Architectural Assistants and Employment Rights

Modern Slavery: A Toxic Industry, Unpaid Overtime and Exploitation

Ines Amorim Liborio

15001655

Word Count: 3911

AR7023 - Advocacy: Practice Beyond Aesthetics

Content

Introduction 4

State of Affairs 6

Working in a small vs large practice 12

Code of Conduct 17

Conclusion 22

Bibliography 25

Illustrations 28

Appendix A 29

Appendix B 31

Appendix C 33

Appendix D 34
Introduction

Given rise to modern slavery, the intention of this essay is to

ultimately highlight the issues of working in a professional
practice, propose changes to the current Architect’s Profes-
sional Code of Conduct1 that will seek to alter the modus
operandi within the architectural practices and suggest ways
this could unfold in a harmonious way and considerate of the
Duty of Care. Whilst advocating for architectural assistant’s
rights. With the current challenges that architectural practices
are facing such as post-brexit, interest rates and delays on the
planning process, little is spoken about the relationship archi-
tect-architect, the meaning employer-employee. In particular,
the roles of architectural assistants who, in a long-run, are the
future of the architectural profession. The mistreat towards ar-
chitectural assistant due to the toxic industry and work culture
in the field of architecture goes far beyond of only a few cases
in England. “In the face of such challenges, many architectural
assistants feel that they are lucky to be afforded any opportu-
nity in practice. This further enables a culture of exploitation
during employment. Due to a lack of job security, architectural
assistants are particularly vulnerable to professional exploita-
tion with unpaid overtime a norm in professional practice,
salaries below living wage, and discrimination on the basis
of gender and ethnicity at all levels of the profession.”2 a
statement by the Future Architects Front (FAF) presented in
an open letter, signed by over 1800 students and architectural
assistants, addressed to the senior management of the Royal
Institute of British Architects, Alan Jones. Jones has then issued
a response back, agreeing with the points that had been made
and committing to act on them. His efforts have been per-
ceived with skepticism, one can’t be absorbed by the ideas of

1 A code that sets the standards and provides guidance on practicing architecture.
2 An Open Letter to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Future Architects Front. January, 2021

4
change when architectural practices exploit and mistreat their
employees so deliberately. It keeps happening, in spite of how
many letters are sent, protests made and complaints written.
Something needs to change.

5
State of Affairs

To commence, it is opportune to look at how difficult it is to

find a job after graduating and consider if architecture schools
are providing the students with the knowledge they need in
order to start working at an architectural practice. Or are prac-
tices exclusively the one to blame as they seek experienced em-
ployees for a junior position that is expected to provide them
with the experience they need in the first place? A job found
advertised on Dezeen (see fig.2) shows a part 1 architectural
assistant vacancy for a London RIBA chartered practice, high-
lighting the ideal candidate would have minimum three years
of professional experience working in the UK. The majority
of recent graduate students are faced with the conundrum of
trying to find a job without experience, but to get experience
they need to primarily get a job, the cycle goes on and at some
point they find themselves in the toxic working industry. An
industry that not only pays low wages, sometimes not comply-
ing with the RIBA Salary Guide, but that also provides unpaid
internships when, legally, workers have the right to be paid, at
least, the national minimum wage. Unpaid internships have
not been supported by the RIBA since 2011, hence the point 6.8
saying members who employ students must pay them fairly3 being
added to the code of conduct, but it still happens, “I was em-
ployed for an internship and wasn’t paid for the first 3 months
(…) would take me over an hour to get to work from North
London but they were paying me travel expenses.”4. This
means every single chartered practice who act in this way are
in breach of the code of conduct. The essence of the role, from
a student to a qualified architect, means that recent graduates
and even experienced assistants become easy targets for the
industry to profit from their work taking advantage of low cost

3 ‘RIBA Code of Professional Conduct 2021 <https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resourc-

es-landing-page/code-of-professional-conduct#available-resources>[accessed2Februarv20211.P.14
4 Interview. Sade Davies Thomas,. 2023 (Appendix C)

