Many interns are already entitled to the National Minimum Wage. The term \u201cintern\u201d is not defined in any legislation: entitlement to the minimum wage depends on whether or not an individual is a worker for minimum wage purposes.<\/p>
<\/p>
The National Minimum Wage applies to all workers unless a specific exemption applies. If an intern is a worker they will be entitled to the minimum wage. An applicable exemption would be students in further or higher education performing work-experience for a period not exceeding 12 months which is part of their studies. It can be legitimate for employers to offer unpaid or \u2018expenses-only\u2019 opportunities in some circumstances \u2013 in particular where the individual is acting as a volunteer.<\/p>
<\/p>
Given this dependency on employment status, it is vital that employers and workers understand how this is determined. This is why last month, the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status, looking at how the system could be clarified, providing transparency for both individuals and employers. This is an internal review and findings will be presented to ministers early next year.<\/p>
<\/p>
There are currently no plans to specifically consider individuals covered by the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4284", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Neville-Rolfe"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-11-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-11-20T16:01:07.34Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "26"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Innovation and Skills"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-11-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Minimum Wage"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 29 October (HL 2219), whether they have any plans to amend the minimum wage legislation to include interns and others not currently covered by it including those subject to the terms of the Ministerial and Other Salaries Act 1975.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/883", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Jopling"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Jopling"} ], "uin" : "HL2696"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 1, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }