Axegrinder: Journalist sought to work for Tesco for six months, for free!
Posted by
Axegrinder on 8 July 2010 at 10:10
Tags: Magazines, Work experience
More tales reach me of work experience exploitation. This time it is the magazine of supermarket giant Tesco which is seeking an editorial intern who can work for nothing for up to six months.
Their posting on a journalism forum states: “The role will include providing administrative and organisational support for the editorial desk, along with the chance to learn and develop basic journalism skills including researching, fact checking and writing news and feature content.”
It also notes that Tesco Magazine is the most read women’s magazine in the UK with 6.5 million readers.
The post states: “The role is not salaried, but we will pay basic expenses.”
Two weeks is work experience. Six months is work. Shape up Tesco! Or more precisely, contract publishing outfit Cedar which publishes the mag.
And take note of this from guidelines drawn up by the PPA in 2004 for interns and work experience: “Where a student does work experience for more than two weeks, Working Time regulations would be breached if they are not paid the statutory rate for the job.”
