4.76 Evidence from stakeholders continues to indicate that labels such as
‘volunteer’, ‘intern’ or ‘work experience’ were sometimes applied to
activities that are clearly work and for which at least the minimum wage should be paid.
In its evidence, Equity said that there was an ongoing
problem of unpaid work, particularly with walk-on roles that offer no pay.
Interns Anonymous claimed that interns were being used by employers
to cut the cost of basic administration and entry level jobs. In his
evidence, Mark Watson submitted 140 adverts for unpaid interns and
work experience that appeared to break minimum wage rules. In its oral
evidence, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said that many people
who were undertaking work experience were actually doing jobs that
employers relied on, particularly in television and consumer magazines.
It said that there was an over-supply of people desperate to work in the
media industry and employers have built unpaid work placements into
their business model. In its oral evidence BECTU said that some well
established companies used the terms ‘volunteer’, ‘intern’, ‘trainee’ or
‘work experience’ in the entertainment industry to encourage people to
undertake unpaid roles which included basic office work, digitising
material and writing up transcripts.
4.77 It is becoming increasingly commonplace in certain sectors, particularly
the media, entertainment industry and in politics, for employers to
demand a period of unpaid work experience as a means of getting into
the industry. The Government’s Fair Access to the Professions report
highlighted the issue of unpaid internships and how they serve to limit
career choices to those who can afford to work unpaid and those who
live near London. We received evidence from several individuals and
organisations that confirmed this finding. Interns Anonymous claimed
that it was difficult to gain employment with MPs or political parties
without intern experience in parliament. In its oral evidence the NUJ said
that it was hard to get a job in journalism without having previous work
experience but despite people undertaking internships, there was often
no prospect of a permanent job for interns. It estimated that only 30 per
cent of unpaid journalist positions resulted in permanent jobs. In his
evidence Mark Watson said that a period of unpaid work was now
regarded as an unofficial price of entry into many industries, resulting in
large numbers of young people failing to be paid the minimum wage
where it was due. The TUC said it did not believe that employers should
be able to demand a toll of unpaid work before awarding jobs as this
puts those people without parental financial support at a disadvantage.
4.78 We recognise the benefit to young people undertaking work experience
and do not want to stop individuals undertaking genuine work experience placements or discourage employers from offering good quality opportunities. Our view has always been that unpaid work experience is an area where wider dissemination of guidance and more
effective enforcement is needed, rather than any change to the rules
themselves. However, we are concerned about the increasing number
of organisations that are relying on interns, often for several months, to
perform work for no pay. The evidence we received on unpaid work
experience indicates that there is systematic abuse of interns, with a
growing number of people undertaking ‘work’ but excluded from the
minimum wage.
4.79 We have expressed our concerns about unpaid internships to BIS
throughout the year and it has responded positively. In its evidence to
us, BIS said that it recognised the concern that was expressed in the
media about the inappropriate use of internships. It said that it would
consider whether there was anything further it could do to make its
guidance on work experience clearer for employers and interns and
increase awareness of the guidance. We further encourage BIS as part
of this work to engage directly with the sectors in which lengthy unpaid
internships have become the norm. We invite BIS to present its
proposed strategy to us by the summer.
4.80 We have also raised our concerns about unpaid internships and effective
enforcement with HMRC. HMRC responded that in none of the
complaint cases it had received in 2009 concerning interns was there
sufficient evidence to suggest that the individuals were ‘workers’. It
reported that it cannot get reliable figures on the number of interns who
complain because it does not record whether a worker regards
themselves as an intern when they ring the helpline. Stakeholders
confirmed that there was a reluctance on the part of some people
undertaking work experience, who believed they were a ‘worker’, to
report complaints to HMRC.
4.81 We understand that in some cases it is not clear or easy to define
whether a person is a ‘worker’ or on a period of unpaid work experience.
However, while it is not illegal to advertise jobs which do not pay at least
the minimum wage, we believe that HMRC should adopt a more proactive
approach to investigating cases and sectors where the term
‘intern’, ‘volunteer’ or ‘work experience’ is being applied, particularly
when work is clearly being advertised. HMRC has indicated that it may
be implementing a new enforcement approach in relation to interns.
We judge this is likely to be appropriate and have asked HMRC to keep
us aware of any developments. We will monitor these carefully.
