Two of Kingston’s top politicians have withdrawn or rewritten adverts for unpaid interns, after a workers’ rights campaigner raised concerns they may breach minimum wage rules.
Richmond Park MP Susan Kramer withdrew an advert in order to seek specialist advice, while Kingston and Surbiton parliamentary candidate Helen Whately deleted requirements that interns should commit one day a week until the general election.
Both politicians advertised the positions on the political recruitment website w4pm.org, and sought help with research, press work and administration.
An adviser for the national minimum wage helpline said: “If they have to come to work at a certain time then they have an obligation to be paid. If they are being asked to provide a service, they are doing a job and should be paid the minimum wage.”
Pat Duggan campaigns for young people to receive the minimum wage.
She said: “Many, many MPs and candidates are using these people as unpaid workers, simple as that.
“They give them work they expect them to do and the hours they expect them to do it in, and when asked why these people are unpaid, all that they say is ‘it’s an internship’.
"Well that isn’t remotely enough to satisfy the test of whether these people are workers or not and should be paid.”
Ms Kramer’s office said interns were not given specific tasks, and said: “The advert has been removed and we are taking advice from the Minimum Wage Hotline and the House of Commons about how we advertise for interns in future.”
Ms Whately said she had phoned the hotline and a specialist would give her detailed advice, but she did not expect to have to change her current practices.
She said: “In general I try to reach out to students to get involved as I think it’s a good time in life to engage in politics.
"I think it would be a real shame if these opportunities were crushed by heavy-handed regulation.”
Kingston and Surbiton MP Edward Davey and Richmond Park candidate Zac Goldsmith confirmed they also used unpaid interns, and said they followed minimum wage legislation.
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