Press

NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, RADIO, TV and DIGITAL

Graduate Fog’s exclusive investigations are regularly picked up by the mainstream media, and we’re often invited to comment on breaking news stories impacting the UK’s students and graduates. Here’s who’s been writing about us recently…

PS. Don’t forget! Our campaign work is funded entirely by the generous members of the Good + Fair Employers Club, our coalition of responsible employers of young people.

Financial Times
Big recruiters drop ‘exit fees’ on newly hired staff who quit early *STAR STORY!*
28 May 2022 (Not an FT subscriber? Click here)

Sunday Times
Graduates hit by stinging ‘exit fees’ from recruiters *STAR STORY!* 
15 May 2022 (Don’t subscribe? Click here)

Independent
Jobless graduates exploited by employers using pandemic as excuse not to pay
1 December 2021

Evening Standard
The Wild West jobs market where graduates are told: we can’t pay you this month
1 December 2021

Daily Telegraph
Gradual return to offices could be bad news for young people
13 July 2021

Financial Times
Graduate jobs after the pandemic: ‘I’m only an email address to my team’
4 July 2021 (Link not working? Try this)

Guardian
Put yourself out there (while staying in): Tips on graduate job hunting
8 December 2020

Guardian
“The job market isn’t completely on its knees”: Why there’s hope for anxious graduates
2 December 2020

Guardian Live
VIDEO: How can universities help students survive the graduate jobs crisis? (Panel discussion 24 November 2020)
26 November 2020

Guardian
How can universities help students survive the graduate jobs crisis? (Teaser for panel discussion)
13 November 2020

Newsweek
Illegal unpaid internships still advertised in the UK
30 September 2020

Observer
No internships, no entry-level jobs: Under 25s fear Covid jobs squeeze *STAR STORY!*
30 August 2020

Financial Times
When employment contracts come with exit fees
8 June 2020

Financial Times
What are the job prospects for the class of 2020?
4 May 2020

Evening Standard
Royal Mail and KPMG top list of ‘good and fair’ employers of young people
17 January 2020

Financial Times
Prorogation barrister heads push against ‘exit-fee’ contracts
18 November 2019

Independent
Samantha Cameron says fashion brand would’ve been more successful if she wasn’t David Cameron’s wife
6 November 2019

i News
Samantha Cameron’s high-class fashion label criticised after advertising for unpaid intern
3 November 2019

Independent
Samantha Cameron’s fashion brand reported for ‘breaking employment rules’
3 November 2019

Guardian
Samantha Cameron under fire as fashion label breaches employment rules
2 November 2019

Financial Times
Fighting for fairer access to the jobs market *STAR STORY! PROFILE PIECE*
20 May 2019

Express
BBC accused of slave labour after job advert for unpaid Wimbledon workers
13 May 2019

Sun
BBC accused of exploitation after job advert requesting unpaid workers for Wimbledon
12 May 2019

Evening Standard
Jolyon Maugham QC joins advisory board for the Graduate Fog Employers Club
1 March 2019

Diversity & Inclusion – The Times supplement (Raconteur)
The true cost of unpaid fashion internships
30 January 2019

Personnel Today
Half of employers don’t know that many unpaid internships are illegal
23 November 2018

Sunday Times
Nepotism lands job for quarter of MPs’ interns
18 November 2018

Guardian
AA agency worker has contract terminated after breaking leg
31 October 2018

Personnel Today
How paid internships can help boost productivity and cut recruitment costs
18 July 2018

Personnel Today
Capita ends exit payments for graduates on training scheme
16 July 2018

Evening Standard
Stella Creasy dazzles as guest speaker for new club for responsible employers of young people
6 July 2018

Financial Times
Capita halts ‘Victorian-style’ fee clawbacks from former trainees
24 June 2018

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
Zero wage Britain: The firms that want you to work for free
22 June 2018

Guardian
Chuka Umunna, there’s no excuse for unpaid ‘student placements’
12 June 2018

Independent
Chuka Umunna: What I learnt from the controversy surrounding an internship placement at my office
3 June 2018

Huffington Post
Chuka Umunna Ends Unpaid Student Interns Until Labour Or IPSA Agree To Provide Funding
3 June 2018

