Fury erupts over parliament intern scandal.
Scores of MPs are still advertising for freebie staff, it’s been claimed. That’s despite all the major parties claiming they would stop employing students and unemployed youngsters without pay.
A campaign group set up to help interns claims the issue is set to be “the next expenses scandal”.
Employment law states that anyone doing a job generally defined as set hours and clear responsibilities must be paid the minimum wage. But this month Tory MP Andrew Rosindell placed an ad for a “full-time” intern on the w4mp website, offering no wages at all.
In order to comply with the law w4mp now place a disclaimer on all ads explaining that if the post is unpaid it should be voluntary and anyone taking the job should be free to come and go as they please.
However, Romford MP Rosindell’s ad appears to contradict this by describing the internship as “full time” and setting out a list of responsibilities.
InternAware, the campaign group for fair, paid internships, claim the advert is not unusual.
Co-director Gus Baker said: “We’re not surprised by adverts like this but we are bemused at the way we have to tell MPs to keep to the laws they make. Last week the Tories were talking about hard-working people.
“Well, the fact is, hard working people need to be paid.”
No one is claiming at this stage that Rosindell’s advert is illegal. However it appears contrary to his own leader’s words earlier in the summer when David Cameron said in the Commons that “unpaid interns should not be employed instead of workers to avoid the national minimum wage.” When InternAware spotted a similar advert placed by Conservative Claire Perry, she agreed to pay the minimum wage for the post.
Gus asked: “MPs each have the same budgets. Why is Andrew Rosindell not able to afford to pay his interns but Claire Perry is? And he’s offering to pay travel expenses in London only so he’s excluding his own constituents.”
Earlier this year Lib Dem president Tim Farron had to remind all his party’s MPs that interns were “against the party’s values” after concerns were raised.
Gus added: “This is widespread. We’ve seen the job adverts and we’ve extensive testimony. MPs who do this are breaking civil law, not paying the minimum wage carries criminal sanctions.
“Potentially there could be a stream of MPs in court this could be the next expenses scandal.”
Rosindell refused to comment.
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