Unpaid work ‘adding to student debt’

University students already operating under mounting debt after taking out student loans may be adding to their money problems by accepting unpaid work placements, it has been suggested.

According to research by Abbey, although seven million hours of unsalaried work countrywide is provided by students during summer holidays – or the equivalent of £260 million – the undergraduates themselves are suffering financially.

With as many as 69,000 people giving up as much as eight weeks of their own time to work for free, head of Abbey current accounts Gillian Almond was prompted to say: “Students are going to have a lot to deal with financially if they are to successfully juggle this free work experience with earning enough money to pay for the rest of their course.”

Earlier this month, a Halifax study revealed that over one in seven students are concerned about financial contributions from parents coming to an end because of the recession.

By Sarah Adie