Guardian
Capita and FDM Group face legal action from former employees over exit fees
1 June 2018

Personnel Today
Firms face legal challenge over ‘arbitrary’ training fees
1 June 2018

BBC News
Corbyn wades into Chuka Umunna ‘unpaid intern’ row
31 May 2018

Metro
Chuka Umunna is advertising for unpaid worker despite hitting out at low-pay work
31 May 2018

Express
Chuka Umunna attacked over ad for UNPAID office intern – after Labour criticised policy
31 May 2018

Evening Standard
Barrister’s wager on wage case
17 April 2018

Press Gazette
Intern suing Monocle for unpaid wages leaks ‘extreme’ handbook given as guide to working for high-end publisher
13 April 2018

The Times
US teenagers pay five-figure fees to become unpaid interns
7 April 2018

Huffington Post
Gender Pay Gap For UK’s Top Graduate Employers Shows Many Pay Women A Third Less Than Men
4 April 2018

The Guardian
Why I’m suing over my dream internship
27 March 2018

The Guardian
Cancer Research bans unpaid internships to preserve public’s trust
19 Mar 2018

Huffington Post
The Hidden Price Of Unpaid Internships: Graduates Reveal How ‘Elitist’ System Stops Them Getting Ahead
19 March 2018

People Management
Parliamentary bill seeks to ban ‘disingenuous’ unpaid trial shifts
16 March 2018

The Times
Ministers get tough on companies that fail to pay interns
9 February 2018

The Guardian
Vogue criticised for unpaid internships
8 February 2018

The Guardian
Initiative to crack down on unpaid internships launched in UK
8 February 2018

BBC News
Unpaid internships likened to modern slavery in Lords debate
27 October 2017

Financial Times
Barclays to offer free accommodation to graduate job applicants
24 October 2017

The Guardian
Poundland ‘gets jobless to work for free under government scheme’
30 August 2017

The Guardian
Capita criticised over unpaid graduate training scheme
26 July 2017

The Guardian
US oil firm Halliburton branded ‘obscene’ over unpaid UK internships
7 June 2017

The Sun
Fatcat companies slammed for offering unpaid jobs disguised as work experience
23 April 2017

Observer
Pret a Manger agrees to pay thousands of work experience teenagers after online outcry
26 March 2017

Evening Standard
Pret a Manger vows to pay interns after backlash over ‘exploitative’ work experience plan
25 March 2017

Telegraph
Pret climbs down on ‘sandwiches in exchange for work’ scheme and promises to pay teenage interns
25 March 2017

Guardian
Pret a Manger looks to UK’s teenagers to tackle looming staff crisis
25 March 2017

Save The Student
Asda to offer staff a big pay rise – but there is a catch
14 March 2017

Guardian
Are you rich enough to bid for a City AM internship?
30 November 2016

Guardian
Tories failing to deal with unpaid internships, say campaigners
6 November 2016

Guardian
Ban on unpaid internships being considered, says employment minister
30 October 2016

BuzzFeed
Company Awarded £2 Million Of Public Money To Run Jobs Website “No One Has Heard Of” Goes Into Liquidation
20 October 2016

Guardian
Heat magazine in hot water over work experience placement
13 October 2016

BBC
Work experience – or just work? Magazine feels the Heat over unpaid placement
12 October 2016

Evening Standard
Any chance of a job at HSBC? Go on, my son
11 October 2016

Daily Mail
Big Issue founder Lord Bird apologises after advertising UNPAID ‘anti-poverty research’ internship
13 September 2016

BBC
Bird’s about turn: Big Issue founder apologises over unpaid internship advert
13 September 2016

Third Sector
National Trust accused of exploiting interns
13 June 2016

Daily Mail
National Trust accused of exploiting young people and damaging social mobility by hiring unpaid interns
12 June 2016

Guardian
National Trust criticised for using unpaid interns to do admin jobs
11 June 2016

The Times
National Trust is ‘exploiting’ young with unpaid roles
11 June 2016

Guardian
Trump summer internship asks for $100,000 on charity auction website
22 April 2016

Independent
Donald Trump auctions off 10-week internship in New York for $100,000
21 April 2016

