Unpaid internships: government launches call for evidence

The government has launched a call for evidence - ‘Make Work Pay: Call for evidence on unpaid internships’ - inviting views on the use of unpaid internships. While the government acknowledge that internships can offer valuable career experience, concerns of misuse have prompted it to take a closer look.

Internships

An internship is a work experience placement, typically for students or recent graduates. It enables individuals to gain hands-on experience and develop key skills to aid them in their future careers.

Interns don't have to be paid unless the individual falls within the definition of a ‘worker’ under section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. A ‘worker’ is an individual who works under a contract and undertakes to do or perform personally any work or services for another party to the contract who is not a client or customer of any profession or business undertaking carried on by the individual. If this definition is met, they are entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage or the National Living Wage, depending upon their age. However, there is an exception for UK and international students at higher or further education institutions in the UK who are required to complete a mandatory work experience placement of up to one year as part of their course - they are exempt from the minimum wage requirement. 

The minimum wage rate depends upon the age of the individual - see our article ‘Employment rates and limits in effect in April’ for details about the current rates.

There are concerns that some employers are not paying interns correctly when they are entitled to the minimum wage, either by not paying them at all or not enough. Therefore, this call for evidence aims to understand when and why this is occurring. It will influence future reform in this area and help the government with its aim to ban unpaid internships, except where they are part of an educational or training course.  The government says that “ensuring interns are appropriately remunerated will enhance social mobility and help interns get the vital skills and experience they need to succeed.”

Unpaid work trials

The call for evidence also seeks further information about the use of unpaid work trials. This is when, as part of a recruitment process, individuals perform some of the tasks required of the role. This is so that employers can see what the individual is like in practice, rather than just relying on what they say in an interview. 

However, the government is concerned that some employers are going too far and that they are actually getting the individual to work for them, without payment. 

The government states that the longer the trial period, the more likely it is that there's a contract to provide work entitling the individual to at least the minimum wage. For example, if the individual works more than one full shift or works for several days, the minimum wage is likely to be payable. The organisation is benefiting from this work which has gone beyond just seeing how the individual performs. On the other hand, a work trial for a few hours, is likely reasonable to assess the individual's skills as part of the recruitment process. In this latter scenario, it's likely that the individual is not entitled to the minimum wage.

The government wants to understand any potential issues with paid and unpaid work trials, including the scale of the issues, and the types of jobs and sectors affected. 

Other types of roles

The call for evidence also seeks to gather evidence on voluntary work, volunteers, and individuals carrying out work shadowing (when someone observes others in the organisation). Again, unless individuals are classed as ‘workers' then it does not attract payment of the minimum wage. However, the government wants more information so that they can understand how organisations use such roles and whether there are issues with how they are being used that need addressing. 

What next?

The call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 9 October 2025. You can respond here.

The government will respond early next year.  

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