6
Fig. 2 Dezeen Job Advert (Source: Dezeen)

7
 labour.5 An unpaid internship is classed as a period of time
during which someone works for an organisation or a compa-
ny aiming to gain experience of a particular type of work6 and
or to fulfil educational requirements, the works undertaken
as an intern are still subject to the same codes of practice and
legislations as the other employees. Cases of unpaid overtime
could also fall onto the same category as unpaid interns as
they are equally required to work to high standards whilst not
receiving any payment for their extra time. To this effect, em-
ployers are exploiting their employees and profiteering from
their work with no financial burden. So although, theoretically,
the two are seen differently, they both share a common truth:
time for no money.

In March of 2021, the Architect’s Journal (AJ) has completed

an investigation that involved their commissioning a survey,
where 1500 part 1 and part 2 architectural assistants took part.
From analysing the statistical significance data it is feasible to
assume that the biggest concerns are unpaid overtime, which
implies that several RIBA chartered architectural practices are
indeed exploiting their employees, and pay below national liv-
ing wage. Out of 1500 students, 88% were never paid overtime
moreover 48% of part 1 assistants and 15% of part 2 assistants
at chartered practices are paid less than the Real Living Wage.
With the cost of living rising and a deluged student loan after
studying 3/5 plus years, how can architectural assistants pre-
serve their physical and mental health wellbeing with below
minimum wage salaries, working vast unpaid overtime hours
and few to no disposable income at the end of the month?
They don’t - “I was employed as an internship and wasn’t paid

5 Ella Jessel, “AJ Investigation: Architectural Assistants Break Silence on Poor Working Practices,” The
Architects’ Journal, May 27, 2022, https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/aj-investigation-architectural-assis-
tants-break-silence-on-poor-working-practices.

8
for the first 3 months, then changed contract and started as an
architectural assistant with a salary way below London living
wage.”7 - Sade Davies sharing her experience, this was a con-
tributing factor in not pursuing her part 2 qualification. The
survey shows 48% of people are less likely to want to qualify
as an architect after working in practice. Every year there
are less and less architectural assistants that want to pursue
further studies to obtain the professional status, consequently
having a big impact on the future of the industry.
The United Voices of the World - Section of Architectural
Workers (UVW-SAW) is a newly formed organisation that
aims to ensure that everyone that works in the field is fairly
compensated for it and encourages to collectively take action
against unpaid overtime.8 The need to create a trade union
to help fight the negative impacts on this industry through
events and campaigns goes without saying. The AJ’s survey
also shows that since the RIBA introduced their Code of Prac-
tice9 in 2017 they have received 27 formal complaints about
chartered practices in regards to malpractice, exploitation and
overtime, and none of them have been sacked or suspended.
“Seven were referred to a hearing and, of those seven, one con-
cerned potential employment issues. That case was dismissed
by the hearing panel”10 Jolliffe - a qualified architect and a
publisher writer - was told when approaching the RIBA about
the charges mentioned by the AJ and the FAF. Is it worth it to
take a stand? The RIBA is aware of the situation and it has pre-
sented a new framework called the RIBA Compact11, admitting
there is a need for a change and these issues need to be recti-
fied. Since 2021, both the RIBA and the FAF started meeting
to debate initial actions on how to improve the industry and