Daily Telegraph
Want to intern for Donald Trump? It will cost you $100,000
21 April 2016

BuzzFeed
A government website was advertising jobs that pay less than the national living wage
19 April 2016

The Tab
A government jobs website was advertising roles that pay below the national living wage
19 April 2016

Independent
Government graduate jobs website removes vacancies that ‘did not meet National Living Wage requirements’
19 April 2016

Guardian
Millennials at work: five stereotypes and why they are (mostly) wrong
15 March 2016

Guardian
Magazine publisher wants editor to live within half an hour of Mayfair
4 March 2016

Independent
Manchester United accused of “paying poverty wages” to graduates
8 February 2016

HR Magazine
Employers, want to attract great graduates in 2016? Here’s how
29 January 2016

MailOnline
Labour’s shadow equalities minister shamed after advertising for an unpaid intern
19 January 2016

The Sun
Astonishing” – Shadow Equality Minister Kate Osamor criticised for unpaid internship advert
19 January 2016

BBC News
Labour shadow equality minister Kate Osamor admits unpaid intern “mistake”
19 January 2016

International Business Times
Labour shadow equalities minister Kate Osamor accused of hypocrisy for unpaid intern ad
19 January 2016

Independent
Graduate defends ZSL London Zoo’s controversial job vacancy which looked for ‘unpaid intern with a Masters degree’
11 November 2015

Metro
London Zoo advertises job vacancy seeking ‘unpaid intern with a Masters degree’
10 November 2015

Independent
ZSL London Zoo under fire for advertising job vacancy seeking ‘unpaid intern with a Masters degree’
9 November 2015

Guardian
London Zoo advertises for graduate to help run global project unpaid
9 November 2015

Evening Standard
Graduate wanted to run London Zoo’s conservation project for no pay
9 November 2015

Evening Standard
Grant Thornton’s Sacha Romanovitch in bid to give grads a break * NEW SPONSOR! *
22 September 2015, City Spy

Evening Standard
Southeastern trains ‘exploiting young Londoners with low-paid customer services apprenticeship’
28 August 2015

Private Eye * STAR STORY! *
Frocky Horror: Dame Vivienne Westwood challenged over unpaid interns
19 August 2015

New Zealand Herald
Mother of Kiwi living in a tent: ‘It was good to hear from him’
13 August 2015

Guardian
Unpaid UN intern who had to sleep in a tent quits after media uproar
12 August 2015

Guardian
Of course internship swapping is dodgy. But then so is working for free
26 June 2015, Zoe Williams’ column

Guardian * STAR STORY! *
BBC staff broke rules with internship swaps
24 June 2015

MailOnline
BBC staff broke rules after they ‘traded internships for teenagers with other leading companies who could help their own children’
24 June 2015

Express
BBC blasted after employee ‘offered work experience in exchange for favour to their child’
23 June 2015

Independent * STAR STORY! *
MyInternSwap: Work experience listings website criticised for ‘locking out’ the less privileged
23 June 2015

Dazed
Does this internship website just cater for the elite?
23 June 2015

BuzzFeed
BBC Staff Are Handing Out Work Experience To Anyone Who Gives Their Kids An Internship
23 June 2015

Guardian
Work experience swap site ‘locks out less privileged pupils’
23 June 2015

YOU Magazine (Mail on Sunday)
13 Internships and Still No Job: Meet the Eternal Intern
21 June 2015

Observer * STAR STORY! *
Interns ‘forced to wait months’ for minimum wage inquiries
6 June 2015

Guardian
Opposition mounts to BBC2’s ‘hardest Grafter’ reality show
2 June 2015

BBC News *STAR STORY!*
Petition grows against BBC’s Britain’s Hardest Grafter show
1 June 2015

BuzzFeed
The People Behind The Controversial BBC “Hunger Games” Show Deny It’s Exploitative
29 May 2015

Radio Times
Why is a new BBC reality show being called “the real Hunger Games”?
29 May 2015

Newsweek
New reality show pits those living below the poverty line against one another ‘Hunger Games’-style
28 May 2015

Guardian
BBC defends reality show involving poor, dubbed ‘Hunger Games’
28 May 2015

