That's The Boy stuffed - by Richard... Monday, August 02, 2010

That's The Boy stuffed - by Richard... Monday, August 02, 2010

Employers have been warned that unpaid internships could break the law, says The Daily Telegraph.

According to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and campaign group Internocracy, employers are almost certainly breaking the law when they take on unpaid interns. They should be giving them wages if they work. They are mistaken in believing that they are allowed to take on unpaid interns as long as both sides know it is a voluntary position.

"Private companies will normally be under a legal obligation to treat people employed on internship programmes as workers and to pay them the appropriate minimum wage," says the report by Kayte Lawton, a research fellow at IPPR and Dominic Potter, director of Internocracy.

Now, although not stated (surprise, surprise), this has a strong EU dimension. We are talking about equal treatment, and that is covered by the EU's Employment Directive.

That basically stuffs The Boy's "Big Society", which majors on " a new volunteering programme to help 16 year olds develop their skills, mix with people from different backgrounds and get involved in improving their communities".

No can do, Mr Cameron – the EU won't let you, and – as you know – the EU is really in charge. You are just the front man.

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Day 23 - Battle of Britain - by Richard... Sunday, August 01, 2010

The morning is exceptionally quiet, with heavy mist over the Channel. The first significant air action is just after midday when radar picks up signs of a formation approaching two shipping convoys "Agent" and "Arena" just off the Yorkshire coast. Church Fenton sector controller scrambles No. 607 Sqn Usworth (Hurricanes) and No. 616 Sqn Leconfield (Spitfires).

At 13:10hrs, the squadrons locate a Junkers 88 and a Dornier 17 at sea, just below cloud base. On seeing the fighters, the bombers gain height and disappear into the protection of the cloud, after a short exchange of gunfire. The Ju 88 of 9/KG4 crashes into the North Sea around this time but there are no records of 607 or 616 Sqns claiming the kill. One Spitfire is damaged but lands safely at its base.

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