Discrimination and whistleblowing

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Genuine volunteers are not protected from discrimination or harassment by the employment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau [2012] UKSC 59). This is again because of the absence of a binding contract personally to do work. Without a binding legal contract (written or oral), there can be no protection under the employment provisions. However, other possible routes to protection against discrimination under the Act for interns and volunteers include:

• the vocational training or work experience provisions (see section 56(6) EA 10); and

• the “service user” provisions of the EA 10, as users of services (EA 10 Part 3).

In the case of extremely severe (i.e. bordering on criminal) acts of harassment, there is also the protection offered by the Protection from Harassment Act 1987.

It is unacceptable that interns have such limited protection under the Equality Act 2010, especially given the power imbalance between an intern and an employer, and the opportunities for exploitation that this creates.

Without the status of a “worker”, an intern is similarly not protected from detriment if they engage in whistleblowing under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. In 2014, the government confirmed that it will not be acting on a recommendation by the Whistleblowing Commission to extend whistleblowing protection to volunteers and interns.