Work Experience / Internship Agreement (England & Wales)

Overview

Unlike France, which has a dedicated statutory framework for student work placements (the tripartite 'convention de stage', signed by the student, the host organisation, and the educational institution), England has no single equivalent statute governing internships or work experience placements. Instead, the position is governed mainly by general employment status law — specifically whether the individual counts as a 'worker' under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 (as extended by the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015) and is therefore legally entitled to be paid at least the applicable minimum wage for the time worked. The key legal question is not what the arrangement is called, but its substance: an individual who performs real work under an obligation to turn up and do tasks set by the host organisation, in circumstances that go beyond simple observation or shadowing, is very likely to be a 'worker' and therefore entitled to be paid the National Minimum Wage (or National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over) for the hours worked, regardless of any agreement stating the placement is 'unpaid'. HM Revenue & Customs actively enforces minimum wage compliance for interns and can require backpay plus penalties from an organisation that wrongly treats a worker as an unpaid intern. Narrow exceptions exist — for example, some structured work experience placements of two weeks or less for students, and certain schemes closely linked to a course of study — but these exceptions are fact-specific and should not be assumed without advice. This template is written for the more common, lower-risk scenario: a short, clearly structured, genuinely voluntary work experience placement (observation, shadowing, limited supervised tasks) that the host organisation and the individual (and, where relevant, their school, college or university) intend to remain outside worker status. It is not suitable, and should not be used, for arrangements where the individual will in substance be doing the job of a regular employee — that situation requires a proper employment contract and payment of at least the National Minimum Wage. When to use it: for a short, supervised work experience or shadowing placement with a student or recent graduate, where the host organisation intends the placement to remain genuinely observational or minimally task-based. Parties: the Host Organisation, the Placement Participant (and, where applicable, their educational institution as an informed third party, though this template is drafted as a two-party document between the Host and the Participant). Key clauses: the precise nature and duration of the placement, a clear statement of whether the placement is paid or unpaid and, if unpaid, an explicit acknowledgment describing why the parties believe worker status does not arise (shadowing and observation rather than performing the substantive duties of a role), reasonable expenses reimbursement (travel and lunch expenses do not by themselves create worker status), supervision arrangements, health and safety responsibilities of the Host under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, confidentiality, and early termination. Mistakes to avoid: assuming that calling the arrangement an 'internship' or getting the participant to sign a document stating it is unpaid is sufficient to avoid National Minimum Wage liability — it is not, the substance of the work governs; structuring a placement so that the participant effectively covers a role that would otherwise need to be staffed by a paid employee; and failing to cover basic health and safety and insurance considerations for someone who is not a contracted employee but is nonetheless present on the Host's premises.