MP Philip Hammond in unpaid intern row

Sep 1 2009 By Emma Heseltine, Surrey Herald

Philip Hammond MP

RUNNYMEDE and Weybridge MP Philip Hammond has come under fire for breaching minimum wage laws by employing unpaid interns in his office.

The shadow chief secretary to the treasury has been criticised after advertising for 'a confident, hard-working intern' to join his Westminster office for six months, specifying the role would be unpaid with only travel expenses covered.

Whoever fills the role will also have to carry out constituency work and research for the Treasury.

But MPs' guidelines, put together by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, state: "Members' interns can never be classed as voluntary workers under national minimum wage legislation.

"Once an individual comes under an obligation to perform activities in accordance with the employer's instruction, or the individual fulfils an actual job, national minimum wage should be paid."

Mr Hammond, a millionaire who earns a salary of £62,000 a year, claims expenses on his second home in Westminster and has earned millions from the shares he owns in property firm Castlemead Ltd.

He denied any wrongdoing, and said: "All offices of Conservative members of parliament are manned by interns. This is true of all parties, not just the Conservatives. My view is that this is a volunteer position."

Mr Hammond explained that interns only work four days a week and are not under contract as employees of him or the Conservative Party.

But residents in the MP's constituency disagree,

Donald Mills, 57, has just been made redundant from his IT job in London. He said: "Things are bad enough in this recession, without Mr Hammond taking advantage of free labour.

"He should be looking to cut his expenses, as should all the MPs, not using volunteers. He'll be getting interns who can get financial help from mummy and daddy, and will be excluding normal working class people or those hit by the recession, because they can't afford to help."

A spokeswoman for Jobcentre Plus, which has a branch in Weybridge, said: "We have scores of people looking for work, because they can't afford to live day by day. The MP should be setting an example and paying at least the minimum wage, not using free workers."

Mr Hammond added that by having an unpaid intern, he was helping to keep his costs low.