Employment Law News

Are interns at commercial companies entitled to the minimum wage?

At the other end of the pay spectrum, Chris Jarvis, an intern at Sony, successfully negotiated a £4,600 settlement for unpaid wages during his three month internship. Mr Jarvis said that instead of shadowing a Sony employee, he was working as a tester for the games department and therefore was entitled to minimum wage.. Sony unsuccessfully asked Mr Jarvis to sign a gagging order. For all employers out there, voluntary workers can only be employed AND unpaid by a charity, a voluntary organisation, a fund raising body or a statutory body. It is highly likely that where a commercial company takes on an intern, they will qualify for the national minimum wage if they work set hours and add value to the company, so that if the intern did not perform the task, someone else would have to be paid to do it.