Ed Miliband asked to Keep Pay Pledge for Interns

Following reports yesterday that a Labour MP who has previously campaigned for the living wage for all (currently £8.30 in London) has hired an intern on a voluntary basis, InternAware have written to leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband, asking him to keep his pledge and end unpaid internships in the Labour Party.

From the job description of Lyn Brown MP’s recent vacancy, it is very possible that the worker is actually legally entitled to the minimum wage, despite the suggestion the post was for a volunteer worker (adding the word ‘volunteer’ to a post does not allow employers to pay less than the minimum wage, let alone pay nothing), but unless this is claimed or otherwise sought via the employment tribunals, that point may never be confirmed for sure.

What is clear from this hypocrisy (which is not the first time MPs have come under the spotlight for attempting to circumvent minimum wage laws) is that those that set the laws that all employers are required to comply with, let alone the campaigns these MPs associate themselves with, have scant regard for the law that causes such a huge burden for many small employers when it comes to their own practices. These are not practices that ELC clients or subscribers are recommended to follow, and the argument put forward by Ms Brown – that she does not have the resources – is no excuse in law! As an employer, you either have the resource to pay for your workers, or you do without them.

Filed under: Contracts of Employment, General News, Laws & Regulations by Employment Law Clinic           Post created on: June 29th, 2011