Tribunal victory for unpaid intern

An intern who worked for a publishing company has recently won her employment tribunal claim for unpaid wages and holiday pay.

The intern worked unpaid for two months for the My Village Website and was personally responsible for a team of writers, scheduling articles and even hiring new interns. Despite not having a written contract the tribunal found that the intern was a worker and therefore entitled to be paid at least the national minimum wage and holiday pay.

Other unpaid interns are encouraged to speak up

The National Union of Journalists, who supported the intern, has subsequently encouraged other interns who believe they are entitled to be paid to contact the union.

This case follows a successful claim by a film extra to be paid the uk national minimum wage. Despite the film extra signing agreements with production companies saying the work he was doing was unpaid he was successful in his claim for unpaid wages.

Both these cases follow the governments recent publication of a strategy, ‘Opening Doors, Breaking Barriers’, aimed at increasing social mobility. Under the scheme employers are encouraged to open up their recruitment processes and offer financial support to their interns. The strategy suggests that failure to pay interns may breach national minimum wage laws and that updated guidance will clarify all parties’ legal rights and responsibilities.

In light of these recent developments companies who take on interns may wish to review the terms on which they are engaged. 

For more employment law advice or to comment on this article contact us to speak to a member of our Employment Law Team.