This petition was submitted during the 2015–2017 Conservative government
Petition Ban unpaid internships
There is a lack of standardisation and oversight which allows the nature of individual internship programmes to be entirely dictated by the employer.
Some employers and middlemen can legally charge individuals in exchange for an internship. Young adults are rarely educated in this murky world.
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This is a basic fairness issue. Unpaid interns still add value to an organisation and in a high youth unemployment environment, employers can and often do take advantage of young adults wishing to gain working experience.
This a social justice issue. Young adults from more affluent backgrounds have far better access to unpaid internships which can help progress their careers, simply because they have better support at home, an allowance, family accommodation or other private means.
This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months