Key takeaways
Government reviews unpaid work practices
Seeking input on internships, trials, and volunteering.
Minimum wage rules under fresh scrutiny
Concerns raised over misclassified and unpaid roles.
Employers encouraged to share experiences
Help shape future policy by submitting evidence
Call for evidence on unpaid internships, volunteering, work trials and work experience
The Department for Business and Trade has recently launched a call for evidence in relation to unpaid internships, volunteering and other forms of work experience, with a particular focus on the interaction with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rules. This will run until 9 October 2025.
In summary, the call for evidence specifically seeks evidence from employers and other stakeholders in relation to the following areas:
Unpaid internships/paid below NMW: although the government recognises that internships can allow young people to gain the skills and experience needed to succeed in their careers, it is worried that some unpaid interns are performing work that is indistinguishable from that performed by paid workers and internships are being misclassified by some employers to avoid paying interns NMW.
Unpaid work trials: the government recognises that these can be used as part of a genuine recruitment exercise to test if a candidate has the skills and qualities required for the job, but is concerned that extended unpaid work trials in real, as opposed to simulated, work environments may be being exploited to avoid payment of NMW.
Voluntary workers: this has a specific meaning for minimum wage purposes and these individuals do not qualify for NMW because they work on a voluntary basis for a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fundraising body, a specified statutory body (e.g. English Heritage) or a community amateur sports club and receive nothing more than the reimbursement of expenses. The government wishes to better understand how these organisations engage and deploy these voluntary workers.
Volunteers: a true volunteer will not qualify for NMW because they are not workers – they typically provide their time and effort completely freely, can come and go as they please, are under no obligations to provide work/services, cannot be made to perform specific duties and do not suffer any sanctions if they do not perform their duties. The government wishes to better understand how organisations engage and deploy these volunteers.
Work shadowing: the government recognises that work shadowing can be a valuable, informal learning experience. Someone doing a genuine work shadowing placement will be observing others perform work, as opposed to performing work themselves, and will not therefore be entitled to receive NMW. However, the government wishes to better understand how work shadowing operates in practice, and the potential benefits and drawbacks of these arrangements.
