The government launched an evidence call on internships that are unpaid or underpaid, and work trials.
The Department for Business and Trade stated that although internships provide young people with invaluable experience, they can create barriers to equality if these are not paid or paid below minimum wage. This is based on the location of people, their age or social background.
The government wants to strengthen these protections, by collecting more data on the impact of unpaid internships on young people and how employers use them to evaluate candidates.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds stated: “Everyone deserves to have the opportunity to develop their career by gaining quality work experience. However, good employers continue to be undercut by those who exploit interns and ask them to work illegally for free.
Our Plan for Change aims to remove barriers to opportunities. We will therefore strengthen protections for young workers to ensure that internships are available to all, giving them the foundations for a successful and strong career.
In a study published by the Sutton Trust in January, 38% of employers believe that unpaid internships should be banned and 30% want to see existing minimum wage laws enforced better.
The study found that almost half of the organisations pay their interns the minimum wage. However, the percentage offering schemes below the minimum wage has grown from 11% to 17%. In this time period, the percentage of employers who offer unpaid internships has also increased to 9%.
Nick Harrison, CEO at the Sutton Trust said yesterday that “Taking action against internships with low pay or no pay was absolutely the right thing.” Our research shows that 61% internships taken by recent graduates are ‘unpaid’ or ‘underpaid’. This effectively excludes those who cannot rely on family support.
“Employers would benefit from a wider pool of available talent, and three-quarters of employers said a ban on the practice wouldn’t affect the number of job opportunities they offer.” The announcement today marks a major step forward.”
Justin Madders, Minister of Employment Rights, said that internships are a great way to start a career. They allow young people to develop new skills while giving employers the opportunity to recruit future talent.
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Employers should not take advantage of opportunities by not paying interns. This will allow us to crackdown on employers who do not follow the rules. The next generation of interns can gain valuable experience while earning a fair salary.
The Call for Evidence is open for 12 weeks and closes on 9 October 2025.
