A MOTHER claims her son worked for more than four weeks at a York McDonald’s restaurant without realising he wouldn’t be paid a penny.

Debbie Dunn said her son Adam, who has learning difficulties, had a work trial at the Monks Cross restaurant, organised by the Shaw Trust charity, and worked from 11am until 4pm for three days a week.

She said no one informed him he was not being paid until after four and a half weeks, when he was told he was not suitable for the job and she felt that, as a vulnerable adult, he had been exploited.

“I am extremely concerned that my son was not informed that the trial period was on a volunteer basis by either the Shaw Trust or McDonald’s,” she said.

“My son was not issued with any documentation to specify that this trial period was on a volunteer basis. In my honest opinion, this was using my son as cheap unpaid labour.”

A Shaw Trust spokesman said work trials were designed to assess suitability for potential jobs and like an extended job interview. “If a job is offered then they would go on the payroll,” he said. “If there is no job at the end of the trial then this means that the client doesn’t have to go through the process of re-applying for benefits and it avoids red tape, which might help employers consider employing people with disabilities.”

When it became apparent Adam had lost out on benefits he was entitled to, trust staff helped him out with a payment and then found him paid employment and had also produced an information sheet for future work trials for clients to ensure everybody was clear.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said its restaurant teams often arranged work experience in partnership with charities, offering employment opportunities and training to those who might not otherwise have access. “On this occasion, there appears to have been a miscommunication between the individual and the charity which we are pleased to see has now been resolved.”