Concerns also raised that practice prevents young working-class people from finding paid work in creative industriesArts employers could be breaking the law by relying on unpaid interns to perform roles that should be left to paid workers, preventing young people from working-class backgrounds from gaining a foothold, experts have said.Institutions are getting away with exploiting carve-outs in employment legislation to keep interns working for free, they said, which stops working-class people from finding paid work in the industry. Continue reading...
The UK arts sector's reliance on unpaid interns may be illegal, creating a two-tier system that excludes those from working-class backgrounds. Many roles filled by interns are effectively employee duties, exploiting legal loopholes and hindering social diversity. A survey reveals 30% of arts leaders are privately educated, while 86% of creative interns are unpaid. The government plans to ban unpaid internships except for educational purposes, but enforcement details are unclear. This practice perpetuates inequality and financial strain, particularly in London, where interns may lose up to £6,300 over six months.
