Many UK interns are legally entitled to the National Minimum Wage — regardless of what their agreement says. This guide explains when unpaid internships are lawful and when they are not.
Unpaid internships are widespread in the UK — but many of them are unlawful. Whether you are entitled to the National Minimum Wage as an intern depends on your legal employment status, not what your employer calls the arrangement.
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 applies to all workers. If you meet the legal definition of a worker — someone who personally performs work under a contract — you are entitled to be paid at least the NMW, regardless of what the arrangement is labelled ("intern", "volunteer", "work experience", "shadow").
Your employer cannot avoid paying the NMW by calling you an intern.
Unpaid internships are lawful only in limited circumstances:
If you are working for a charity, voluntary organisation, or associated body as a genuine volunteer — with no obligation to attend and no right to payment other than out-of-pocket expenses — NMW does not apply.
If you are purely observing work without doing any work yourself — sitting in on meetings, watching processes — and your role is entirely passive, you are unlikely to be a worker.
Students undertaking work experience as part of a UK-based further or higher education course (an accredited sandwich year or placement) are exempt from NMW.
Students of compulsory school age (under 16) on official work experience programmes are exempt.
If you are:
...you are almost certainly a worker and must be paid at least the NMW.
The fact that the employer says "this is unpaid work experience" or "you agreed to work for free" does not matter. A worker cannot legally agree to be paid below the NMW — the right to NMW cannot be waived.
If you were a worker during an unpaid internship, you are owed NMW for every hour worked, backdated. The current rates (April 2025/26):
You can claim arrears going back up to 2 years via an Employment Tribunal claim.
Interns who are workers must receive the NMW in cash (or bank transfer). Expenses reimbursements, travel costs, or benefits in kind do not count towards NMW unless they are in cash.
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