Work Experience and Internships
Work experience, internships and shadowing schemes are increasingly used by employers looking to attract and assess talent, and by participants looking to build skills and workplace experience.
These arrangements can raise practical and legal issues, including whether an intern or volunteer is treated as a worker for national minimum wage purposes. Clear paperwork and consistent processes help reduce misunderstandings and manage risk.
Work experience, volunteering and internship guidance
The Guidance Notes – Work Experience, Volunteering & Internships help employers understand the different types of placement and the practical issues that can arise when setting up work experience, volunteering or internship arrangements.
The guidance is a useful starting point before deciding whether a placement should be managed through an informal work experience arrangement, a structured internship process, or an employment contract.
Setting up an internship or work experience placement
The Internship Policy helps employers set a consistent internal approach to internships, including how opportunities are offered and managed.
For an individual placement, the Letter Offering Work Experience Placement or Internship can be used to confirm the offer and set expectations at the outset.
When an internship is an employment relationship
Where the internship arrangement is intended to operate as employment, the Internship Employment Contract provides a more formal contract for that relationship.
This distinction is important because work experience, internships and volunteering arrangements can raise questions about employment status and national minimum wage obligations.
Confidentiality, induction and placement management
This set of documents is designed to help employers offer and manage work experience and internship opportunities, including setting expectations, handling confidentiality, and covering basic health and safety steps.
The Health and Safety Induction Checklist – Work Experience helps employers cover basic health and safety steps at the start of a placement. A separate Work Experience Confidentiality Statement is also included where confidentiality needs to be addressed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay an intern or work experience participant the National Minimum Wage? +
Whether the National Minimum Wage applies depends on employment status, not the label you use: if the arrangement makes them a worker, they are entitled to it, and calling someone an unpaid intern or volunteer does not prevent this. The main exceptions are pure work-shadowing (observing only, no productive work), students on a mandatory UK further or higher education course placement lasting under one year and individuals of compulsory school age. If unsure, the Guidance Notes in this pack help you work through the distinction before deciding which documents to use.
What is the difference between a work experience placement, an internship and an employment relationship, and which document should I use? +
These terms have no fixed legal meaning, but the practical distinction drives your choice of document. A short, observational or informal placement is often managed with an offer letter and a health and safety checklist. A more structured programme with consistent internal rules usually needs an internship policy alongside the offer letter. Where the arrangement is intended to operate as employment, with the intern performing regular work under agreed obligations, an Internship Employment Contract is the right document. The Guidance Notes in this pack help you choose the appropriate document or combination before you start.
I want a consistent approach to internships across my organisation. What should I put in place before I start offering them? +
Adopt the Internship Policy to set a consistent internal approach covering how opportunities are offered and managed. Begin with the Guidance Notes, which explain the different types of arrangement and the practical issues that can arise. For each placement, use the Letter Offering Work Experience Placement or Internship to confirm the offer in writing and set expectations at the outset, and where the internship operates as employment add the Internship Employment Contract. A written offer letter and documented process also help you demonstrate, if questioned, that the arrangement was what you intended.
What health and safety steps do I need to take before a work experience student starts? +
As the host employer you are responsible for a work experience student's health and safety, just as you are for other workers. Before the placement starts, carry out or review a risk assessment covering the specific tasks and environment the student will encounter, then tailor induction and training to those tasks. The Health and Safety Induction Checklist in this pack helps you cover the key steps at the outset. Young people in particular are likely to need more supervision than adults and clearer instruction about risks and how they are controlled.
My intern will be working with confidential business information. How do I protect it? +
Put a confidentiality statement in place at the outset, before the intern is exposed to sensitive information, as good practice that sets clear expectations. Use the Work Experience Confidentiality Statement where confidentiality needs to be addressed at the start of a placement. For a more formal internship operating as an employment relationship, confidentiality provisions can also be included in the Internship Employment Contract.
Can I run an unpaid internship without risking a National Minimum Wage claim? +
Only in limited circumstances. An internship can be unpaid if the person is genuinely only shadowing (observing, not doing productive work), is of compulsory school age or is on a mandatory placement at a UK further or higher education institution lasting under one year. Otherwise, an intern performing tasks that benefit your organisation with obligations to attend and work is likely a worker entitled to the National Minimum Wage, whatever the label or any written agreement says. Getting this wrong can mean unpaid wage arrears, financial penalties and public naming by the Fair Work Agency. Take advice and start with the Guidance Notes in this pack.
