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100004

	registered interest
	date	20/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the recent proposal by the Child Poverty and Social Justice Commission that unpaid internships should be illegal.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Berridge
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL2219
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>This Government is absolutely clear: exploitation of interns is unacceptable and we don’t hesitate to act where we find that employment law has been broken and someone who is entitled to the minimum wage hasn’t been paid it.</p><p> </p><p>Complaints from interns about non-payment of the minimum wage are prioritised by HMRC for investigation and HMRC will investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline.</p><p> </p><p>Research shows that internships and work experience programmes can be valuable opportunities for young people taking their first steps in the labour market. Our work on interns and the National Minimum Wage aims to achieve the right balance between ensuring that opportunities for young people are not cut off and minimising the risk of exploitation.</p><p> </p><p>Our concern, if we were to prohibit unpaid internships, is that this may lead to employers recruiting interns through informal and privileged networks with adverse effects on social mobility or have adverse consequences on the number of available opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>There is no definition of an internship in minimum wage legislation and interns are considered in the same way as everyone else with regards to whether the minimum wage is due. The key issue is whether or not they are workers as defined by minimum wage legislation. If they are, then they are eligible for the minimum wage unless a specific exemption applies. Volunteers are not workers and are not eligible for the minimum wage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 29/10/2014 16:15:22 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge

170270

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to encourage and support the remuneration of internships.
	tabling member printed	Lord Storey
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL3766
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/12/2014 answer text <p>The term “intern” is not defined in any legislation: entitlement to the minimum wage depends on whether or not an individual is a worker. If an internship meets the legal definition of a worker, then they must be paid at least the minimum wage from the start. Given the dependency on employment status, it is vital that employers and workers understand how this is determined.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Last November, the Minister for Employment Relations launched a series of posters and an information video alongside 200 letters to employers to increase awareness of employers and interns rights and responsibilities in relation to the National Minimum Wage. This was followed by a Facebook campaign. The Facebook messages reached 160,000 young people and HMRC are currently evaluating the impact of the letters sent to employers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition, complaints from interns about non-payment of the minimum wage are prioritised by HMRC for investigation and HMRC will investigate every complaint made to the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. Any worker who believes that they are being paid below the minimum wage should call the helpline on 0800 917 2368.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Determining an individual’s employment status can be complicated; this is why the Business Secretary announced a review of employment status in October this year, to help ensure an employment status framework in the UK that meets the needs of everyone. This is an internal review and will present findings to ministers early next year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 23/12/2014 12:48:32 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
	tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

175901

	registered interest
	date	27/01/2015
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to promote equal access to intern opportunities for all; and how many disabled people have received help from the Access to Work Fund in order to participate fully in internship programmes.
	tabling member printed	Lord Allen of Kensington
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL4481
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Her Majesty’s Government promote equal access to intern opportunities through a series of communications strands such as:</p><p> </p><p>· The rising awareness of Disability Confident Britain and it’s media profile will help increase awareness of the Access to Work (AtW) support available;</p><p>· Continually improving and developing Advisory knowledge and skills in supporting Disabled People into work and remaining in work, and;</p><p>· Marketing the Jobcentre Plus offer directly to employers and other organisations and institutions.</p><p> </p><p>Moreover, Access to Work gives practical support and help to meet additional costs to overcome barriers. AtW can usually support people only in paid internships, however we have extended Access to Work to cover the Supported internships scheme for young people with special educational needs and for young people undertaking Traineeships. DWP does not have a robust means of reporting programme volumes for internships.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 10/02/2015 17:36:41 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4304 label Biography information for Lord Allen of Kensington

388477

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) whether they will list the categories of employed people who are not remunerated, including Ministers, who are exempted from the provisions of the minimum wage legislation, and (2) whether unpaid Ministers will qualify for the proposed living wage.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jopling
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	HL1252
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2015 answer text <p>Certain exemptions to qualification to the National Minimum Wage apply through Part 6 (Exclusions) of the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015[1]. The noble Lord will find a list of those exempted from the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 on the Gov.uk webpage <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage/who-gets-the-minimum-wage" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage/who-gets-the-minimum-wage</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Ministers are generally classified as ‘office holders’ who are neither workers nor employees, except where the individual also holds an employment contract with the same company or organisation that meets the criteria for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/employee" target="_blank">employees</a>. Where a Minister meets this criteria and is classed as a worker under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/employment-status/worker</a>), they will be entitled to the National Minimum Wage and the new National Living Wage once implemented in April 2016.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>[1] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2015/9780111127964/pdfs/ukdsi_9780111127964_en.pdf</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe attachment 1 file name National minimum wage.PDF.docx title National Minimum Wage 2 file name Employment status.pdf.docx title Employment Status question first answered 22/07/2015 16:35:41 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
	tabling member	883 label Biography information for Lord Jopling