Sydney Morning Herald
BBC show where poor compete for cash feels like ‘Hunger Games’
28 May 2015

Independent
Britain’s Hardest Grafter: Petition set up as Twitter reacts to BBC ‘property porn’ series pitting low-paid workers against each other
28 May 2015

Daily Express
Benefits Street meets Hunger Games in new BBC show Britain’s Hardest Grafter
28 May 2015

Daily Telegraph
Outrage as BBC creates a new show dubbed as the ‘Working Class Hunger Games’
28 May 2015

Cosmopolitan
This new TV show is essentially The Hunger Games and it feels wrong
28 May 2015

VICE
Why the outrage about Britain’s Hardest Grafter is misplaced bullshit
28 May 2015

Huffington Post
BBC2 is putting on a show pitting jobless youths against each other to compete for cash prizes
28 May 2015

Broadcast
BBC defends ‘Hunger Games’-style social experiment
28 May 2015

Jezebel
UK reality show challenges nation’s poor to battle for a year’s wage
27 May 2015

MailOnline
A new low for the BBC? Bosses creating show which pitches jobless workers against each other to win £15,000
27 May 2015

Independent *STAR STORY!*
BBC to pit low-paid against each other in Hunger Games-style show to find Britain’s Hardest Grafter
27 May 2015

Sunday Times
The hard work of landing a job starts here
19 April 2015

Career Builder
How to survive your first week as an intern
5 March 2015

Guido Fawkes
Tories in ‘Economic plan’ row with campaigners
20 February 2015

Guardian
Newspaper group plans to charge students to write for its titles
10 February 2015

Independent
Want a career in Hollywood? Buy yourself an internship with Harvey Weinstein’s firm for £16,000
4 February 2015

Raw Story
Harvey Weinstein’s company auctions off an internship for $25,000
3 February 2015

Guardian
Harvey Weinstein’s company auctions off an internship for $25,000
3 Febuary 2015, Roy Greenslade’s media blog

The Debrief
So job offers are getting rejected by graduates – what does this actually mean?
28 January 2015

Cosmopolitan
There’s a company charging unpaid interns £300 for a REFERENCE
12 January 2015

The Debrief
Think your internship is bad? Imagine paying £300 for a reference
12 January 2015

Huffington Post
ThinkTank Civitatis International charges interns £300 if they want a job reference
12 January 2015

Observer
Unpaid interns charged £300 for a job reference by thinktank
11 January 2015

Private Eye
Did the Evening Standard forget its own internship ‘horror stories’?
Street of Shame, 27 November 2014

Evening Standard
Rosamund Urwin: £926 a month – the cost of being an unpaid intern
13 November 2014

The Debrief
So unpaid internships cost you £900 a month. But there is a solution
12 November 2014

Channel 4 News
Are unpaid interns living in the ‘wild west’ of free labour?
12 November 2014

Daily Mail
Poorer graduates shut out from desirable London workplaces as interns pay £926 a month to work for nothing in the capital
12 November 2014

BuzzFeed
If you want to do an unpaid internship in London, it will cost you £6,000
12 November 2014

Cosmopolitan
Will unpaid internships FINALLY be made illegal?
16 October 2014

Evening Standard
Website offering advice on how to live in London on a tight budget faces backlash for advertising for unpaid interns
7 October 2014

Huffington Post
Company under fire after offering six month unpaid internships totalling nearly 5,500 hours of work
10 September 2014

Huffington Post
Christian Dior advertises six-month ‘reception intern’ who must have English as first language
29 August 2014

Guardian
Standard attacked for offering London Live unpaid internship as prize
1 August 2014, Roy Greenslade’s blog

Financial Times
Businesses flout law on paying interns for ‘valuable tasks’
23 July 2014

Telegraph
Are unpaid internships damaging your career propects?
9 July 2014

Observer
Lib Dem MP John Leech faces HMRC investigation over unpaid internships
5 July 2014

Debrief
It looks like we all get a three-year itch with our careers
1 July 2014

Wall Street Journal
Glaxo dumps firm for preying on college grads for clinical trials
23 June 2014

Observer * STAR STORY! *
GlaxoSmithKline sorry for drugs trial pitch to unpaid interns
22 June 2014