Interns in the voluntary sector

Loaded: Wed, 22/05/2013 - 11:11

Unite and Interns Aware have published a report examining the practice of unpaid internships and full time, long term volunteering across the third sector.

The report surveyed 206 student/graduate interns alongside sector wide research on unpaid internships. Key findings from the report include:

  • Nearly two-thirds of interns surveyed thought that at least the minimum wage was fair as the appropriate level of pay
  • 53% of those interns on expenses-only thought that unpaid internships were not justifiable
  • Based on Charity Commission data from 2013, more than a third of the top 50 charity employers in England and Wales did not pay their interns.

The report also recommended that internships masquerading as volunteering opportunities to evade paying the national minimum wage regulations should cease, alongside arguing that unpaid internships in the voluntary sector breed significant elitism against those who cannot afford to work unpaid for three months or more.

For further information and to download the full report visit www.unitetheunion.org/news/nopayforcharityinternsbreedselitismsaysnewreport.

Tags: 
Children, Young People & Families