods in France are paid from day one at the agreed rate (minimum SMIC). An employer cannot impose an unpaid "trial" before offering a proper employment contract. Any work performed — even briefly — creates a de facto employment relationship.
File a complaint with the Inspection du travail (free) or bring a claim before the Conseil de prud'hommes (free, no lawyer required). The prescription period for wage claims is 3 years. The employer must prove training was not working time — the burden is on them.
travail-emploi.gouv.fr
File unpaid training complaints. Can investigate and fine employers. Confidential.
justice.fr
Labour court. Free access. 3-year prescription for wage claims. No lawyer required.
3928
If unpaid training targets workers based on origin or other protected grounds.
cgt.fr / cfdt.fr
CGT and CFDT can advise on unpaid training rights and support individual claims.
1-844-967-5927
Triage and documentation support for workers.
Under Article 58 of the LFT, the working day is the time during which the worker is at the disposal of the employer. Training sessions required to start or keep a job fall within this definition. The employer cannot classify mandatory training as outside the jornada.
The daily minimum wage (MX$278.80/day in the general zone; MX$419.88/day in the northern border zone in 2025) applies from day one — including training days. Paying zero for mandatory training is a direct LFT violation claimable at PROFEDET.
Interestingly, Articles 153-A to 153-X of the LFT require employers to provide training to workers — but this training must also be paid as working time. Employers cannot use the training obligation as justification to withhold wages during the training period.
The LFT was amended to allow a 30-day trial period (90 days for management roles) — but this trial period must be paid at the agreed rate. A "trial" that pays nothing violates the LFT regardless of any verbal or written agreement to the contrary.
Workers must be registered with IMSS from the first day of employment — including during training. Failure to register during a training period is a separate violation. Unregistered training periods mean you have no health coverage if injured during that time.
File a complaint with PROFEDET (free legal representation, no lawyer required) or with the Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje. The prescription period for wage claims under the LFT is 2 years. Bring pay stubs, your contract, and any records of training attendance.
800 911 7877
WhatsApp: 55 1484 8737. Free legal representation for unpaid training wage claims.
800 911 7877
Report LFT violations including unpaid mandatory training periods.
800 623 2323
Report failure to register during training. You lose health rights if not registered from day one.
800 543 5666
If unpaid training targets workers based on national origin, gender or other protected grounds.
1-844-967-5927
Available for workers across CAN/US/MEX.
Your strongest evidence is a personal, same-day record you create independently of your employer's systems. Write it in any language, on any device. A dated personal log that predates any dispute is far more credible than memory reconstructed after you raise the issue.
Screenshot texts, WhatsApp, emails, or app messages that told you when to show up for training. "Be here at 8am for orientation" is evidence that attendance was required and employer-directed.
Screenshot any schedule, roster, or calendar block showing training days — including "shadow," "orientation," "onboarding," or "training" labels. Do this before schedules are changed or deleted.
Keep every pay stub. Compare the dates and hours on your pay stub against your personal log. A pay stub that shows no hours on a day you attended training is strong documentary evidence of the gap.
Photos of time clock screens showing your actual arrival, sign-in sheets, training materials, uniform or equipment you were required to wear, or the workspace you set up. Only photograph if lawful and safe to do so.
Keep any certificates, online training completion emails, or test results showing you completed mandatory training. These prove the training was real, completed, and employer-beneficial.
If multiple workers were required to attend the same unpaid training, their names and willingness to confirm the facts significantly strengthens a group complaint — especially for class or collective actions.
Orientation can be compensable when it is required to start the job and benefits the employer.
If you had to attend to get the job, it was likely work time under any country's law.
Some employers claim training pre-employment is outside any employment relationship.
In most jurisdictions, performing work for an employer's benefit creates an employment obligation — regardless of hiring status.
Mandatory observation of work processes is still job-related and employer-directed.
? "Just watching" is compensable if you were required to be there and could not leave freely.
Employers often claim training was optional to avoid paying for it.
If not attending would have cost you the job, fewer hours, or delayed your start — it was not truly voluntary.
Common industry practice does not make a violation lawful.
Multiple workers being underpaid the same way makes a stronger group complaint, not a weaker individual one.
Contracts cannot waive statutory minimum wage rights in any of the five countries covered here.
An agreement to work for free during training is unenforceable in Canada, USA, UK, France, and Mexico.
Once you formally complain about unpaid training, schedules can be altered, chat histories deleted, and witness memory can conveniently fade. The most effective log is one you build in real time — before you raise the dispute.
After any verbal instruction to attend training, send a simple reply message: "Just confirming I'll be in at 8am Tuesday for orientation as discussed." This creates a written record that the training was employer-directed and that you were expected to attend.
Keep your personal log somewhere only you control — personal email, a notes app, or the WORKWARS platform. Employer-controlled systems (internal apps, scheduling software) can be modified or access revoked once a dispute begins.
Add up all unpaid training hours. Multiply by your applicable minimum wage or agreed rate. This gives you the dollar amount of the claim. Even $50 in unpaid training is a recoverable wage theft — and small amounts often reveal a larger pattern.
If others attended the same unpaid training, a coordinated group complaint is significantly stronger than an individual one. Raising this with coworkers before filing can be done — but be cautious about who you trust before the complaint is logged.
Pay stubs disappear, schedules get overwritten, and witnesses move on. If you wait too long, your wage claim can be legally time-barred — no matter how clear the violation was.
*Deadlines vary. Always confirm with legal aid immediately.