TUC criticises work experience trend

Posted 16/03/2010

Employers who are allowing young people to work for free as part of work experience have been criticised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

Internships were once used as a way of assessing a potential candidate’s suitability for a job and the temporary employee was usually offered a permanent, paid position soon afterwards.

However, many companies are now offering work experience placements on a rolling schedule to one applicant after another, meaning that there is little or no chance of being offered full-time work afterwards, BBC News reports.

Paul Sellers, TUC policy officer, said putting graduates and school-leavers in positions that would usually be paid means many firms are “ripping people off”.

Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development spokesperson Tom Richmond added: “If employees are contributing to the workplace, if they are doing work for you, you have to pay them the minimum wage.”

According to figures from the BBC, its own unpaid work experience programme generates in excess of 20,000 applications every year.