HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) are set to investigate 100 companies after being tipped off by a campaign group that they might be breaking the law through their use of unpaid interns.
Following a meeting between Junior Employment Minister Jo Swinson and Intern Aware, the Government ordered HMRC to investigate the firms, which have not been named but are understood to include a number of very well-known companies.
Companies are allowed to offer work experience if it amounts to a job, for example if hours and duties and set and the position lasts for a reasonable period of time; but they are breaking employment laws if they do not pay at least the minimum wage.
However, according to Intern Aware, the abuse of the intern system is “rife” and Ms Swinson agrees that the exploitation of interns is a “significant problem”.
Intern Aware was able to compile a list of the companies suspected of breaking the law simply by trawling job websites and searching online for the term ‘unpaid internships’.
The campaign group said the list of firms breaking the law covered a range of employers, from SMEs to major companies and covers sectors that are normally associated with internships, such as fashion, PR and the media, but also more unusual areas like accountancy, architecture and retail.
Ms Swinson said that HMRC was already making progress in enforcing the law, last year bringing in £4m of wage arrears for 26,500 individuals who were either underpaid or paid no wage at all. This was up from £3.6m in the previous year.
She added that the Government was also looking at ways to “name and shame” companies, which haven’t properly complied with the law.