Universities veto adverts for unpaid interns

A growing number of Britain’s leading institutions are refusing to advertise unpaid internships, arguing that they are discriminatory and exploitative.

Oxford, York, Leeds, Liverpool, Essex, Sussex and Nottingham are among the universities that took this decision after Labour MP Hazel Blears’ bill to make advertising unpaid internships illegal was delayed until at least next year.

Many of those universities have expressed concerns that unpaid internships discriminate against economically disadvantaged students, who cannot afford to work for free.

Applying for unpaid internships in the hope of breaking into competitive professions has become common practice among students and graduates. A recent YouGov survey, commissioned by the National Union of Students, found that 20 percent of students aged 18-34 had done an unpaid internship, compared with only two to three percent of people who were of the same age 30 to 40 years ago.

Additionally, recent research by the Trades Union Congress suggests that only 12 percent of young people can afford to work away from home for free.

Warwick University has a long-standing policy of not advertising any internship that does not meet the national minimum wage, unless it lasts less than four weeks or is for a charity. Oxford and Sussex now have similar policies.

The University of York has issued a warning to its students to limit their involvement in an unpaid internship to a maximum of eight weeks.

However, Cambridge University does advertise unpaid internships and each year offers 60 bursaries worth £500 to students who take “their own personal decision” to apply for unpaid opportunities.

Cambridge has said that it had enjoyed several successes in convincing organisations to offer contributions towards travel and subsistence coasts or a cheque at the end of the placement.

Legally, if an internship position requires set working hours and has defined responsibilities, it is defined as a job and the intern is entitled to the minimum wage. HM Revenue and Customs is currently investigating 100 firms that may have broken these laws through their use of unpaid interns.

Although Warwick holds that it is wrong to offer unpaid work unless you are a charity or not-for-profit organisation, it runs a scheme to support students who source unpaid internships for themselves. The Warwick Work Experience Bursary Scheme offers up to £200 for students undertaking unpaid work experience and internships.