7 Interview with Sade Davies, part 1 architectural assistant. January 2023

8 “Section of Architectural Workers (SAW),” UVW, accessed October 25, 2022, https://www.uvwunion.org.uk/
en/sectors/architectural-workers/.
9 RIBA’s Code of Practice for Chartered Practice sets out principles and professional standards that practices must
follow.
10 Eleanor Jolliffe, “Put Self-Interest aside and Focus on the Future of the Profession,” Building Design, March
2, 2021, https://www.bdonline.co.uk/opinion/put-self-interest-aside-and-focus-on-the-future-of-the-profes-
sion/5110671.article. 9
11 an ethical framework with a series of obligations for students, practices and schools of architecture and the RIBA
to meet.
 what to do in the future in order to improve the roles of part 1
and part 2 architectural assistants on their architectural career
paths. But the truth is, all the issues are still happening. We are
experiencing unethical business conduct for decades and it is
profoundly impacting members at the start of their careers. In
2013, Angela Brady, former president of the RIBA, had already
announced that any practice going against the code will have
their accreditation revoked and urged all architectural assis-
tants to come forward and contact the RIBA with their issues.12
But were people then just accepting the state of affairs that
this culture had impregnated on their employees? Nowadays,
with several more resources, are employees standing to their
employer and taking action when the law is on their side or
joining the UVW-SAW for legal protection? Are the majority
of architects and architectural assistants simply accepting this
status quo and not taking action is it that RIBA encourages
students and employees to report breaches of professional con-
duct but then have a very inefficient approach to change it?

12 Marcus Fairs, “Report Unpaid Architecture Internships, Says RIBA,” Dezeen, February 22, 2023, https://
www.dezeen.com/2013/02/22/report-unpaid-architecture-internships-says-riba-president-angela-brady/.

10
 11
Fig. 3 FAF
Working in a Small vs Working in a Large Practice

Architectural practices are responsible for implementing

overtime culture at the workplaces and the exploitation of
architectural assistants and students due to the amount of im-
mense unpaid hours they work. This chapter seeks to analyse
if there is a difference from working at a larger size practices
or at a smaller size practices, or if overtime and low salaries
are a problem all through the business. To gather an under-
standing of real life precedents, a number of interviews have
been carried out with architectural assistants that have worked
in small and large practices based in London and Essex. The
questions put forward have been centred around gathering
their views with regards to the issues raised in the previous
chapter. In essence, the matter of overtime and salaries and
what approach their employers have taken, if any, towards
these topics.

Firstly, it is worth elaborating that the RIBA have in place

the salary guide that practices should adopt as a minimum.
The salary banding set out within the guide is extensively
researched through the RIBA Business Benchmarking which
takes place every financial year. The study requires chartered
practices to submit business information regarding their an-
nualised revenue, profit and expenditures as well as salaries.
This document determines the salaries by practice size, role,
experience and region. By looking at the Benchmarking, the
difference between the salary of a part 1 architectural assistant
varies from a small size practice (3>5 employees) to a large
one (>100 employees), with salaries varying from the lower
quartile (£19,695) to the upper quartile (£25,000).13 With the
clear disparity of these figures it was important to compare

13 The Fees Bureau, “Business Benchmarking,” accessed December 26, 2022, https://www.architecture.com/
knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/business-benchmarking#available-resources.

12
Fig. 4 Survey from open letter (Source: FAF)

13
 the view from 3 architectural assistants that have the exact
same qualifications. Do their salary reflect their duties and
responsibilities? “Not at all. I work half of the time as practice
manager and half of architectural assistant and I was paid less
than the London Living Wage for the first 8 months.”14 Madali-
na Podgoreanu, works for a small chartered practice (see fig.6
bottom right) in London for over a year now and she has been
employed on a zero-hour contract. When asked about unpaid
overtime she said no one works overtime at her workplace. In
another scenario, Harry Breeden has been employed for a big
size practice (see fig.5 top right) for over 6 years and some-
times feels he does more than he’s qualified for but does not
earn as much as a part 2. When questioned about overtime the
question was “Yes I do work overtime, in particular around
tight projects deadlines (…) within my contract there is a state-
ment that says ‘you maybe be required to work past 5pm to
meet tight deadlines’. The practice doesn’t offer paid overtime
but any work is taken into account”15 According with the Busi-
ness Benchmarking, Madalina is now over a median salary for
a small size practice and Harry is under the upper quartile for
a large practice. I worked unpaid for the first 3 months and
then started getting paid 17.5K.16 Sade Davies was employed
as an intern hence was not paid initially and when she started
getting paid it was certainly under the London Living Wage.
On top of this she was asked to do work out of hours very fre-
quently even on the weekends, without being paid for it. “I am
doing a whole other MA (…) still architecture ish but will not
do part 2. I was getting paid the bare minimum and it’s hard
to imagine a stable future as an architect”17 Sade was working
for a small scale practice, and her salary fell under the low

14 Interview with Madalina Podgoreanu, part 1 architectural assistant. January 2023 (Appendix A)
15 Interview with Harry Breeden, part 1 architectural assistant. January 2023 (Appendix B)
16 Interview with Sade Davies, part 1 architectural assistant. January 2023 (Appendix C)
17 Ibid.

