There is an interesting discussion going on at the moment on econsultancy.com called ‘Death to spec work and unpaid work experience’. Our take on it is this: The UK legal situation on unpaid work experience and internships IS a grey area.  See our FAQs for more details. The real point is that this is a free market and companies can decide whether or how much to pay their interns (if they are not constrained by the government regulations). Equally, students or graduates can decide what they are prepared to accept as reward for gaining important experience. So the big question is: why should interns be paid – isn’t the experience payment enough?

Whilst work experience placements and internships help get students and graduates on their chosen career path, the work they do still adds value to a business, and this should be rewarded. We encourage the companies on WEXO to offer interns payment if possible and paying our own interns above the National Minimum Wage guidelines.  We think this is fair given what we are looking for but no two ‘experiences’ are the same… I’m sure some people would happily do an unpaid internship at The Playboy mansions in New York (and I can see how it could fulfil all 6 of the US legal restrictions – especially ‘If the training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in a vocational school!’).

Now more than ever, we believe that internships give companies AND interns a cost-effective and non-binding solution to financial and commitment concerns allowing them to try each other out before they pursue more permanent arrangements.

And in conclusion, I defer to Sir Arnold Bax (English composer and poet): “You should make a point of trying every experience once, excepting incest and folk dancing”.