Unpaid internships.....

k12479

gibson123 wrote: »

The problem is where the intern is being unpaid for up to a year, in extreme cases more than a year, expected to work at the convenience of the organisation, work a full day and as I have even heard of a case where the "employer" made it difficult for an unpaid intern to take holidays.

People are not being forced to work unpaid for a year, it's out of choice. If they don't like it, they can leave.

gibson123 wrote: »

...but limit the amount of internships that a business can do unless they convert into work, so that we stop the exploitation.

That sounds more like a job trial. Internships do not guarantee a job at the end, only experience.

gibson123 wrote: »

I certainly could not afford to do so.. could you?

**Juice** wrote: »

...as it favours those who already have money at their disposal.

A career as a racing driver requires starting young and significant amounts of money. Similarly pilots have been paying tens of thousands to become qualified. I recently read a jewelry designer's comments about the high cost of precious metals making it prohibitively expensive for many aspiring designers to be able to afford to make their first collections. What's so different about these?

The root of the problem is, in my opinion, too many people having unrealistic expectations and wanting careers in sectors which simply don't have the capacity. Forcing internships to be paid won't change that, many positions would just be closed, remaining ones would become even more competitive, and perhaps the normal graduate level entry point.

getmore4less

k12479 wrote: »

People are not being forced to work unpaid for a year, it's out of choice. If they don't like it, they can leave.

or if they believe they are a worker or even an employee there are steps they can take.

HMRC will investigate minimum wage claims, keep good records, getting them to send emails that say you have to work certain hours or do certain tasks should help .

there will probably be the possiblitiy to use an ET to establish a statutory rights


if you google there have been a few cases of other employees taking cases to have non paid people(volunteers etc) to be counted as workers to be able to cliam improved status for themselves.


mind you in many sectors your career would be over if you tried this, get someone else to do it.

gibson123

getmore4less wrote: »

Any business can use volunteers it is not restricted to any business type like charities or profit status.

You may be confusing

Volunteers with Voluntary workers

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_175114

The issue is they are volunteers or workers or employees or self employed or..........

intern does not define employment status, what you do does.


http://www.worksmart.org.uk/rights/viewquestion.php?eny=898

No i'm pretty clear that in terms of whether you should be paid or not the following criteria apply:

Voluntary workers
Voluntary workers are specifically defined in NMW legislation and are not entitled to the NMW.
You will be a voluntary worker if you receive only limited and specific benefits such as reasonable travel or lunch expenses and work for:
a charity
a voluntary organisation
an associated fund raising body
a statutory body

Yes other organisations can take on "volunteers" however that does not mean they may not be entitled to be paid NMW.

getmore4less

gibson123 wrote: »

An intern is not a volunteer, a volunteer is some-one who works for free to contribute to a charitable cause or to contribute to their community. They donate their time (rather than their money) to a cause. Interns have no legal status you are either a worker or a volunteer, if you are not a volunteer then you are a worker and entitled to be paid. IMHO if you are working for an organisation that makes a profit then you are a worker not a volunteer.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/TheNationalMinimumWage/DG_198089

gibson123 wrote: »

No i'm pretty clear that in terms of whether you should be paid or not the following criteria apply:

Voluntary workers
Voluntary workers are specifically defined in NMW legislation and are not entitled to the NMW.
You will be a voluntary worker if you receive only limited and specific benefits such as reasonable travel or lunch expenses and work for:
a charity
a voluntary organisation
an associated fund raising body
a statutory body

Yes other organisations can take on "volunteers" however that does not mean they may not be entitled to be paid NMW.

If they are entitled to NMW they become a worker not a volunteers.

interns may be volunteers
volunteers can work for any business even those that make profits
volunteers don't need to be paid.

it is what you do that determines if you become a worker

The above is just an exception that allows certain organizations not to pay workers, it does not make every one else a worker.

MissSarah1972

I say a job advertised the other day saying it was a 3 month trial with no pay then the possibility to be taken on full time. Surely this is like an intern, is it not?

lexilondon21

I want to work in Journalism and sadly this is the only option for most grads now.

It does suck, but you do get some great companies on your C.V/ portfolio and sometimes there is the prospect of a job at the end. I call it the unicorn of internships.

I am currently trying to find a part-time one that I work around, as I have to eat haha!

If you do intern my advice is to network like crazy, you can come out of it with some great contacts.

Most pay for travel and lunch if that's any consolation.

Good luck x

lexilondon21

MissSarah1972 wrote: »

I say a job advertised the other day saying it was a 3 month trial with no pay then the possibility to be taken on full time. Surely this is like an intern, is it not?

That's deffo an internship, the job will probably go to one of their kids.. Not the hoards of people they get in to work for free. C'est la vie x