Campaigning developments
[ch 9: page 72]To date, political campaigns have focused on the need for internships to be paid. In May 2014, the House of Commons debated the future of unpaid internships. The motion before the House was for unpaid internships to be ended altogether, or alternatively, for the introduction, through legislation, of a “four-week rule”. Under this kind of rule, any unpaid work experience at one employer would be capped at a maximum of four weeks, after which the intern would automatically become a “worker” entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. These proposals, if enacted, would not impact on genuine volunteering or university placement exemptions. The proposals were welcomed by Intern Aware as a “huge step forward” for the campaign to end unpaid internships.