Unpaid Placements. Anything to be aware of

[Tim Barlow]

We have been approached by someone who would like to come and work with us over the summer to get work experience during the uni holidays.

They are willing to work on an unpaid basis and I have been tempted by their enthusiasm.

At the back of my mind though I remember hearing about potential legal issues of unpaid placements.

Any views/experience would be welcome.

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Tim,

I have to say it's nothing I have come across. I know it is possible to pay students tax free provided it's during recognised eductaional breaks and they dont earn more than their personal allowance (there might be NI issues though),I'm sure this is done via a P38 (S).

Anyway that aside maybe the link below will be of some use. Like most things with HMRC it's not definitive but I think it could help you come up with a way of defining how this placement (if that's the right word!) may work.

Who need not get the national minimum wage - work experience and internships | Business Link

If you do find anything else out regarding this then please do post up some links. It's quite an interesting area

 

[polr]

We have taken on a few students in the past for work experience and it's (on the whole) been very rewarding and we've found some real gems! I do it because I remember how had it was to get experience when I was a student.

One thing I would say though is be careful how long you agree the placement to be. We find a month is a decent amont of time, we had one or two for longer and we found the enthusiasm dwindled slightly with the 9-5 hours!

Def. worth doing though.

 

[Tim Barlow]

Great advice - thanks Polr.

We've decided to take the plunge with a very switched on lassie and have soem great projects for her to get her teeth stuck into.

We are doing three days a week for a longer period so hopefully we won't reach fatigue stage!

I've been very well advised by Maureen Gormley at AspectHR on the legal side - the main bits being about avoiding accidentally finding yourself in a situation of implied contract of employment and having to pay min wage and all the other associated rights. Also need to ensure a confidentiality agreement is signed.

 

[Edward]

Tim I'm sorry to have missed your original postings but it's great to hear that you took the plunge and it seems to be going well for all concerned. I have to say that all my (many) experiences with placements have been positive.

It is even more critical to provide such opportunities at a time of recession, so well done to you. And for everybody, please don't forget that we now also have the 50+ learners in life who need such opportunties.

For the business you get an almost priceless return - a WoM champion for you and your business who will (probably) remain grateful throughout their working lives.

 

[profitxchange]

I know this sounds a bit jodsworth - but watch any Health & safety issue - just because they are working gratis does not exclude them from a safe place of work. You should at least do a quick and dirty risk assessment - the mere fact of doing one will helap if a problem should occur.

 

[Tim Barlow]

Not jobsworthy at all. Just the way we have to live.

Luckily I have employees anyway so we are essentially covered.

I wonder if employers liability is required in the situation where you have no employees but do have an intern? I suspect so.

 

[Employment Law Services]

Hi Tim - appreciate my reply is a bit late in relation to the OP so apologies if its of no use / too late to help.

You might want to consider using volunteer agreements with students as a way of ensuring there's no confusion about the nature of the realtionship.

You should also check with your insurers, Employers Liability insurance should be in place already but may need to be tweaked if your taking on additional staff, albeit volunteers.