GRADS WORK LATE-NIGHT BAR SHIFTS TO FUND UNPAID CHARITY PLACEMENTS
* GRADUATE FOG EXCLUSIVE *
Interns are coming in to work at Oxfam exhausted after working multiple jobs — including late-night bar work and weekend shifts — in order to fund their unpaid ‘voluntary internship’ positions at the charity, a former intern has claimed.
The 23-year-old graduate — who took up a Oxfam “marketing assistant internship” three days a week for five months in the charity’s community fundraising department – has told Graduate Fog:
“In my opinion, you can only afford to do an Oxfam internship if your parents can give you lots of financial support or you are willing to spend pretty much all your time working, for months.
“I was lucky that my family could support me financially for the time I worked at Oxfam, but the other interns I was working with really struggled to make ends meet as we only received travel and lunch expenses.
“One girl was doing bar shifts until closing every night, after interning at Oxfam all day. Another was working three other days a week doing surveys for a museum — meaning she only had a one-day ‘weekend’. Both their situations went on for months.
“The charity’s managers are definitely aware that most interns work another job during their time there and they occasionally make allowances — although if you needed to change your hours you always have to make up the time. I never saw anyone complain about their Oxfam internship though. They just accept that this is what you have to do nowadays if you want to get a job in the charity sector.”
Graduate Fog is a big supporter of Oxfam’s excellent work. However, we have been concerned for some time that charities — including Oxfam — are missing out on the broadest range of young talent available by continuing to run unpaid internships on a large scale. It should also be remembered that Oxfam’s chief executive Mark Goldring is paid more than £119,000 a year, which the charity insists is a “fair reward” for his work.
True, there is an exemption in the minimum wage law which states that charities need not pay their interns, who can be classed as ‘volunteer workers’. But this loophole was designed to protect genuine volunteering, which we don’t feel is the same as interning. The charity’s website says it runs internships across a variety of departments, including HR, marketing, IT, accounting and digital media. Are these desk-based admin roles really ‘volunteer’ work?
Oxfam say yes. When we contacted the charity, they insisted their interns work on a ‘voluntary’ basis — as they do not work full-time and some flexibility is offered. But we were concerned to find that some of what they said didn’t tally with our intern’s account. The Oxfam spokesperson said:
“Our volunteering model in Oxfam hinges around mutuality of benefit. Our volunteers gain skills and have new experiences while Oxfam is thankful for their contribution.
“We do not advertise voluntary internships in Oxfam as 5 days a week. The maximum time that a voluntary internship role can be advertised for us ‘up to 3 days per week’, which is very clear in our internship agreement. The majority of our voluntary interns volunteer between 1 — 2 days per week.
“The flexibility of our voluntary internships mean that the hours they volunteer are up to the individual. For example it is not a requirement to volunteer 9 — 5. We support flexibility in how the individual volunteers. A reason for this flexible approach is so that voluntary interns and volunteers are able to get part-time work if they wish.”
But our intern said the she did have set hours, telling Graduate Fog:
“We were given a set number of hours which we were required to work to successfully complete our internship. So we were asked to work from 9am to 5.45pm, three days per week. Okay, those hours could be flexible to accommodate our other work — for example, we could come in a little later one day, or swap the days we worked. But if we deviated from what we’d agreed to at the start of the internship, we were always expected to make up the time.”
There are other inconsistencies. Oxfam’s spokesperson stressed that the nature of the work carried out by the charity’s “30 – 40” voluntary interns is no different from that done by regular volunteers, claiming:
“Voluntary interns never undertake a role that carries the same level of responsibility as a member of staff, or that carries a significant level of financial or reputational risk to the organisation.
“We have no difference in either hierarchy, responsibility or experience between volunteers and voluntary interns, the only difference is that volunteers undertake on-going work and voluntary intern undertake a project that is time bound.”
But our intern claimed Oxfam’s interns are given more responsibility than regular volunteers, insisting:
“There is a hierarchy between volunteer interns and volunteers. As interns we were managing other groups of volunteers and (in my internship) encouraging them to raise money for Oxfam. We were giving presentations to community groups, meeting high-value fundraisers and encouraging them to raise more, managing fundraising groups… So there was a lot of responsibility. We were treated as junior members of staff — apart from the fact that we weren’t paid.”
And when we asked Oxfam whether they felt their internships were truly inclusive and open to all, their spokesperson reminded us that Oxfam interns receive “reasonable travel from where they live to where they are volunteering and lunch up to £6 a day.” They also said:
“As a voluntary lead organisation it’s paramount that we provide a good experience for all of our volunteers. Our voluntary internships are meaningful both for the organisation and the individual. Our voluntary internships are project based and not purely “admin support”. We do not endorse exploitation of workers either paid or voluntary. Our voluntary internship agreement is in place to safeguard the experience and management of our voluntary interns.
