Unpaid internships are controversial. However, they remain a common practice in many industries, with employers arguing that they can provide ambitious young people with valuable opportunities to gain work experience, explore potential career paths, and develop their professional skills.
But as an employer, should you offer unpaid internships? If so, how can you do so effectively? Navigating the legal and ethical considerations surrounding unpaid internships can be complex and, even once you have cleared those hurdles, you will still need to take additional steps to create a great programme that offers value to participants.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about unpaid internships.
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Become a MemberIs it legal to offer an unpaid internship in the UK?
The short answer is yes, it is sometimes legal to offer an unpaid internship in the UK. However, there is some nuance here. Employers must adhere to the National Minimum Wage Act, which sets out the legal requirements for paying workers in the UK. If an intern is classed as a “worker,” they are entitled to receive at least the National Minimum Wage as well as other benefits including sick pay and holiday pay.
In general, if an intern performs work for your organisation, they are a worker and must be paid. The circumstances under which you can offer an unpaid internship include:
- A placement of up to one year as part of a UK-based university course (sometimes called a “sandwich course.”) However, most UK employers do pay sandwich-year students.
- If the person is volunteering for a charity or other voluntary organisation
- If the person is job shadowing or observing only, and not carrying out any work themselves
Is it ethical to offer unpaid internships?
This is a more difficult question. As a general rule, at Youth Employment UK we believe that interns should be paid wherever possible.
The main criticisms of unpaid internships are around fairness and access. Specifically, many believe that it is unfair for companies to profit from interns’ time, skills, and work without fairly compensating them.
In addition, unpaid internships inhibit social mobility because they are often only accessible to those who have an alternate source of financial security, such as savings or support from their family. The costs of unpaid internships, from travel expenses to lost earning potential, are simply not attainable for many young people. In practice, this means that only the most privileged have access to these opportunities.
For these reasons, we are very hesitant to say that unpaid internships are ethical. However, there may be limited circumstances in which their benefits to young people outweigh their problems.
How to offer a great unpaid internship
If your organisation wishes to offer an unpaid internship, it is first essential to ensure you are operating within the law. If you have established that your internship falls within legally permitted parameters, then it is time to ensure your internship offers real value for its participants. Here are nine of our top tips to help you do that.
Ensure that interns are not out-of-pocket
If you are going to offer an unpaid internship, one way to make it more accessible is to ensure that your interns are not out of pocket. You can do this by covering necessary expenses such as travel and meals, as well as offering subsidies for necessary items such as work-appropriate clothing if required.
Understand the purpose of the internship
The primary purpose of any internship is to offer experience and educational opportunities to participants. This is particularly important in the case of unpaid internships. Without offering these things, an unpaid internship is simply a way of providing free labour to the organisation, which is never ethical.
Create a great structure
You will need to carefully structure your internship programme to offer learning opportunities, training, mentorship, and hands-on experience. Focus on developing interns’ skills, knowledge, and employability rather than using them for menial tasks or filling gaps in your staffing.
For longer internships, we recommend rotating placements with different departments as a way to ensure interns are exposed to a wide range of tasks, job roles, and organisational functions.
Limit the duration and scope of the internship
It is important to limit the duration and scope of unpaid internships to ensure they remain both legal and fair. Ensure that your internships are for a clearly defined period and that there are robust guidelines on what tasks unpaid interns can and cannot be asked to carry out.
Be transparent
Do not try to hide the fact that your internship is unpaid. It is important to be completely transparent at every stage of the process–what are you offering, how will the programme work, and what can students expect to get out of it? If there are any additional benefits or access support provided, what are they?
Provide plenty of support and guidance
The main purpose of an internship is to help interns learn, develop their skills, and grow professionally. Therefore, ensure you are giving your interns plenty of guidance, support, and feedback throughout the internship.
Offer mentorship and networking opportunities
Networking opportunities, mentorship schemes, and other ways of building professional connections can help your interns to grow their networks and enhance their employability long after the internship. For that reason, these opportunities are a great way to boost the value your unpaid internships offer to participants.
Provide references on completion
For young people trying to build a career, good references can be a game changer. Therefore, make yourself or an appropriate manager or supervisor available to provide references for former interns as they apply for jobs and embark on their future careers endeavours during or after their internship.
Be flexible
If your internship is unpaid, your participants may need to work elsewhere in order to make ends meet. Interns may also have other commitments, from children and other dependents to academic courses. Offer as much flexibility as you can, from flexible working times to remote working or part-time arrangements, to make it as easy as possible for interns to participate in your programme alongside their other responsibilities without burning out.
