An amendment to the Employment Rights Bill to ensure that work experience placements do not flout minimum wage laws has been put forward.
The Bill is currently going through committee stage in the House of Lords, where each clause is debated before a final reading and ultimately Royal Assent.
On behalf of Lord Holmes of Richmond, who originally proposed the amendment, Viscount Colville of Culross proposed that a clause be included in the Employment Rights Bill that prevents employers from providing unpaid work experience in excess of four weeks.
The amendment would ensure that unpaid work experience could not be used as a loophole to avoid National Minimum Wage regulations.
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“This amendment is an attempt to address the wretched, exploitative workplace faced by far too many people wanting to enter work,” said Colville.
“It attempts to create a new definition of ‘work experience’, which would ensure that participants are educated, and not exploited, as they attempt to join the workforce.”
The government has already pledged to launch a call for evidence into banning unpaid internships, which almost two-fifths of employers would happily support, according to the Sutton Trust.
The amendment seeks to define work experience as a separate activity, and ensure there is a difference in law between interns – who should be paid – and those undertaking work experience, who...
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