Why Internships Worry Employment Law Solicitors
Recently, internships have been painted in a rather negative light in the media, with employment law solicitors and campaigners claiming that they are exploitative and in some cases, illegal. Employment law solicitors might take the moral high ground and call it exploitation, but often times, the interns themselves are happy to work on an unpaid basis, calling it experience. So who is right?
Some industries are better known than others for their use of internships. The fashion industry is one. Recent press reports have featured former fashion interns who claim they were made to work for months on end, twelve hours and more a day, with no prospects of permanent paid employment to look forward to after the internship. Indeed, some interns claim they have worked for free in fashion houses where they have outnumbered the paid staff. All of this suggests that companies in many industries have come to rely far too much upon the unpaid work of interns.
Minimum wage laws, say employment law solicitors, mean that oftentimes companies which do not pay interns are breaking the law. They claim that merely calling somebody an intern does not mean a company doesn’t have to pay them. Any person who is engaged on a regular basis for an extended period of time to carry out work which is core to the company must be considered an employee and therefore must be paid. Some employment law solicitors have previously acted on behalf of disgruntled former interns who realised they were due a wage for their work and have won backdated pay at the minimum wage for their clients. Sadly, these cases have failed to set the precedent that was hoped and the situation has barely changed.
Furthermore, campaigners point out that internships are actually damaging for graduate employment. As more graduates are prepared to work for free, fewer entry level paid positions are available. After all, why would a company pay when a new graduate will do the job just as well for free?
Employment law solicitors are working to raise awareness of the need to comply with minimum wage legislation. Additionally, they and many campaigners are calling for a fundamental change to the system, for example restricting how long a person can work unpaid. It is hoped that doing this would encourage companies to employ their interns on a paid, permanent basis afterwards.