14
 Managing
Partner

Equity Equity Practice Equity Equity Equity

Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner

Management Management Management Executive HR HR

Partner Partner Partner Partner Assistant Adviser

Associate
Partner
Secretary

Fig. 5 Harry’s practice hierarchy

Director
(Principal)

Senior
Architect

Part 1 Part 2

Fig. 6 Madalina’s practice hierarchy 15

 quartile and, in multiples occasions was asked to work unpaid
hours over her contract.
Looking at the Business Benchmarking and comparing the
three architectural assistants from different practices and loca-
tions shows that perhaps architects and assistants that work on
a large scale practice will unquestionably earn a higher salary.
However that does not mean they have better working condi-
tions therefore we need to advocate for a better environment,
so architects kick off their early career giving it the prestige it
deserves.

16
Code of Conduct

Architects, once they qualify, are expected to follow the duty

of care which determines if they are performing to high stand-
ards, whether this is ensuring the best design quality or being
professional with clients. In addition to this, there is also the
code of professional conduct by both the ARB and the RIBA,
that sets the standards and provides guidance to practic-
ing architects. The Architects Registration Board (ARB) was
established by an Act of Parliament - the Architects Act 1997
(c.22).18 It is an independent statutory regulation who manage
the profession in the United Kingdom, ensures standards are
maintained, protects not only the title ‘Architect’ - one must
be registered with the ARB to use this title - but also the cli-
ents.19 On the other hand, the RIBA is an optional professional
membership aside from the ARB that demonstrate architects
are devoted to pursue their professional development.20 Every
architect must be registered with the ARB, nevertheless this
does not imply every architect or practice is required to be
RIBA chartered.

Each institution has their own Code of Conduct to be fol-

lowed. The Architects Code: Standard of Professional Conduct and
Practice set out by the ARB relate more to the business’s code
and the client whilst the Code of Professional Conduct by the
RIBA sets out professional standards and is centred around
the architects. Every member is expected to comply to all of it:
advocate to high standards and constantly strive to improve,
and breaching the code unquestionably leads to disciplinary
action. Both professional frameworks provide guidance on
integrity and competence, which are crucial for architects to
do their job properly. However whilst the RIBA provides some

18 Also known as An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to architects.

19 “The Architects Code: Standards of Professional Conduct and Practice,” accessed January 5, 2023, https://arb.
org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Architects-Code-2017.pdf.

20 “RIBA Code of Professional Conduct,” RIBA, accessed January 14, 2023, https://www.architecture.com/
knowledge-and-resources/resources-landing-page/code-of-professional-conduct.

17
 guidance on relationships, particularly the responsibilities as
an employer towards the employees, the ARB falls short on
providing any direct guidance. Whether there should be more
legislations around the code set by the ARB is undeniable and
some parameters set by the RIBA would be beneficial to have
within the ARB Code of Conduct considering that not all archi-
tects and/or practices are chartered. Taking into consideration
what has been mentioned previously, the RIBA Code of Con-
duct 2021 (see fig.7 on the right) encompasses some parameters
that are relevant to underline:

6.3 Members shall pay their staff fairly and facilitate and encourage
their professional development.

GN 6.3: Members should pay all staff, including freelance staff,

apprentices and students, at least the Living Wage, as defined by
the Living Wage Foundation (…) Members should have clear and
transparent policies in respect of: (a) salaries and pay grades; and (b)
payment for overtime. Members should also have regard to guidance
concerning the gender pay gap (…)

6.5 Members shall have regard of the maximum weekly working

hours and the 48 hour working week under the working time direc-
tive and should ensure that the hours worked by their employees are
reasonable and allow for a healthy work-life balance.

