Internships

Has your organisation considered an internship programme for graduate students but were unsure of the process?

Realistically, a recruitment drive for an intern should follow the same process as any recruitment your company usually follows, with proper consideration given to how skills and qualifications fit with the tasks they will be expected to fulfil.

Recruitment for interns should be conducted in an open and rigorous way to enable fair and equal access to available internships. The job advertisement should give a clear indication of how long the internship will last and, at interview; the intern should be told honestly whether there is a real chance of obtaining a full-time contract or any career progression within the company.

Although there are no laws specifically on paying interns, the rules for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) offer some guidance on this issue. If someone is expected to undertake ‘work’ for any organisation, they are entitled to be paid the NMW.

If an intern is contributing to your company, has a list of duties and is working set hours then technically they should be paid at least the NMW.

The exemption within the NMW rules is for students undertaking work as part of a further education or higher education course, such as a work placement year in a university “gap” course, and there are also different rules for people working for charities.

More information can be found about the NMW rules at www.direct.gov.uk.

It would always be recommended that, as a minimum, reasonable travel expenses for interns are covered by employers as this results in wider access to internships and therefore increases the pool of talent employers can draw from.

If the internship lasts for longer than three months it would be prudent to offer a bursary or salary due to the contribution they make. As a guide, the minimum wage or more should be considered.

Always remember though, if you have more than one intern at any time then you will need to offer them all the same deal.

Interns should receive a proper induction to the organisation they enter to allow them to fully integrate. Whether joining a large organisation or an SME, an intern just entering the job market may find the workplace intimidating. It is important to introduce an intern to the staff and the values of the organisation to help them integrate into the team and allow them to hit the ground running.

During their time with an organisation interns should be treated with exactly the same degree of professionalism and duty of care as regular employees. They should not be seen as ‘visitors’ to the organisation, or automatically assigned routine tasks that do not make use of their skills. Organisations should make some allowance for interns to, on occasion, attend job interviews or complete study requirements.

Organisations should ensure there is a dedicated person(s) who has ring-fenced time in their work schedule to supervise the intern and conduct regular performance reviews. This person should provide ongoing feedback to the intern, be their advocate and mentor during the period of internship, and conduct a formal performance review to evaluate the success of their time with the organisation.

On completion of the internship, organisations should provide interns with a reference letter detailing the work they have undertaken, the skills and experience acquired, and the content of the formal performance review conducted at the end of the internship. Interns should also be offered the opportunity to give feedback on their experience in an exit interview, giving the organisation the opportunity to reflect on its own performance in delivering internships.

For more information on internships or other HR advice please call 0844 630 9140.