Is it good to ban unpaid internships?

It should be means tested - i.e. they offer an incrementally lower amount of payment depending on how high your parental income is. This balances out the costs for businesses with access for less fortunate individuals.

Regarding the whole volunteering vs interning debate, I think that if a company is for-profit, you're an intern, but not-for-profits and charities should have permission to take on unpaid volunteers (who are doing the job out of commitment to a cause, rather than seeking experience as such). That being said, I would expect even unpaid volunteers to be given a small amount towards essentials like transport costs - bus and train fares are going through the roof...

This all being said, for short-term work experience placements (say, two weeks or shorter - where the student is mostly job shadowing etc. rather than really contributing) then I can understand a company not really needing to pay.

Instinctively I'm not in favour of this ban.

As a general rule I think that when it comes to a trade or agreement between two parties, they should both negotiate an agreement that works for them, rather than there being outside intervention. If I genuinely want to become a slave, even if it's an unusual thing to desire, that's up to me. We don't need laws purely to protect ourselves from our own informed choices.

In the case of internships, sometimes I think it makes perfect sense for them to be unpaid, particularly if the intern is not generating any revenue for the company but if they're just there to learn. That said, it may be in a company's own interests to make it a paid internship anyway in order to encourage applicants from poorer backgrounds who can't necessarily afford the time to do an unpaid internship alongside whatever they might need to do for money, thereby unlocking a larger pool of talent for recruitment opportunities.

But I think it should be left to individuals and companies to decide what is appropriate for them.

Instinctively I'm not in favour of this ban.

As a general rule I think that when it comes to a trade or agreement between two parties, they should both negotiate an agreement that works for them, rather than there being outside intervention.

It's a terrible decision. It was done in France a few years ago and now it is very hard to find internships and prove your worth. Compagnies rely even more on networking to hire young people. They should have only limited the length of such internships.

That assumes they have equal bargaining power, which they clearly do not.

And big companies would be bankrupt if they paid interns a minimum wage for a couple of months? Do me a favour.

Big compagnies can pay their interns, yes. Not all the others. You can also do internships in museums, libraries, etc. It was a way (generally one of the very few) for students in the humanities to beef up their CV...

Big compagnies can pay their interns, yes. Not all the others. You can also do internships in museums, libraries, etc. It was a way (generally one of the very few) for students in the humanities to beef up their CV...

Oh come on, minimum wage for two months for one or two interns will bankrupt a museum?

Unpaid internships by definition favour those from wealthy backgrounds who can afford to pay them.

On the other hand, students who lack the same social capital will either be exploited in positions which add nothing of value to them as people or will have to take on low value paid work in lieu of completing a valuable unpaid internship.

This is why I said that internships should be limited to 2 or 3 months.

No, but instead of taking 20 interns, they'll take only 2 or 3, with a preference for Oxbridge&co students, whilst they could be less picky when they were unpaid.

I don't support the ban as such largely out of principle, but I do feel that there has been a trend in recent years to undo the positive gains won by the Blairite left by opening up these loopholes which allow companies to circumnavigate laws pertaining to worker's rights. If you're from a well educated, professional background, you'll know whether the unpaid internship is worth it, complete the placement whilst being supported by your parents and move on because the best way to define the upper class is the ability to do things without scrabbling around for money.

On the other hand, students who lack the same social capital will either be exploited in positions which add nothing of value to them as people or will have to take on low value paid work in lieu of completing a valuable unpaid internship.

You are my favourite right leaning poster on here.

You are my favourite right leaning poster on here.

Do they take on that many though?

Personally a better idea would be for the government to offer incentives for companies to take on lots of paid interns, possibly in the form of a slight tax discount.

I don't assume they have equal bargaining power - I believe the deal they manage to reach should be dependent on whatever unequal bargaining power they might each have.