Fifth of firms use ‘cheap’ interns

Unpaid interns are being used by almost a fifth of British businesses to complete work cheaply and help protect profits during uncertain economic times, a survey has claimed.

Some 218 managers in the UK responded to the study, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of the social enterprise Internocracy.

It found that 17% of firms employed interns as a cheap form of labour, while 95% recognised that interns were “useful to their organisation”.

The research also highlighted a lack of knowledge on employment law, with only 12% of managers and 10% of young people stating they knew that unpaid internships could be illegal.

Becky Heath, chief executive of Internocracy, which develops internship placements for employers, said: “It’s a real shame that young people don’t know their employment rights.

“Conversely it is disappointing that businesses don’t understand what interns are worth and the new talent, energy and enthusiasm they bring to the workplace.”

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has stated that last summer, up to 250,000 young people could have been on work experience schemes in companies across the UK – with the vast majority believed to be unpaid.

Independent body the Low Pay Commission and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who spoke out against unpaid internships earlier this month, have called for tougher rules to be enforced on employers.

National minimum wage legislation states that if people aged over 21 are conducting tasks that are defined as “work”, then they are entitled to be paid a minimum of £6.08 an hour.

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