Professional Documents
Culture Documents
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
September 10 2010
Dear David,
The National Minimum Wage Act (1998) is very clear: all those who are
‘working’ must be paid the made the national minimum wage. For workers
aged 22 and older it is currently £5.80 an hour. Under the Act, a ‘worker’
is someone who has a contract of employment or any other contract that
requires the individual to carry out work or services for another party.
This legal position of a worker is not changed by the employer calling the
worker an ‘intern’; a term with no legal recognition.
Intern Aware
info@internaware.org
The National Minimum Wage Act has, until recently, had a history of poor
enforcement with regard to interns. However, this is changing. Last
November an expenses-only intern won £2000 for wages unpaid at the
Reading employment tribunal while later this year, the Low Pay
Commission is expected to recommend the proper enforcement of the
minimum wage for interns.
The unpaid work you advertise exploits young people desperate for
stronger CVs in a tough recession job market. The advert shows MPs
happy to talk about social mobility and equal opportunities in front of
cameras, yet unwilling to practice what they preach. This abuse by MPs is
widespread and threatens to further damage the reputation of a
Parliament undermined by the expenses scandal. We ask that you pay all
current and future interns at least the national minimum wage.
This open letter and your response will be posted on our website at
http://internaware.org. We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Intern Aware
info@internaware.org