National Minimum Wage for Interns

Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (‘HMRC’) is clamping down on employers who employ interns without paying them at least the National Minimum Wage. While internships are a very important mechanism for students and graduates to gain work experience and to move towards full-time employment, all too often in the past, some companies and organisations have used interns as a way to get work done for free.

So UK employers must now abide by the national minimum wage laws, which covers both interns and those on work experience as well as anyone who can be considered a worker. If they don’t, they may soon be hearing from The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or HMRC themselves. 466 UK employers have already received penalties from HMRC this year, for failing to pay interns the national minimum wage.