“Inclusiveness is one of Oxfam’s three core values along with empowerment and accountability. We always strive to be inclusive, which is why we have had people undertaking voluntary internships from all different backgrounds, some of whom are on incapacity benefits, job seekers allowance, have physical disabilities or mental health problems. We are proud of being an inclusive organisation and especially proud of the diverse range of volunteers we have volunteering for us.”
It is worth pointing out that interns aren’t the only ones who have raised concerns about the charity sector’s reliance on free labour. Several senior managers and other charity professionals have admitted to us privately that they feel the balance is wrong and the rules or culture of charity internships must change. But for that to happen, the charity world will first have to admit there is a problem here. Will they?
*ARE OXFAM’S EXHAUSTED INTERNS REALLY ‘VOLUNTEERS’?
Is it right that internships at Oxfam are only open to those with significant financial support from their parents — or those prepared to work day and night? Is it right that the law effectively guarantees charities an endless supply of unpaid interns — or should the law be tightened? If you’ve interned unpaid for a charity, how did you fund your placement?
Its even worse than this
PAY up to £210 to be a ‘volunteer’ steward at festivals.
Lose some of your deposit if you cancel.
All that and you have to work shifts and be available.
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/stewarding/faqs
I believe that s.44 is being exploited on a HUGE scale by charities. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen a junior or entry level position into any of the major players in the charity sector which is both paid and doesn’t require previous voluntary experience.
They are the worst exploiters of unpaid internships on a scale worse than fashion or journalism I’d say. It’s unacceptable and state sanctioned.
s.44 allows charities to take on “voluntary workers”. However, some clever marketeer mind in their HR department re-branded those positions as “internships” because an internship is more prestigious than being a volunteer, therefore more people apply for those positions.
I think if section 44 is to be continued, there has to be a prohibition of calling anything which falls under s.44 an internship.
If it’s a voluntary worker position in, for example, it must be called “HR Voluntary Worker”. But if there’s an internship in HR, then it can be called “HR Intern” but it must be paid NMW.
My friends think me uncharitable when I say that I don’t donate to charity, but I’m afraid I’m not willing to invest my money into a charity unless I can be certain that they aren’t exploiting young workers desperate for paying jobs in the charity sector.
However, the only thing that’s certain is that the vast majority of charities have their hands dirty in that respect.
It does not matter whether any job has been rebranded as an Apprenticeship, Internship or similar….if a candidate is required to attend an employers place of business within specified time limits, told what to do, how to do it, under the supervision of a staffer, then they are subject to a defacto Contract of Employment, and the employer is legally obliged to pay the candidate at least National Minimum Wage.
The State is entitled to its fair take, through £Tax and £NationalInsurance.
If the employer wishes to shirk their responsibilities to the State, then they should be given the chance to redeem themselves, before HMRC is notified that the employer is infringing legislation. HMRC may thence invoke its powers of Criminal Investigation to assess the employer.
Oxfam is no different to any other employer which is gaming the system.
Do get it right Eowyn, charities are not obliged to pay the Minimum Wage in the way you have outlined. The argument, as Tanya has neatly outlined, is that charities have a moral duty to pay these people as they are burrowing down an exception in the regulations that simply should not apply to unpaid interns.
When people are trying to point out iniquities such as this, it really does not help the argument when you get your facts wrong.
Eowyn Rohan, this isn’t the first time you’ve got legal facts wrong.
For instance, you keep making reference to “obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception” and applying it to every topic you comment on:
http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/why-we-need-to-resist-tenant-blacklisting/
http://blogs.channel4.com/faisal-islam-on-economics/the-cabinet-and-the-snooty-so-and-sos-refusing-to-work-for-free/15998
https://graduatefog.co.uk/2012/2080/interns-fight-justice-campaign/
https://graduatefog.co.uk/2012/1880/war-unpaid-intern-schemes-forced-labour-claims-government/
https://graduatefog.co.uk/2012/2102/official-forced-unpaid-work-lead-jobs/
You have been told on at least two of those threads that obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception is long abolished.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obtaining_pecuniary_advantage_by_deception
If you don’t understand the law, please don’t comment on it because to be fair the technicalities of employment law in relation to interns isn’t help by amateur and incorrect legal commentary.
Shame on you, Tanya, for thinking that your time should always be compensated for financially. What a horrible attitude.
“In 2012-13 44% of adults volunteered formally (giving unpaid help through a group, club or organisation) at least once a year and 29% did so at least once a month.” From ivr.org.uk
Where would our society be without volunteers giving time? I am 31 and still volunteer every afternoon – the equivalent of an Oxfam intern. I live in the south east, and just about get by every month with a low paid, part-time job. Guess what – I do this because I support the cause I believe in and because I know there are people worse off than me. I VOLUNTEER, as do Oxfam interns.
