We are committed to best practice opportunities for those entering the profession. We believe that it is our responsibility to provide future practitioners with a platform from which they can achieve the highest quality of learning and development.
In brief:
- The CIPR advocates that all work placements or internships in public relations should be paying at least The Living Wage – not doing so denies access to the profession to certain socio-economic groups
- Legally, workers aren't entitled to the minimum wage if both of the following apply:
- they're working for a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fund raising body or a statutory body
- they don't get paid, except for limited benefits (eg reasonable travel or lunch expenses)
- A complaint could be raised against any CIPR member who has contracted a member of staff to pay them only expenses or below the minimum wage to work for them (if the above exceptions don't apply)
- The only legal exception to the above is for those on sandwich placements as part of their studies
Download toolkit (PDF)
The toolkit, first published in 2011, is for all public relations practitioners to create internships or work experience programmes that allow those considering a career in PR to gain as much practical experience as possible and includes information on how to plan a placement, recruit participants, set objectives and evaluate. Legal and CIPR guidance on paying participants The Living Wage is also included.