Taking on an intern or trainee can be greatly beneficial for growing professionals to delegate some tasks while providing valuable work experience for newcomers. However, managing temporary staff requires care to ensure positive outcomes for both parties. This guide covers key considerations around legalities, insurance, risk assessments and more when hiring unpaid trainees as a consultant, freelancer or self-employed professional.
Internship Laws and Guidelines:
Multiple laws and voluntary standards apply when offering unpaid work experience placements. As the employer, understanding your obligations is essential or serious penalties could apply. Relevant legislation includes:
National Minimum Wage Act – Unpaid interns legally count as workers. If deemed to be completing tasks that substitute normal employee roles, you must pay at least the apprentice minimum wage. This currently stands at £4.81 for under 19s or £6.83 for over 19s.
Equality Act – You can’t discriminate based on protected characteristics like gender, race, sexuality when selecting candidates. Disability allowances must be made.
Working Time Regulations – If internships last over 4 weeks, standard rules around breaks, maximum 48 hour weeks etc apply.
Health and Safety at Work Act – Your duty of care for interns matches that of employees.
Various voluntary standards like the QAA UK Quality Code also promote intern welfare for university placements.
Familiarise yourself with all relevant regulations or seek legal advice to avoid issues. Fines for non-compliance are severe.
Insurance Requirements:
Just like regular staff, it’s crucial interns and trainees are covered by your businesses’ full insurance protections including:
Employer’s Liability Insurance – Legally required for all UK businesses employing staff, this protects against workplace injury and illness claims. £5 million minimum is mandated although more cover e.g. £10 million or above is recommended. Unpaid interns are usually included but verify with your provider.
Public Liability Insurance – Covers claims from third parties e.g. clients for property damage or personal injury caused by an intern. Useful if they accidentally damage items when visiting a customer’s office for example.
Contact your insurance provider such as Professional Saver to confirm policies extend to unpaid trainees before hiring. Make sure volunteers are explicitly referenced rather than just employees.
Setting Expectations:
To avoid disputes, provide a written volunteer agreement detailing key aspects including:
- Clearly defined working hours e.g 9am – 5pm.
- Main location(s) of work. Remote options should also be listed.
- Dress code expectations if client facing.
- Exact responsibilities and examples of tasks to be undertaken.
- Safety policies and emergency procedures.
- Public liability insurance coverage.
- Lack of pay clarification plus any expense reimbursements.
- Voluntary participation statement.
Both parties should sign this document indicating informed consent and understanding of the unpaid status.
Risk Assessing Activities:
Carefully evaluate planned activities considering the intern’s competencies and experience. Higher risk tasks may be unsuitable without appropriate skills, certification or supervision.
Construction site visits for instance might be inadvisable whereas basic office admin work should pose minimal hazards. Adapt roles to match capabilities.
Document all risk assessments providing guidance like mandatory site safety gear, reporting structures and prohibited actions. Explain consequences if disregarded e.g. early termination.
Displacement Rules:
Avoid substituting unpaid interns for tasks normally conducted by paid employees. Work shadowing, assisting colleagues and supplementary ancillary activities are fine but interns shouldn’t be doing work integral for business continuity.
If you couldn’t function without an intern’s contribution, legally you should probably employ them or pay minimum wage. Displacement safeguards frequently get violated whether intentionally or not.
Offering References:
Providing an endorsement letter and agreeing to be a reference contact in return for voluntary efforts is strongly encouraged. These professional references are hugely valuable for interns applying to future jobs, education courses and more.
Consider praising positives like good timekeeping, professional manner and willingness to learn rather than overly focusing on specific technical capabilities they likely lack at this early career stage.
Expenses and Allowances:
Reimbursing reasonable commute costs or other expenses is often expected by unpaid interns. This demonstrates you value their efforts and aren’t just exploiting free labour.
If affordable, small thank you allowances are also welcomed. Even £100-200 for a month-long full-time internship makes a difference and helps interns cover their own costs.
Be clear what reimbursements apply from the outset to manage expectations. Encourage them to save receipts and provide set submission dates.
Finding Interns and Trainees
Good sources of eager volunteers wanting industry exposure and references include:
- University career services – Often have internship programs with course credit options.
- Direct college/university appeals – Contact course leaders for relevant vocational degrees to advertise positions.
- Youth employment charities – Can aid recruitment of disadvantaged candidates.
- LinkedIn ads – Low cost way to reach regional talent.
- Industry associations/trade bodies – Some facilitate work experience initiatives.
When posting opportunities, highlight what interns stand to gain besides the standard corporate mission statement stuff. Emphasize specialized knowledge transfer, networking, reference letters and skills they can list on their CV.
Follow the advice outlined here and both you and your unpaid intern can benefit tremendously from the experience. Reach out to insurance specialists like Professional Saver if you need guidance on meeting legal obligations or managing risks.