6.8 Members who employ students must:

(a) (as with all staff) provide them with a full written contract of
employment;
(b) pay them fairly;21

21 ‘RIBA Code of Professional Conduct 2021 <https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/resourc-

es-landing-page/code-of-professional-conduct#available-resources>[accessed2Februarv20211.P.14

18
 19
Fig. 7 RIBA Code of Professional Conduct (Source: RIBA)
 On the other hand, it is imperative to acknowledge that even
chartered practices are not complying with the legislations that
they should commit to. In addition to this, both the aforemen-
tioned professional frameworks are not sufficient to ensure the
previous issues can be rectified. Neither of them make mention
to assured both: paid overtime and paid internships.
I, therefore, suggest the Section 6 of the Relationships chapter
of the RIBA: Code of Professional Conduct on Employment
and responsibilities as an employer to be extended in future
editions to include the following points:
6.3.2 Members must pay their staff for every hour they work.
6.9 Members who employ non-students on an internship or
work experience basis must:
(a) (as with all staff) provide them with a full
written contract of employment;
(b) pay them fairly;

Furthermore, considering some architectural practices are not

part of the RIBA, I also suggest to extend the Section 6 of the
Relationships chapter of the RIBA Professional Code of Con-
duct to The Architects Code: Standard of Professional Conduct
and Practice of the ARB.

20
 21
Fig. 8 RIBA Code of Professional Conduct (Source: RIBA)
Conclusion

Architecture schools provide and assure students have the

knowledge to kickoff at a professional practice but at the same
time it still encourages a wrong ideology that is then followed at
some architectural practices. The ideology that students should
study 2/3 hours for every hour they spend in class and work
long days and long nights should be discouraged by the RIBA
and the ARB. “You must attend all timetabled classes and you
will also need to study in your own time. You should expect to
spend 10 hours per week on each module, making a commit-
ment of approximately 40 hours per week for a full-time student,
which should be planned in your diary”22, this can be found
under the Section 3.5 - Studying of the Course Handbook for the
Bachelor of Arts in Architecture (RIBA 1) at the School of Art,
Architecture and Design - LMU. After scrutinising the course
specifications, it is safe to assume that architectural courses do
not allow for a part time job on the side to help with expenses,
which can be quite tough considering the cost of living. For
instance, a student that has 18 hours of scheduled learning per
week, still have 36 to 54 hours of independent work on top of it.
Consequently, the over hours mentality are taken from the early
stages of the universities into the practices. It is imperative that
the issues within the industry starts being tackled by the archi-
tecture schools. Similarly as the Building Regulations are con-
stantly updated to keep up with new legislation so should both
the teaching within the schools of architecture and the codes
of conduct, these identities should establish a benchmark to be
followed by students who intend to pursue the lengthy path to
architectural qualification.

22 “Course Handbook BA Architecture (RIBA 1),” London Metropolitan University - Student Zone, accessed
January 19, 2023, https://student.londonmet.ac.uk/.

22
Once at a practice, although new acts could be added on to the
ARB and RIBA codes of conduct, it is the workforce’s duty to
ensure the ones that already exist are followed and complied to.
Oli Lowrie, director of Ackroyd Lowrie, proudly said: the first
step to opening up the industry so that it can properly support
staff is to pay everyone for every hour they work and this is the
policy that we have brought in with immediate effect at Ackroyd
Lowrie.23 This is a perfect example of a RIBA chartered practice
that praises their employees and, even though they recognise
overtime work is occasionally required, they have changed their
own system. By implementing a policy that caps the amount
of hours their employees work per month but also make sure
they are paid for it. This is a step onto the right direction and
presents a reality that architectural assistants can indeed work
for practices where the life/work balance is a priority. To gain
a personal understanding of what introducing paid overtime
would mean to a practice, a number os questions were presented
to the managing partner of a large firm based in Essex with over
100 employees. When questioned about the possibility and what
kind of procedures would have to take place to implement paid
overtime, their response was that the company would need to
undertake a SWOT analysis before introducing new proposals
into an already established and fully functioning organisation.24
Carried on to explain that introducing a system like this would
not be perceptible as it it could potentially be less of a financial
investment than recruiting new staff to get extra work done.
Although there could be some challenges such as a higher rate
of auditing and scrutiny for employees and stricter time sheet
recording alternatively the professional fees would not see many
changes, there would be no need to train new staff and would

