Arts sector’s use of unpaid interns for some roles could be illegal, experts say

A recent article in The Guardian has highlighted concerns that arts employers may be breaking the law by using unpaid interns to perform duties that should be assigned to paid employees. The practice is reportedly preventing young people from working-class backgrounds from gaining paid employment in the creative industries.

According to the Sutton Trust, as of 2018, 86 per cent of interns in the UK’s creative sector were unpaid, with the Institute for Public Policy Research estimating that unpaid internships in London could cost an individual up to £6,300 over a six-month period.

Spencer West Employment Partner Emma Gross commented on how the law regarding unpaid internships is being exploited.

“Common tactics include misclassifying interns as volunteers, offering expenses-only roles while assigning real work responsibilities, or using unpaid internships or training as trial periods for future employment.”

Emma noted that the only way to prevent such exploitation is to introduce “clearer legal definitions that distinguish between interns, volunteers and workers” and implement “stricter enforcement and penalties for employers who misclassify interns”.

The Labour Government has pledged to ban unpaid internships “except when they are part of an education or training course” under its “plan to make work pay”, though details about the definition of internships and enforcement mechanisms are yet to be confirmed.

You can read the full article, including Emma’s comments below:

The Guardian – Arts sector’s use of unpaid interns for some roles could be illegal, experts say