This week, Vancouver tech darling Hootsuite was “hammered” (according to Global News) with complaints connected to its practice of hiring unpaid interns. Critics charged that the practice was not only unethical, but also illegal. According to a recent article in the Globe and Mail the wellspring of antipathy around Hootsuite’s decision to hire unpaid interns and then asking them to work regular hours for three months tapped into a deep seated frustration among many people online.
Hootsuite is now reviewing their hiring practices to see if they contravene the BC Employment Standards Act. According to the http://vancouverinternships.ca, a site devoted to internships in BC, a close read of the law appears to confirm that unpaid private sector work that isn’t formally connected to a post-secondary institution is illegal.
“the Employment Standards Act (ESA) says of internships, that in order for them to be exempt from the ESA, and thus exempt from minimum wage rules, they must be – “hands-on” training that is required by the curriculum, and will result in a certificate or diploma.”
To quote York University employment law professor, Dr David Doorey “So that’s easy: if the internship is part of a higher education co-op program, then the Act does not apply.”
It makes a lot of sense for internships (paid or unpaid) to be part of a school curriculum to provide students with real world experience in the career they hope to one day enter. Indeed, some of the benefits of volunteering/interning can be found in a recent post I wrote on this blog. Personally, I’ve also significantly benefited from internships and volunteer work. I was fortunate enough to be able to work for free for a set amount of time and as a result managed to snag two of my three jobs in public relations.
However, it also seems unfortunate that according to our labour laws, students are the only ones who can benefit from unpaid internships. While Hootsuite’s three month term may be a bit long, it does seem reasonable to not require a degree and enrollment in an often expensive program in order to be eligible to apply for the same positions available to someone in a college program. All things being equal, if a student and non-student go head to head in an internship application process and the non-student is deemed a better candidate, why not let them get that work experience? A not-so-recent graduate in their late-twenties might be willing to work four days a week – full-time – and manage a couple of part-time serving or labour jobs in the evenings and on the weekends in order to build the skills and make the connections required for a career change. Currently, they’re marginalized from such potential enhancing experiences.
Ultimately, our labour laws effectively obligate all employers (including Hootsuite) to ignore applicants eager to get work experience. This can impact all sorts of people including recently graduated (but unemployed) students looking to get their foot in the door.
The result of these laws appears to have created a monopoly for colleges when it comes to work experience. While this may protect outright abuse in the “wild west” of unpaid interns, it also will significantly limit the options of non-students who might learn about a topic through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) or other online learning models.This might not be good for anyone – be it employers or (future employees).