My story: after a period of indecision over my future following University along with lots of travelling abroad, I got an internship working for a group of public sector bodies. To give you an overview, they wanted to compile a report looking at how the region could adapt to the effects of climate change (increased flooding, higher temperatures, higher rainfall etc). They could’ve hired an environmental consultant who would’ve cost ££££, instead they wanted to help graduates get some experience, so they got 3 interns in.

I was given a set project: researching and writing case studies for the report over a 5 month period on 15 hrs a week (ed: this works out about 10 quid an hour). In return I got industry contacts, constant support, career advice, free training, goals for the project and they let me lead on organising a workshop for victims of flooding. What was even better was they paid me £3,000 for the whole thing and I worked from home, keeping costs down.

My view is we both got a lot of this arrangement. They got a solid piece of work at a low price and I got not just a job, but a career: I’ve since gone on to get full time employment in the climate change and environmental field off the back of this work.

It’s a fascinating area to work in and I’d never have thought of it as a potential role for me if it weren’t for this internship. Support, a small salary and supervision over a short time period is all graduates need, it’s not difficult. I want to encourage employers to see that internships can be incredibly productive for both parties; they just need to stop thinking that they can exploit the good will, hard work and knowledge of young people looking for a start in their lives.

We are really interested in hearing about your experiences of internships. Are you doing identical work as paid employees? Are you producing reports and articles that are subsequently used and yet you receive no pay? Have you seen entry level jobs replaced with rolling internships?

We are especially interested in how employers have encouraged interns to work for no pay. Have you been promised a reference that has never appeared? Have you been promised paid work in the future? Have you even been threatened with blacklisting if you fail to complete an internship?

We need as much evidence as possible to convince the Government that this is a real and pressing problem and we want to hear from the widest possible group of interns. PLEASE HELP and email us- <internsanonymous at gmail.com>!

I know it's a cliche but you can't beat a bit of good old fashioned propaganda

Calling upon the latest case law, our own surveys and academic research we argue:

-    That nearly all Parliamentary interns are performing work and are therefore due the National Minimum Wage.
-    That internships exclude too many and shrink the gene pool of those able to work for MPs.
-    That since the resources necessary to undertake internships (access to contacts, access to London and access to money) are not equally distributed amongst people from different ethnic backgrounds and those with a disabilities, internships are a form of indirect discrimination. Consequently, any decision to continue to allow unpaid internships is incompatible with IPSA’s obligations under the Equality Act to promote equality of opportunity for all.

Our submission ends by concluding that:

We believe the best way to ensure that politics as a career is open to all and to ensure that MPs have excellent candidates to call upon when recruiting staff is for the present system to be abolished and replaced with paid apprenticeships run over the summer and Easter recesses [so student accommodation can be utilised for those not currently living in London].

To read our submission in full click here: Letter from Intern Aware and Interns Anonymous to IPSA

Brilliant media coverage. Highlights here, here, here and here. 

It even included Uni Minister David Willetts saying:

…the exploitation of interns is unacceptable and employment legislation must not be breached

IPSA have said they will create a standard contract for the employment of parliamentary interns, but they won’t include payment. This still seems at odds with National Minimum Wage Laws. Only last week the Low Pay Commission reported on non-compliance with minimum wage laws in politics.

Phil Willis MP, who has been an ardent campaigner for interns’ rights, said:

Once inflation, contributions to National Insurance and staff pensions have been taken into account, staffing budgets are effectively reduced under the new scheme. Not only have IPSA failed to make payment for interns mandatory, but by reducing the resources available they have made it even less likely than MPs will be able to do so.

So not only have they decided not to comply with the law – they are also reducing the opportunities for young people to gain access to parliament.