23 Ackroyd Lowrie, “We’ve Introduced Paid Overtime for All Staff, and It’s Time for the Industry to Follow Our
Example,” Ackroyd Lowrie (Ackroyd Lowrie, August 31, 2022), https://www.ackroydlowrie.com/blog-1/2021/6/9/
we-ve-introduced-paid-overtime-for-all-staff-and-its-time-for-the-industry-to-follow-our-example.

24 Interview with Stuart White, Managing Partner. January 2023 (Appendix D)

23
 save up on recruiting agency fees.25 After analysing both, I’m
certain that, at least, big scale practices could implement paid
overtime without annual loss.

The proposed changes to the Code of Conduct seek to change the

modus operandi within the architectural practices in a consider-
ate way of the Duty of Care. We need architects to do what they
commit to do when they qualified and we need architectural
assistants to get paid for what they deserve. Or to just get paid.

25 Ibid.

24
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Illustrations

All illustrations were made by Ines Amorim Liborio unless stated otherwise.

28
Appendix A

11/01/2023
Interview with Madalina Podgoreanu, London
Part 1 Architectural Assistant - working for Robert Dye Architects

How long have you been working at your current practice? What size practice are
they?
Over a year now as architectural assistant and as an office admin for eight months.
It is a small chartered practice and we do mostly bespoke private housing projects
using traditional contract as the principal want to be involved until the end of the
project.

Were you expected to have any particular experience pre part 1?

They expected some practice experience. I had worked previously at a practice but
only did model making so I had some different skills from what they expected but it
worked out.

What is your role/duties at the company? Has this evolved during your period of
employment?
I was employed on a zero-hour contract doing architecture architecture meaning
working on planning applications, feasibility, drawings but not a lot of design.
After a few months started doing a lot of design. 6 months in they started putting
me doing business admin. So my time is divided between architecture and admin
now. By business admin I mean doing the invoices for the clients, make sure to
distribute money within the business, everything non architectural really but more
related to how the business runs.. making sure we have the right insurance, the
right PI insurance and that customers are paying us. And then the architectural part:
sometimes looking into contracts, lot of drafting for all different parts of contract:
tendering, mainly correcting drawings from senior architects and making packages.
I’m not in charge of any project but I work in 6 projects at the same time. There is no
structure so its difficult to find terminologies. I work a lot with my principal, help
with feasibility to show options to clients, to find nice views, drawing the plans, do
booklets for the client. I feel sometimes I manage the managers and the managers
manage the people.

So you do the job role of an architectural assistant as well as of a practice manager?

Is that reflected on your salary?
Not at all. I work half of the time as a practice manager and half of architectural
assistant and I was paid less than the London living wage for the first 8 months.
Started at £10 per hour whenever there was work, then after revision it increased to
£11.50 and then I started my Part 2 on the apprenticeship scheme and it decreased to
£10.85 due to the riba salary guides so I dropped out of uni and will try again next
year.

Are you paid overtime? And if so are you paid for it?
We don’t do overtime at my workplace.

Have you ever taken action towards a higher salary? Has it been taking into consid-
eration?
No I haven’t taken action. I spoke about my salary decreasing as I started doing the
apprenticeship but there was nothing I could do so I dropped out.

Being aware of the current situation within the industry in terms of low pay, unpaid
overtime, etc Are you less likely to want to qualify as an architect after experiencing
practice work?
No, I would still do it. I don’t want to give up. I want to be an architect at some
point after studying already 4 years.

