You pay for what you get
May 7, 2008 //
I get asked quite often, to promote openings available at agencies and brands. Whilst I’m more than delighted to do this for companies such as Adobe, I’m not prepared to do it for companies that don’t pay at least minimum wage.
I refused to promote a work experience position for a major record label this morning on the grounds that I don’t believe in promoting free labour. Paying for travel and expenses isn’t enough in my personal opinion. I don’t care if it’s the norm in the record or fashion industries. If the roles are so coveted they shouldn’t need to promote the positions in the first place, they should have students lined up already.
I solicited opinion from my trusted community on Twitter and received a few immediate responses which I’ve included below. Some of them have their updates protected so I asked for their permission before quoting them here.
sometimes experience is worth more than a few £’s. But some basic pay should really be part of it imo. Original message on twitter.
if the role is so coveted that they needn’t pay, they shouldn’t need promotion for it. Original message on twitter.
that’s a difficult one. Most work experience positions up north when I was a kid weren’t paid either… maybe london’s different. Original message on twitter.
you were right. In the UK it is illegal not to pay min wage to work experience peeps unless its part of a uni course. Original message on twitter.
surely lack of pay is illegal, and that includes work experience people. It’s fairly clear cut, with many legal precendents. Original message on twitter.
Spot on. Never bought this “we’re ‘training’ you so we don’t have to pay you crap” Original message on twitter.
I don’t believe in clients forcing suppliers to pitch for free either, especially when the pitches run into thousands, let alone hundreds of thousands. This approach is unfair to those paying for the pitches and the industry as a whole. I’d go as far as to say it’s bordering unethical, as it alienates potential suppliers who could in fact, be the most appropriate supplier, but due to their size, can’t afford to invest in expensive pitches.
By the way clients, nothing in this world is for free. You can rest assured that you end up paying for those free pitches in other ways. Perhaps this is something I should focus my attention on.
Some suppliers will actually refuse to pitch for free. Good on ‘em I say. If only every supplier took this position.
we refused to do design concepts for a pitch recently - client asked why, refered them to http://snurl.com/27iu3. Original message on twitter.
I’m keen to hear what you think regarding free work experience and free pitches for major clients. I can’t help but feel too many creatives are willing to sacrifce profit in return for working with ‘cool’ brands either.
Ok, end of rant. What do you think?
Iarfhlaith Kelly says 
Robin Blandford says 
Elizabeth Varley says 
Robin Blandford says 
We’ve wasted silly amounts of time in the past preparing complex quotes for clients. I’d love to charge the clients for our time
May 8th, 2008
I have experienced some hidden consequences on this one.
One disadvantage of paying a work experience person the minimum wage is that the company will feel less guilty about asking the individual to do extremely menial jobs. This is becauseon an exchange is taking place; cash (albeit not much) for time. By simply covering expenses, there is (I have found) a healthy pressure on the employer to provide an engaging and meaningful experience. Everyone in the organisation can then rise to the challenge of showcasing the company to new talent. This was certainly my experience in the TV business.
Go on Paul, promote that opportunity - you might change a young person’s life, and by enforcing a minimum wage you might be condemning them to hours of stapling…
May 8th, 2008
@Michele - It’s ok to provide quotes for free that don’t take long. But I mean, to expect agencies to pay hundreds of thousands for a pitch guarantees only the top 5 usual suspects to pitch.
@Richard - that’s a good point and certainly makes me think about my opinion. I can’t help but feel that min wage wouldn’t kill the employer though. Ok, so perhaps it works in some cases and others it doesn’t. How about offering other benefits, other than travel.
May 8th, 2008
Paul
The other thing that can and does happen is that a “prospect” needs to get X number of quotes, so your quote may only be required to make up the numbers. Regardless of the product or service being provided a complex and detailed quote takes time to prepare.
Michele
May 8th, 2008