Marcus had been working on a zero hours contract at a retail store in Galway for about eighteen months. The work was casual—he'd get texts when they needed him, sometimes three days a week, sometimes none. The pay wasn't much, but it helped cover his rent. Then one month, his employer announced that all staff had to attend a full day of mandatory training on customer service procedures. Marcus showed up as required, spent eight hours in the training room, but when he checked his pay slip the following week, those hours weren't there. When he asked his manager about it, she said the training was "voluntary" and therefore unpaid. Marcus knew that didn't sound right—they'd made it clear he had to attend.
Marcus felt stuck. On a zero hours contract, he already felt uncertain about his position. He didn't want to cause trouble, but he'd lost a full day's wages, and he genuinely needed that money. After talking to a friend, he decided to speak with a solicitor about whether he had any rights. The solicitor explained that in Ireland, if an employer requires you to attend training, you're entitled to be paid for that time—regardless of what your contract says or what label they put on it. The law doesn't care if they call it "voluntary." If you're required to be there and you're there because your job depends on it, that's work.
With that clarity, Marcus wrote to his employer setting out what the law actually says. He was prepared to take things further if needed. Within two weeks, his employer contacted him and agreed to pay him for the training day. They also clarified their training policy going forward: all mandatory training would be paid time. Marcus recovered his lost wages, and he felt more confident about understanding his rights—something that matters a lot when you're on a zero hours contract and every pound counts.