Moritz’s tragic death must be a wake-up call

Industries need to treat interns and graduates with more respect.

I was shocked last week at the death of a young man after he worked a gruelling 72-hour shift without any rest or sleep.

To be honest, I was stunned that 21-year-old Moritz Erhardt was an aspiring banker and not a junior doctor, and that he so wanted to impress his bosses he was willing to risk his own life.

Moritz, from Germany, was working as an intern at the London offices of the US Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He collapsed and died in the shower six weeks into his seven-week stint.

These are highly sought-after placements and interns do receive a payment, with the dangling carrot of the possibility of a job in the high-flying world of finance at the end of it all.

Obviously those taken on want to show 100% commitment, especially in these days of high unemployment, and there’s no suggestion that the bank put Moritz under any pressure to put in such insane hours.

But the industry must take a long look at the culture that made him think he had so work so hard.

He was obviously a very driven young man and wanted to be the best of the best, but this has to be a wake-up call to all employers to ensure ambition and a desire to succeed aren’t putting lives at risk.

The competition for work for all of our kids whether they want to be bankers, hairdressers, surgeons or shop assistants has never been more fierce, and it isn’t just in the cut-throat worlds of banking and advertising any more.

Far too many firms are taking on interns or new graduates for months, or even up to a year at a time, and paying them a pittance or little more than expenses.

They get cheap labour and, while the young people gain vital experience, there are those employers who are simply taking advantage and have no intention of ever offering a permanent job.

It’s different for students who are still at college or university. A few weeks’ unpaid work experience during the holidays can be a real privilege and is a brilliant way to gain insight into a possible profession.

It’s when firms cross the line and use interns as proper employees without giving them any rights or a decent wage that it all gets very murky.

And the recent scandal of zero hours contracts where there’s no guarantee of work has added to a shameful exploitation of workers of all ages.

People also guilty of employing interns, sucking them dry and then taking on fresh meat, are still to be found in the very place that should be stamping out such practices.

Some MPs at Westminster shamelessly take advantage of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed young men and women who’d probably pay them for the privilege of working in the House of Commons!

It’s all horribly unfair on kids who just want the chance to get a proper job, be treated with respect and earn a decent wage.