Interns

Whether or not interns are protected from discrimination will normally depend on whether they are workers (see Interns: Chapter 2, page 50). Some interns may be able to claim protection as recipients of work experience.

Volunteers and interns do have some limited rights in the workplace, including the right to protection from personal (including psychiatric) injury or injury caused by a criminal offence, statutory protection under the employer’s duty to take reasonable care of their health and safety and for very serious cases of harassment, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Unions and other campaigners maintain that it is unacceptable for interns to have such limited protection under the EA 10, especially given the power imbalance in the relationship between employer and intern and the resulting potential for exploitation.