As part of its Plan for Change, the Government is seeking views from stakeholders on unpaid internships, internships paid below the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and other roles that may be unpaid or paid below the NMW.
The “Making Work Pay: Call for evidence on unpaid internships” focuses on:
Unpaid internships and internships paid below the NMW
Unpaid work trials and work trials paid below the NMW
Voluntary workers
Volunteers
Work shadowing.
Do people on an internship get national minimum wage?
The call for evidence highlights that some employers who engage interns are not paying them correctly or in some cases not paying them at all. The Government says it will “continue to crack down on non-compliance of the National Minimum Wage legislation, including instances where interns are not paid the correct amount they are due” and the call for evidence is the first step to stamping out these non-compliant practices.
The Government has committed to banning unpaid internships, unless they are part of an educational or training course, however it acknowledges that it has limited evidence in this area and will therefore use the call for evidence to gather data to inform future policy decisions.
The call for evidence closes at 11.59pm on 9 October 2025 and the Government will publish its response in January/February 2026.
