Employment Law Solicitors’ Concern Over Internships
Internships have fallen under much criticism in the media of late, with campaigners and employment law solicitors alike accusing them of exploiting young people, particularly recent graduates, often illegally. Regardless of the employment law solicitors’ angry protestations, companies who use interns and even the interns themselves call it experience. So is it exploitation or experience?
Some industries tend to use interns more than others. The fashion industry is guilty as charged. Recent media reports have included claims by some former fashion interns that they have previously been expected to work over twelve hour days for months on end with no real prospect of paid employment afterwards. Indeed, there are claims that in many establishments, interns far outnumber paid employees. This shows that too many companies in many industries have begun to rely on the intern for unpaid work.
Minimum wage laws, say employment law solicitors, mean that oftentimes companies which do not pay interns are breaking the law. They say that stating that someone is an intern does not mean that they don’t have to be paid. Legally, if a person is engaged for a long period of time, on a regular basis, carrying out work that is core to a company then they are to be considered an employee and paid fairly and legally. Some employment law solicitors have dealt with cases of disgruntled former interns who were not paid and have won them backdated pay at the minimum wage. Unfortunately, such cases have not set the precedent that campaigners had hoped and the situation remains largely unchanged.
Furthermore, campaigners point out that internships are actually damaging for graduate employment. The rise of graduates willing to work for free has largely restricted the number of paid entry-level roles available. At the end of the day, would you pay a new graduate to do a job when another would do it 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.
Tags: Breaking The Law, Campaigners, Employment Companies, employment law, employment law solicitors, Establishments, Fashion Industry, Fashion Interns, Free Employment, Graduate Employment, Job, Law Internships, Minimum Wage Laws, New Graduate, Period Of Time, Recent Graduates, Unpaid Work