UK government institutions are making a concerted effort to undermine employers who fail to pay their interns. Earlier this year, the University for the Creative Arts and Goldsmiths stopped advertising employers seeking unpaid work from students.

HM Revenue and Customs has also recently announced that they are targeting 200 employers in order to enforce legislation that stipulates minimum wage for full-time interns. The problem is extensive: estimates by the Trades Union Congress suggest that as many as 250,000 workers are not receiving sufficient pay.

With 950,000 young adults unemployed in the UK, and the rate of joblessness for under-25s rising to 3.74 times what it is for older people, the question of the unpaid internship is more pressing than ever. The graduate without a future is a stock character of our age, and many consider these positions as their only way into the workplace.

The intern’s motivation is obvious: by taking on unpaid jobs, workers gain contacts and experience, and can hope for a more interesting or highly paid career later. Indeed, keeping one eye on the future seems to be the main argument for why students should work unpaid, and employers are able to recruit young workers worried about future prospects.

While work experience obviously has its advantages, detractors claim that such schemes are exploitative. Opponents commonly employ terms such as ‘slave labour’ to attack non-paying employers, and argue that interns should not undertake unpaid work that would otherwise be done by paid employees. Intern Aware points out that: “Under employment law, people who work set hours, do set tasks and contribute value to an organisation are ‘workers’ and are entitled to the minimum wage.”

However, the competition for placements is intense, and as a result many students are willing to work for free, even under conditions that might be considered illegal. As a result, companies have little incentive to offer paid schemes, making opportunities even scarcer for those who simply cannot afford to work for free. The latter consideration has lead opponents of the practice to argue that unpaid internships exacerbate inequalities. 

Interns fighting their own corner are in some cases finding success. In September last year, Chris Jarvis, a games intern, won £4,600 in a settlement with Sony for his time working for them in Cambridge. Disillusioned intern Alex Dudson took a different course of action, and launched Intern magazine. He told the Guardian that he encourages people to remember that they contribute value, and try to get out as much as they put in.

Opposing unpaid work also has its drawbacks. Katie Mills, responsible for student enterprise and employability at the University of the Arts London, claims that some employers withdrew internship advertisements when they were informed that legislation dictated they should pay interns. Internships are difficult to secure under normal circumstances, and reducing the number available could be denying opportunities to students. Josh Matthews, a second-year mathematician at King’s College, suggests a compromise may be necessary: “Students should consider the experience itself as a part payment, but businesses should at least offer compensation to cover expenses.”

Many organistions aim to clarify students’s internship rights. Intern Aware help interns take action over unfairly paid employment, and the Cambridge Careers Service offers free advice and in some cases bursaries for students on work placements.