Are interns protected from discrimination?

The protection of interns from discrimination is likely to depend on whether they can establish the existence of a contract to perform work personally. This is the same as the argument as to whether or not interns are entitled to the National Minimum Wage (see Interns: Chapter 2).

It is worth noting, however, that in X v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau ([2012] UKSC 59), interns received some words of encouragement from the Judge who confirmed that some interns “might well be covered” by Article 3(1)(b) of the European Framework Directive, on the basis that they are receiving “practical work experience.” Article 3(1)(b) bans discrimination by both public and private sector employers in “access to all types and to all levels of vocational guidance, vocational training, advanced vocational training and retraining, including practical work experience”.