Leeds Beckett lecturer backs calls for all interns to be paid

Businesses who rely on unpaid interns are harming social mobility and the job prospects of young people from the North of England, a university academic has warned.

Leeds Beckett lecturer Robert Minton Taylor has welcomed a report published today by the Sutton Trust which calls for all interns to be paid at least the minimum wage and preferably the living wage for the work they provide.

The social mobility charity said almost a third of university graduate interns are working for nothing in a bid to kick-start their career, even though it can cost them hundreds of pounds a month. At any one time, there are at least 21,000 people working as unpaid interns in the UK, according to analysis by the Sutton Trust.

The charity warned that unpaid internships are increasingly seen as the first step towards a career in highly competitive professions, such as journalism, politics and law, but many people may be losing out because they cannot afford to work for free.

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