Against – Unpaid Internships

Why internships are bad for the mind, body and soul.

Internships are sold to us as a way to work for a company and gain experience and potentially (we’re often promised) receive a job offer at the end of it. In reality an internship is a way for big companies who earn lots of money to exploit young budding professionals in having them work for free.

The idea of interning has always been a huge and important avenue to go down in the United States of America. Its almost a right of passage for a lot of young Americans, a lot of the internships out there are full of vital experience, are often paid or the intern is severely looked after, and more often than not leads to a position at that company. The United Kingdom has taken the premise and banished all the good and prosperous things about it.

Due to the economic crisis many companies felt financial pressure and looked to find ways of getting labour with less of an impact on their bank balances. This led to many companies offering out interns to the increasing number of unemployed young people and giving them the false hope that they may gain a job at the end of it. Legally in the UK a ‘worker’ at a company must be paid minimum wage, volunteers however do not. There has been much speculation whether an intern counts as a worker or a volunteer but the facts are these. If a person must be in a particular place at set times to perform set tasks on a day-to-day basis then they are considered to be workers. If a person has random hours, carries out multiple tasks and doesn’t need to be present at set times or days then this person would be considered a volunteer. As many internships are outlined like full time job and are even advertised on job websites then it would seem that the person is being hired as a worker and is therefore entitled to minimum wage. Instead companies will offer to pay for your lunch and your gruelling commute and are happy to call it quits.

If internships were unpaid but just like any other job then all could be forgiven. Unfortunately this isn’t the case, interns are generally considered bottom of the heap in most workplaces and therefore aren’t treated with the respect and gratitude that they are owed – which is a huge punch in the face to those with degrees and qualifications who are forced to take on internships due to the economical crisis. If getting treated like crap by someone who thinks they are better than you isn’t bad enough, interns are also treated like personal assistants a lot of the time with many young people left wondering how doing the shredding, or going to get everyone coffee, or picking up office rubbish is the amazing work experience they were promised.

Internships are physically, emotionally, mentally and financially draining and should not be allowed. If someone needs a job then a job is what he or she should get. Instead so many people are met with hard work, exploitative treatment, empty promises and perhaps worst of all, empty pockets.

Tell us what you think! Are you For or Against internships?