Interns and National Minimum Wage

Guidance providing greater clarity for businesses who offer work experience, placements and internships has been published by the government.

The updated guidance from Business Link and DirectGov includes advice on the payment of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for work experience staff and interns, and clarifies when someone is entitled to this payment. The guidance also includes a new worker checklist for employers and examples of case studies, which aims to make sure that those who are entitled to the NMW receive it.

Entitlement to the NMW does not depend on a job title but on whether the arrangement they have with an organisation makes them a worker for NMW purposes. Where an individual is a worker — and no exemption applies — then they must be paid at least the NMW.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “The growing misuse of interns is becoming one of the biggest abuses of the minimum wage.”

But he said that “guidance alone won’t end this abuse and it needs to be backed up with tougher enforcement of the minimum wage”.

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/content/Detail.aspx?ReleaseID=421229&NewsAreaID=2&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bis-news+%28BIS+News%29

www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1081657912

www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-20061-f0.cfm