A fair deal for young people starting work in internships
November 2014 I signed 'Young Labours' campaign letter; text below:
Ending Exploitative Internship Contracts
Few young people can afford to spend months working for free as unpaid interns. But increasingly interning is the way to get on the first rung on the career ladder. This leads to bright, hardworking young people being excluded from industries before they’ve even been sent a rejection letter.
Research published last week by the Sutton Trust showed that it costs a young person about £1000 per month to be an unpaid intern. This places these opportunities out of reach. Polling for Intern Aware by YouGov shows that three-quarters (74%) of people say that they (or someone from a family like theirs) would be unable to do an unpaid internship in London, while for over two-in-five (43%), the need to do an unpaid internship represents a “significant barrier” to getting into work.
That's why we believe the time has come to promise to introduce a four week limit to unpaid internships. While many unpaid internships are already in breach of National Minimum Wage law, this legislation would create a presumption that a young person on an internship is a worker (and is thus eligible to be paid) after four weeks. The proposal was supported by 149 Labour MPs in a recent 10 Minute Rule Bill, and has been recommended by the Sutton Trust.
As well as supporting young people and improving social mobility, this proposal would also provide employers with clarity on the law. So it's no surprise that Intern Aware’s research with YouGov found that two-thirds (65%) of businesses back this proposal. And it would be highly popular with the public, including young people and hard-pressed parents. Ipsos MORI polling shows that 85% of adults believe that interns should be paid at least the minimum wage. Only 2% disagree.
We believe it is time to tackle inequality of opportunity and support young people who can’t afford to work for free. We therefore back plans for a four week limit to unpaid internships.
Ending Exploitative Internship Contracts
Few young people can afford to spend months working for free as unpaid interns. But increasingly interning is the way to get on the first rung on the career ladder. This leads to bright, hardworking young people being excluded from industries before they’ve even been sent a rejection letter.
Research published last week by the Sutton Trust showed that it costs a young person about £1000 per month to be an unpaid intern. This places these opportunities out of reach. Polling for Intern Aware by YouGov shows that three-quarters (74%) of people say that they (or someone from a family like theirs) would be unable to do an unpaid internship in London, while for over two-in-five (43%), the need to do an unpaid internship represents a “significant barrier” to getting into work.
That's why we believe the time has come to promise to introduce a four week limit to unpaid internships. While many unpaid internships are already in breach of National Minimum Wage law, this legislation would create a presumption that a young person on an internship is a worker (and is thus eligible to be paid) after four weeks. The proposal was supported by 149 Labour MPs in a recent 10 Minute Rule Bill, and has been recommended by the Sutton Trust.
As well as supporting young people and improving social mobility, this proposal would also provide employers with clarity on the law. So it's no surprise that Intern Aware’s research with YouGov found that two-thirds (65%) of businesses back this proposal. And it would be highly popular with the public, including young people and hard-pressed parents. Ipsos MORI polling shows that 85% of adults believe that interns should be paid at least the minimum wage. Only 2% disagree.
We believe it is time to tackle inequality of opportunity and support young people who can’t afford to work for free. We therefore back plans for a four week limit to unpaid internships.