While many firms will be bringing university students and graduates into their firm for internship programmes during the summer months, employers could be breaking the law by failing to give them the same rights as other workers. 

According to education think tank the Sutton Trust, there are an estimated 21,000 people carrying out unpaid internships at any one time. Employment lawyers, Deminos' MD Neil Atkinson said: “While unpaid summer internships were once the norm in industries such as the arts, media, fashion and politics, the climate is definitely changing. “There’s a difference between offering a student a week of work experience where they are there to shadow existing staff and get a flavour of the working environment, and taking on an intern for several weeks when they are expected to carry out duties like those done by employees.”

Deminos, which has Employment Law and HR specialists based in Gateshead, London and Reading, is urging employers to be aware of their obligations to interns. An intern’s rights depend on their employment status and whether they are classed as a worker, a volunteer or an employee. A worker will have rights such as earning the national minimum wage and protection from discrimination, while an employee will be entitled to additional rights, such as statutory sick pay and the right to request flexible working.

Neil Atkinson said: “In most cases, companies are under an obligation to treat people they take on for an internship programme as workers, and to pay them the national minimum wage. Many employers mistakenly believe there is some sort of grey area when it comes to taking on unpaid interns, as long as both parties understand and agree that it is a voluntary position. But that is definitely not the case. If interns are expected to work a certain number of hours, they are set tasks to do and they add value to a business, then they are classed as a worker and you need to pay them the national minimum wage. The only exceptions to this rule are charities.Employers who don’t comply with legislation could lay themselves open to legal action.”