Considering how demanding the architecture course is, do you think you managed
to reconcile time for studies, work and balance it with a social life?
No. Whilst you are a student you are absorbed by the university and is very hard
to have time for something else and on the side I need to work to afford myself. I
found really to find the hard balance to do it. I think its necessary to focus on one, I
personally prioritise doing well at uni and at work and end up having no time for
anything else.
Appendix B

21/12/2022
Interview with Harry Breeden, Braintree
Part 1 Architectural Assistant - working for Barker Associates

How long have you been working at your current practice? What size practice are
they?
I have been working at my current practice for just over 6.5 years and it was my first
job within the construction industry. When I joined the company only had a small
architectural team that provided design and drawing assistance to
Surveyors. Over the years I have seen the practice grow at a constant rate with now
over 120 people employed across nation wide offices and numerous disciplines.

What is your role/duties at the company? Has this evolved during your period of
employment?
At the beginning of my job I was contracted as an Architectural Assistant as I was
not professionally qualified but working under the supervision of an architect. After
a couple of months at the company they offered to sponsor me through my Part 1
studies on part time basis. This was an opportunity that allowed me to study for
my degree whilst gaining professional hands-on experience that would also give
me sort of income. My role has certainly evolved over the past years, with more
responsibility being put upon me right up to my graduation in 2022 when I achieve
my Part 1 degree.

Considering how demanding the architecture course is, do you think you managed
to reconcile time for studies, work and balance it with a social life?
The company have been very good in supporting me throughout my studies, I
would say I had to be very strict with work time and study time throughout the
length of the course, with most of my evenings and weekends taken up by uni-
versity work. I was and still am given the opportunity to discuss my coursework
with any of my colleagues, and my boss who is one of the partner architects would
always offer to help wherever he could.

As you’re employed and they have sponsored your part 1 degree, are you consid-
ering to do the apprenticeship scheme? If so would they allocate you time for the
studies unlike with part 1?
Yes I am definitely considering the apprenticeship scheme, I remember when I first
started the part 1 course I struggled to find Part time courses so to now have the
possibility to undertake an apprenticeship is really good. I believe that architecture
should be taught using this hybrid method, combining professional work and study.
The apprenticeship is regulated by both the riba and the government so there is a
certain amount of time that is allocated for work and study, overseen by an architect
mentor within the workplace and the University. These terms are set out in a con-
tract before the course starts.

Do you work overtime? And if so are you paid for it?

Yes I do work overtime, in particular around tight project deadlines and if projects
are on site and require urgent information to not fall into delay. Within my con-
tract there is no mention of overtime but there is a statement that says "you maybe
required to work past 5:00pm to meet tight deadlines". No the practice don't offer
paid overtime but any extra work is taken into account for end of the financial year
bonus period.

Being aware of the current situation within the industry in terms of low pay, unpaid
overtime, etc Are you less likely to want to qualify as an architect after experiencing
practice work?
I think the unpaid overtime is something that's ingrained into the role unfortunate-
ly, and it is expected from you whether you're paid for it or not. In my workplace
you're expected to work over your hours if needed during times of deadlines and
busy periods. I wouldn't say I am less likely to qualify, personally I would like to,
but some people may be put off by the fact that some practices expect you to work
more than the contracted hours. My employer doesn't pay overtime but offers a
number of benefits as part of the job, such as private health care and flexible work-
ing, which could been seen as another way of payment.

Is the salary reflected on the amount of responsibility that a part 1 has?

Personally I feel that sometimes I do more than what i am qualified for, although
this is always overseen by an architect it doesn't sit well that you're being paid much
less to do something that say a Part 2 or an architect would be qualified to do. Many
companies have part 1's undertake the larger proportions of work because their
charge out rates are much lower and therefore more time can be spent completing a
task.

Does not being paid overtime have a big impact on your life considering the living
costs?
At the moment it is manageable and it does come down to a lot of careful spending.
But in for things such as travelling to sites, to and from work.. For employees on
much lower salaries this can take a large chunk out of their already low salaries.

