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Employers 'tricking graduates'

23/11/2009 Employers 'tricking graduates'Nearly nine in ten graduates are not aware that it is illegal for employers to not pay them for work experience, a new study reveals.

The poll also revealed that some graduates had worked for up to a year without recieving any kind of pay, according to a survey by studentgems.co.uk.

Under the government's National Minimum Wage Act 1998, people working under any arrangements must be paid at least the minimum wage.

However, employers often quibble over the legal definition of the term 'worker', which implies a contract of employment rather than casual agreements.

Paul Sellers, a policy advisor for the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said that "abuse" of interns had been ongoing for some years, especially in the media industries, but "with the recession ? [it] is actually spreading out into other sectors".

He added: "In most cases, those undertaking work experience must be paid the minimum wage and that is a bargain price for taking on graduates. Unions are gearing up to help the police in this area and the TUC is this year calling on the Low Pay Commission to crack down on the abuse of work experience and internships."

Mr Sellers went on to say that while "high quality work experience can be a great benefit to people just starting out their career, all too often employers are misusing their power to levy a toll of unpaid work on young people".

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