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Intern Awareinfo@internaware.org 
Neil Carmichael MPHouse of CommonsLondonSW1A 0AASeptember 10 2010Dear Neil,We are writing to you in response to your recent advertisement for unpaidinterns on µW4MP¶ and to warn that you may be at risk of breachingemployment law.The National Minimum Wage Act (1998) is very clear: all those who are µworking¶ must be paid the made the national minimum wage. For workersaged 22 and older it is currently £5.80 an hour. Under the Act, a µworker¶ is someone who has a contract of employment or any other contract thatrequires the individual to carry out work or services for another party.This legal position of a worker is not changed by the employer calling theworker an µintern¶; a term with no legal recognition.One of the law¶s few exemptions is for µvoluntary workers¶, peoplesupporting charities or other third sector organisations. However, MPguidelines produced by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skillsstate that µMembers¶ interns can never be classed as voluntary workersunder national minimum wage legislation... Once an individual comesunder an obligation to perform activities in accordance with theemployer¶s instructions and becomes subject to a sufficient degree of obligation to undertake tasks just like a worker or employee, or theindividual fulfils an actual job, national minimum wage should be paid¶.Glendon Salter, an employment lawyer at Hogan Lovells, confirms that µif interns are required to work a set number of hours eachday and/or are obliged to perform certain duties or provide services, is itlikely that they would be deemed to be a worker and therefore be entitledto receive the national minimum wage.¶ It is clear that your listing advertises unpaid work, as opposed to µworkexperience¶ (which amounts to shadowing employers and making limitedor no contribution to the organisation¶s running). You specify that routinework, which would otherwise be carried out by a paid employee, is to becompleted by the intern. You list duties you expect your interns to carryout including: µmonitoring the local, regional and national press,¶ and µhelping with the general administration of the office¶. You are clearly
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