It’s not all about money.
And how about asking more than one intern for an opinion, rather than present one as if this fairly reflected the entire intership scheme?!
I think we really need a proper definition of volunteer and while we’re at it, intern, apprenticeship and work experience because I think terms like this are being used inappropriately to get out of minimum wage laws.
@anonymous If this is the case, why do they have salaried employees at all? Those people should surely also be expected to give all their time away for free too out of the goodness of their hearts?
People that work for charities usually have the empathy and temperament to want to do it for a full time career, cant be expected to live off good will and sentiment alone.
I used to volunteer for a charity which involved helping with admin etc, but I wasn’t expected to be there set hours with set duties at set times for a specified period of time. That is effectively employment, agreeing to undertake certain duties in return for financial compensation.
That is a classic outcome of the retreat of the state, filled by NGOs hiring labour for nothing…The UK deserves it’s society, pawn brokers, betting shops, KFCs, Mc Donalds, charity shops, you all voted for Thatcher in the 80s, remember?
@JC As I said, I also work (for a charity, actually). Like most people, I can’t afford to “give all [my] time away for free”. The point is, I willfully give my time to support (another) NGO in my spare hours. It is MY choice, just as it is ultimately the choice of the Oxfam interns. If they didn’t like the hours they had to volunteer, they didn’t have to.
Imagine being a charity relying on volunteers, when you didn’t know for sure when they would turn up or how many hours they would put in?
@Anonymous I think the sketchy area is clarification. Unfortunately now, like with many other non charity sector jobs, you are expected to undertake these intern ships before having a chance to get a paying job- I was told as much at most interviews I had with charities. They look to people who had already done these things for months/years first before anything else.
Granted they did opt to undertake these, but the point Tanya and others are trying to make against internships is that these by their very nature, exclude those who cant afford to up sticks and move to give their time away for free or even support it with part time work.
Unfortunately, I have now had to abandon any aspirations of doing what I truly wanted to do/had qualifications and training in for another path for this very reason.
The whole sector are at it..
The Anne Frank Trust are now engaging in unpaid internships!
http://www.w4mpjobs.org/JobDetails.aspx?jobid=46857
Gives Arbeit macht frei a new meaning….
@jC
Agreed, internships shouldn’t be a prerequisite for a job, and it’s shameful if this is expected.
If you need to know when your workers will turn up and what hours they will do then you need to properly employ them with a real job with a contract. Expecting that kind of commitment from volunteers or zero hour contracts is just having your cake and eating it.
@ Anonymous,
how about if I ‘volunteered’ for your job? Does that bring it home any closer about the difference between being a worker and a volunteer. Just because its a good cause that doesn’t give you an automatic pass not to pay people when they SHOULD be paid.
I’d like to point out that the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 exists not just to protect vulnerable workers from unscrupulous employers, but also from other workers who might operate in predatory ways.
For example, Derrick above has raise a brilliant point… How would you like it if I “volunteered” for your job? Not because I want to work for free, but (let’s say) simply because I’m rich enough to work for free, I need that experience, and I’m willing to work for less than you on our grand race to the bottom. I don’t think you’d like that.
Although I can understand that s.44 of the NMWA 1998 was enacted to protect legitimate volunteering, what’s happening is that those who can afford to work for free are employing predatory practices and allowing the practice to continue, meanwhile closing the whole industry to those who can’t afford to enter that career.
This loopwhole has negative, albeit unintended, consequences that really need to be re-evaluated.
Too many heads of national charities act like gods and goddesses. Heaven is that fantastic place where cancer patients have benefited from the research and support they needed, or where a village in rural Africa now hasclean water, or cardiac patients now look forward to a long healthy life. And that’s absolutely brilliant. The heads of those charities will receive their rewards.
However, getting to heaven often means personal sacrifice. These gods and goddesses have their temples where workers – paid staff, interns and volunteers – worship as they try to reach heaven. They are expected to demonstrate absolute obedience to the deity and serve without question, since the deity have declared themselves infallible.
The followers are expected to increase their levels of devotion and serve above and beyond what they have agreed. Refusal to work on your day off is an act of disobedience and almost betrayal.
The deity becomes obsessed with targets and increasing revenue to the point where they push many of their full-time paid staff into part-time short-term contracts. The goal is to keep overheads to a minimum and keep whipping everyone. Volunteers and interns work for free and bring in the revenue that pays for wages, research and material assistance.
Sadly, interns are regarded with disdain, a necessary evil, to be controlled and kept in their “place”.
@Brian
All I can say is: That makes so much sense. I can now transfer my disdain for organised religion to justify my disdain for charitable governance.
@Costa del Sol, lol.