419823

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government has taken in response to the recommendation in the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission's report, State of the Nation 2014: Social Mobility and Child Poverty in Great Britain, published in October 2014, that unpaid internships should be eliminated by 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Phil Boswell
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	11169
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote fair and open access to paid internships through the BIS-funded Graduate Talent Pool, and our Social Mobility Business Compact and Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships ask employers to ensure that any internships they offer are advertised openly and transparently and are paid fairly. We have also made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and, in addition, complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles grouped question UIN 11018 11168 question first answered 20/10/2015 09:33:29 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4388 label Biography information for Philip Boswell

420380

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2015
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) plans to take in response to the finding on page 99 of the Final Report of the Panel on Fair Access to the Professions that internships operate as part of an informal economy where opportunities depend on personal contacts rather than ability.
	tabling member constituency	Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill
	tabling member printed	Phil Boswell
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	11018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2015 answer text <p>The Government believes in fair wages for fair work and opportunity for all. When an intern meets the legal definition of a worker they must be paid at least the National Minimum Wage. We actively promote fair and open access to paid internships through the BIS-funded Graduate Talent Pool, and our Social Mobility Business Compact and Common Best Practice Code for High Quality Internships ask employers to ensure that any internships they offer are advertised openly and transparently and are paid fairly. We have also made it simpler to name and shame employers that do not comply with national minimum wage regulations and, in addition, complaints from interns are now fast-tracked by HMRC.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles grouped question UIN 11168 11169 question first answered 20/10/2015 09:33:28 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4388 label Biography information for Philip Boswell

455192

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many representations he has received on the exploitation of unpaid trials in the (a) service, (b) print and (c) retail sector.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	28558
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2016 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, BIS Ministers and officials are in frequent contact with a wide range of stakeholders on labour market issues, including issues around internships. The Low Pay Commission also consults on a range of issues, including internships, and submits its findings to Government each year to inform its recommendations on the National Minimum Wage. We are not aware of any recent, formal representations relating only to exploitation of unpaid interns in the specified sectors.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 09/03/2016 11:52:09 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

455193

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the exploitation of unpaid trials in at-risk sectors.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	28559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2016 answer text <p>Entitlement to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) applies where someone meets the criteria of a worker. There is no legal or consistently-used definition of an internship and therefore no authoritative, single assessment of their prevalence, unpaid or otherwise. However, the Low Pay Commission 2015 Report on the National Minimum Wage sets out their findings from the evidence they have collated as well as research that they have commissioned to assess the prevalence of unpaid internships.</p><p>The Government works to promote high-quality, paid internships through improved codes of practice, awareness campaigns and changes to the BIS-sponsored Graduate Talent Pool. We also continue to tackle exploitation. The Government invested over £13m in 2015/16 to ensure enforcement of the NMW and we continue to name and shame employers who break minimum wage law.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 11/03/2016 17:00:06 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

528539

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to gather data on the prevalence of paid and unpaid internships.
	tabling member constituency	Copeland
	tabling member printed	Mr Jamie Reed
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	41208
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2016 answer text <p>The Government has no current plans to quantify the number of paid and unpaid interns. There is no legal definition of an intern, but all those who qualify as ‘workers’ are entitled to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 04/07/2016 09:32:33 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	1503 label Biography information for Mr Jamie Reed

528540

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2016
	answering body	Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept id	26
	answering dept short name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	answering dept sort name	Business, Innovation and Skills
	hansard heading	Unpaid Work
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his policy is on introducing a legal or standard definition of an internship.
	tabling member constituency	Copeland
	tabling member printed	Mr Jamie Reed
	type	WrittenParliamentaryQuestion
	uin	41209
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2016 answer text <p>The Government has no plans to create a legal or standard definition of an internship.</p><p>Depending on the reality of the employment relationship an intern could be classed as a worker, an employee or a volunteer.</p> answering member constituency Grantham and Stamford answering member printed Nick Boles question first answered 04/07/2016 09:29:24 answering member 3995 label Biography information for Nick Boles
	tabling member	1503 label Biography information for Mr Jamie Reed