Form letter that I email to companies offering unpaid internships.

Form Letter.md

Subject: Unpaid Internships & Fair Work

Hi there,

I'm Ben Taylor, I don't represent anyone or anything, I'm simply a concerned Australian. Our country has long been known as a paradise for the working class. We give fair holidays and fair pay. We're a country that doesn't tip because we know the waitstaff are earning enough to support themselves.

I'm emailing you because your company is offering an unpaid internship. Under Australian law it's illegal to have an employee that works for free. In many cases unpaid internships are illegal.

It's absolutely in your right to offer an internship, you can pay them minimum wage if you like, but not paying is exploitative and discriminatory. Should a young person who is independent be forced to take a second job or live under severe financial stress just to get a chance in an industry? What about those who can't afford to do even that?

You miss out on potentially great employees and they miss out on the opportunity to move in to skilled work.

If McDonalds can get more than the minimum wage in value out of their teenage employees, I'm sure your business can do the same with interns - even while they're training.

For more information please read the resources here:

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/student-placement-and-unpaid-work/pages/student-placements-work-experience-and-internships.aspx

http://www.fairwork.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets/employer-obligations/pages/internships-vocational-placements-and-unpaid-work.aspx#work-experience-internships

You can also talk to the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94, 8am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday. They'll assist you in coming up with an employment scheme which supports interns financially, helps them to become more skilled and deliver value for your business.

This is just a bit of information that I hope helps you to improve your business practices.

Cheers,

Ben

LICENSE.md

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If you wanted to make a mini one page site, and have a "Yours sincerely, the united web community of Australia"

… then you might get better coverage and weight behind your campaign?

Just a thought. Otherwise, good stuff.

@mattrobs & mipearson: thanks have removed that bit - you're right, though I did mean it nicely because I didn't want to scare them

@benschwarz: It's on my todolist

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