Unpaid interns earn their rights

The more work you do as an intern, the more likely that your employer will have to pay you.

A graduate interning at a fashion PR company was recently told by her supervisor that all the interns in the company photocopy and stuff envelopes and if they don’t like it, then they must quit. They may not even use the sugar for in the tea or coffee, the explanation for that is ridiculous. It’s because the sugar is for the staff and the clients.

Interns Anonymous, a website set up by two graduates where interns can share their experiences (good and bad). Most interns don’t understand why they don’t get paid for their work that they do during the internship. Employers are more than willing to take on graduates to work for them for free. Unpaid work experience is part of boosting your CV, but the turning point comes when they become the equivalent of a full-time job that they are doing for nothing.

Rosy Rickett, one of the founders of Interns Anonymous, says: ‘My friends and I always assumed that an internship was a necessary but useful step to gaining work. But when we started them, we questioned how useful they really were.’ One friend did an internship at a major commercial art gallery where employers had been fired and replaced with five unpaid interns instead. Interns don’t get contracts and don’t have the same rights as the staff. However, the more work an intern does for the employer, the more likely the employer will have to pay them.

Graduates really want to learn, to gain experience so that they have a chance when they want to apply for a paid job, but they risk losing a good reference that could help them on their way once the internship is over when they complain.

Phil Willis, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, estimates that interns do 18 000 hours of unpaid work weekly.

I think that it’s really important for graduates to do an internship, but they must get a minimum wage. As you can see, many employers use graduates to replace staff members who they have fired. That is unfair and not done. Graduates work really hard during their internship because they want to prove themselves. It is important to have a good reference when you apply for a job so they work hard, but they should get a minimum wage in return.

Daphné V.E.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/nov/14/graduates-interns-unpaid-employment-rights