Are Unpaid Internships Legal? And Should You Do One?

In the UK, if you’re working for an employer then you’re almost always guaranteed the right to a national minimum wage with very few exceptions. That said, where there are legal loopholes, you’ll always find unscrupulous people willing to capitalise on an opportunity.

So let’s break down everything you need to know about internships, how and when they’re legal, what the benefits are, and whether you should consider one.

What Is An Internship?

When they start their careers, many people believe that the most valuable thing they can have is good qualifications. Qualifications are important but they’re nothing compared to experience.

Enter internships. An internship is a type of employment that lasts up to one year and allows you to gain work experience. They are generally low paying roles with the idea being that while you’re not being paid as much, you’re gaining the kind of experience that will make you far more valuable to future employers. Put simply, it’s a way of getting your foot through the door.

How & When Are Unpaid Internships Legal?

Under specific circumstances, unpaid internships can be legal depending on your employment status. As far as the law is concerned there are essentially four relevant statuses:

• Students – A student isn’t officially an employment status but can override an employment status if an internship is part of a higher educational program. Students do not need to be paid as part of an internship.
• Volunteers – To classify as a volunteer you must be unpaid and work for a charitable organisation. A company cannot classify you as a volunteer unless both those criteria are true.
• Workers – If a company pays you to do work, then you are a worker and you are entitled to a national minimum wage along with other employment rights.
• Employees – An employee is a worker with an employment contract and is entitled to further legal rights.

To clarify, students and volunteers are unpaid while workers and employees are paid. If you don’t count as a student or a volunteer then you should be paid for your work.

Why Unpaid Internships Are A Problem?

While unpaid internships are rare and the law generally protects workers from being exploited through them, they can nonetheless be problematic for some industries. Certain jobs expect a level of experience before they’re willing to take you on and if the only way to get that experience is via an unpaid internship, then this creates a serious problem.

In practice, only those who can support themselves without an income for a year are able to take on these kinds of roles. This creates a filtering system that massively benefits those with wealthy backgrounds. This, along with the massive potential for worker exploitation, is why the law is so strict about limiting when and where businesses can offer unpaid internships.

Is an Unpaid Internship Still Worth It?

First and foremost, we’d like to say that you should always think very carefully before accepting any offer to do work without financial recompense. There are plenty of people and companies out there who will tell you that working for free is in your benefit and that’s almost always untrue.

If someone is trying to get you to work for them without paying you, then they’re probably not somebody you want to work for at all.

With that said, there are a few circumstances under which it may be worth considering an unpaid internship, so long as you know what you’re getting into and you’re not being pressured to do it.

If you’re a student and your circumstances allow for it, then a higher education program with a year’s internship is a very practical way to gain work experience and start making connections at a younger age. Furthermore it can help to streamline the process of finding that work yourself—a job that can be challenging and stressful.

Unpaid internships may also be worth considering if they’re part time. In the case of volunteering, a part time internship for a cause you’re genuinely passionate about can be both personally rewarding and excellent for your CV. That said, you never need to do an unpaid internship.

There are lots of paid internship programs out there that can give you all the advantages of an internship without forcing you to spend a year getting by on next to no money. There are also lots of ways to build experience outside of traditional employment, especially if you’re comfortable with the idea of self employment.

The bottom line is that while unpaid internships have their place, it should always be clear and apparent what you’re getting out of it. Experience can be very valuable for your career but never forget that the work you do is real work. If your employer is making money out of the work you do, then you should be being compensated for it.