The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) is calling for the introduction of a training wage for recent graduates working as interns.

CIPD research shows that over a third (37 per cent) of internships are currently unpaid, and their new policy paper Internships: To Pay or not To Pay? proposes that all interns are paid a guaranteed minimum wage. It argues that a new training wage would help reflect the contribution that an intern is likely to make to an organisation, as well as promoting social mobility through encouraging people from poorer backgrounds to apply.

The CIPD proposes that the training wage of £2.50 an hour, the current minimum rate of pay for apprentices, be introduced under the plans to cover all interns and apprentices, regardless of their occupation or industry sector. Any position advertised as an internship would automatically trigger a legal obligation on the part of the employer to pay at least the training wage throughout the duration of the internship. This would help reduce complexity surrounding the issue of payment for young people and also support better enforcement arrangements.

The policy paper also recommends that:

• A new code of best practice, building on the CIPD’s Internships That Work: A guide for employers (published in 2009) be widely disseminated to employers to help improve the quality of programmes offered to young people.
• Consideration be given to the working rights, for example sick pay, that interns should be entitled to
• Discussions take place regarding the possibility of having regional pay variations to reflect different living costs in certain parts of the country

Tom Richmond of the CIPD, commented: “The continued existence of a major loophole in the national minimum wage legislation has created a lot of confusion and concern around the issue of whether interns should be paid or not. We believe that the introduction of this training wage would reflect the contribution that interns make to their organisations, which is likely to be less than that of a fully-trained member of staff, at the same time as avoiding concerns over reductions in the number of internship opportunities that may result from all interns being paid the full minimum wage.

“Alongside the introduction of the training wage, a number of related issues would also need to be discussed, including which working rights interns should be entitled to. Nevertheless, the creation of the training wage would represent a significant step towards ensuring that internships promote social mobility, provide young people with valuable experience and help tackle exploitation in the workplace. What’s more, organisations would still be able to recruit young talent at a reasonable rate during this difficult economic period and beyond.”