Have you ever taken action towards a higher salary? Has it been taking into consid-
eration?
At the moment I am happy with my salary but I do feel that with my experience and
the duties and level of work I do I could be entitled to a little more. Ive never openly
asked for a higher salary but with the current state of the economy I see that in the
future I may potentially have to.
Appendix C

15/01/2023
Interview with Sade Davies, London
Part 1 Architectural Assistant - used to work for Adventure in Architecture

How long did it take you to find your first job after graduating?
I’ve graduated in May during Covid so that made the whole process a lot harder, I
feel most practices were only hiring experienced part 1’s and I had none. I managed
to get an internship around March of the following year.

Did you sign a contract? How big was the practice?

Yes I signed a contract from the beginning even though what my contract said and
the work I was doing it was completely different. Was a small practice. I think we
were 7 or 8, less than 10

How much were you on?

I was employed as an internship and wasn’t paid for the first 3 months, then
changed contract and started as an architectural assistant with a salary way below
London living wage. I was working from home 2/3 days and was commuting to the
office the other days. The practice was in Twickenham and would take me over an
hour to get to work from North London but they were paying me travel expenses.

And how long were you unpaid for?

I worked unpaid for the first 3 months and then started getting paid 17.5k

How long did you work there for? And did they increase your salary after?
I worked there until January of the following and then left to start my Masters. No,
was still getting paid the same amount which was below minimum wage

Were you working overtime? And if so were you being paid for it?
Yes of course. I was being asked to do things out of hours all the time and even on
the weekends. No, I wasn’t paid for it.

Being aware of the current situation within the industry in terms of low pay, unpaid
overtime, etc Are you less likely to want to qualify as an architect after experiencing
practice work?
Mmh yeah definitely, I’m doing a whole other MA. It’s a Masters in Interior Archi-
tecture so it is still architecture ish, but not doing part 2. I was getting paid the bare
minimum and it’s hard to imagine a stable future as an architect
Appendix D

22/01/2023
Interview with Stuart White
Managing Partner at Barker Associates (Size: 100 + employees; Location: Main office in Essex,
with a number offices throughout the UK)

What kind of procedures would have to take place within the practice if a system such as paid
overtime was considered?
The practice follows a corporate governance as a limited company with 5 equity partners, with
at least 3 having to sign off any new business proposals. Each would have an individual say as to
whether they consider paid overtime to be suitable for the business. In addition, before anything
is formally signed off, the company would undertake an analysis known as SWOT, which is a use-
ful planning tool that seeks to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, before
introducing new proposals into an already established and fully functioning organisation.
Would you envisage that by introducing paid overtime there would be any affect to the finances
of the business?
Overall I don’t think it would be noticeable, if a system like this were to be introduced, due to the
prior analysis using the SWOT strategy, the additional paid working hours would be taken into
account across the business expenditure. An appropriate overtime percentage rate, be that 1.5%,
2%.. of a full time rate would be taken into account and worked into business costs. In addition,
by introducing paid overtime you would just be paying the current employees more as opposed
to going through a recruiting process to hire more employees, this would incur more expenditure
to recruiting agents, computer hardware and software and a desk in a workplace. When doing
this comparison it shows that paying overtime could potentially be less of a financial investment
than recruiting new staff.
What affect do think you paid overtime could have on employees? Could this affect the quality of
work?
Employees could be subject to stricter scrutiny with the quality and level of work that is done
whilst working overtime. Asking employees to complete a project time-sheet that records the
amount of time being spent on a project is a potential method to control the time against the avail-
able fee. Paid overtime could become contractual with employers requesting employees to work
additional hours at a period of their choice. With regards to quality there could be the potential
for a reduced output by employees, with the average work day being 7.5h, if employees start to
endure 8-9h work days fatigue and office burnout could be more present in the office environment
As managing partner what potential positive and negative points could you see with the intro-
duction of paid overtime to the business?
Potential positive: No need to train new staff, don’t think professional fee percentage would
change that much, save on recruiting agency fee, opportunity to attract new staff..
And negatives: Higher rate of auditing and scrutiny for employees, paid overtime option maybe
received differently by employees across the business, complicated contractual arrangements,
strict timesheet recording.
School of Art, Architecture and Design - London Metropolitan University