The Government has published the ‘Good Work plan’ which comes in response to the independent Taylor Review, published last year. The review investigated what impact modern working practices are having on the world of work.The proposals include:
- enforcing vulnerable workers’ holiday and sick pay for the first time
- a list of day-one rights including holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip for all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers, and
- a right for all workers, not just zero-hour and agency, to request a more stable contract, providing more financial security for those on flexible contracts.
The Review had also recommended that the Government look at internships, which might have potentially harmed volunteering within the heritage sector. The Government response states on page 46 that it will ‘work to eradicate exploitative unpaid internships and take action to ‘improve the interpretation of the law and the enforcement action taken by HMRC in this area to help stamp out illegal unpaid internships. The law is clear that interns who are classed as workers must be paid at least the NMW/NLW.’
‘On the other hand, genuine volunteers are not entitled to the NMW. Volunteers benefit from the general experience they gain through being in a working environment, but are not legally required to turn up, are free to leave at any time, and they do not have a contract, so would not expect any monetary payments or benefits in kind for their volunteering duties’.
Most in the heritage sector will be covered by the charity or voluntary organisation exemption provided no monetary payments are given only limited and specified expenses and benefits. However, the Government does say in its response that if its current approach to internships does not work it will ‘review the existing policy and legal framework and will consider what other action can be taken’.