The first question is to ask what does it cost to train someone? There are always costs to having someone on site. If the return on investment in the training program covers the cost of the training, one has a case for saying the arrangement is fair.<p>On the other hand, if the compensation vastly outweighs what it costs to train, then we have a case that this is just greed on the part of the training organisation.<p>In the case highlighted above, one would say that he is not getting trained at all but is simply being used as free labour. In which case, one would be justified in highlighting the nature of the company anonymously to all and sundry. One is also justified in leaving the company graciously publicly so as to not hinder one's future.<p>Using the Streisand Effect can be an effective tool in improving the general behaviour of all.
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I am a unpaid intern at a tech company and several weeks ago I had my first performance evaluation. While my manager told me that the code I had been submitting was excellent and that my work was more than solid, they noted that I had been leaving too early from work and that this called my dedication into question.<p>Now, our official start and ends times are from 9:30 to 6:00 so everyday for the past several weeks I have been working hard to finish my days tasks and then leaving at 6:00. When I asked why this was a problem the response I received was that I should always be looking for more work."</i><p>The manager was almost right, that intern <i>should</i> be looking for work - someplace else.
The US department of labor has rules for unpaid interns. If the intern was in the US, it would seem like his employer was acting illegally.<p><i>"4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded."</i>