Are unpaid internships lawful?

The Government has committed to banning unpaid internships, and in pursuit of that it has issued a call for evidence seeking information from interested stakeholders on their use, says Stacie Cheadle

The law already has measures in place to deal with employers attempting to circumvent National Minimum Wage (NMW) rules.

A client has a successful marketing business; they have had a request from a recent graduate to come and work for them as an intern. They have said they do not expect to be paid for the time as they are doing it to gain experience so they can make a start in the industry.

This is not something the client has offered before, but they are interested in how they could utilise an intern in their business. Are there any specific rules they need to know about?

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