Why paying your interns is the right thing to do

Three quarters of people back the banning of unpaid internships beyond a four-week period. This is according to a survey of 5,000 people by the Social Mobility Commission. 

Later this week Lord Holmes of Richmond will be leading a bill in the House of Lords with the aim of requiring companies to pay interns the minimum wage after a month’s work. This follows the same recommendation that was made in January in a report by the All Parliamentary Group on Social Mobility.

It will need Parliamentary backing to succeed – but this may be unlikely, given that Parliament blocked a ban on unpaid internships last November.

I am the founder of a womenswear brand, Rose & Willard. No one works at my company for free. It is simply the right thing to do but not just for ethical reasons. The counter argument for not paying interns is that it raises company costs at a time when they are already having to absorb higher labour costs (rising National Minimum Wage, auto pension enrolment) as well as increased business rates and the impacts of a weaker currency.