Being a Self Employed Sole-Trader, can I hire an unpaid intern?

[northernladuk]

I am not a company, I am a one man band who buys at auctions & sells on ebay. I make enough to pay my bills & that is about it.

I have been asked as a favour if I can help this girl out as her placement fell through due to Covid. Why does everyone think I'm trying to get free labour?

And what does she get out of this?

Either way... I'd just be saying no to this one.

[SueEllen]

I am not a company, I am a one man band who buys at auctions & sells on ebay. I make enough to pay my bills & that is about it.

I have been asked as a favour if I can help this girl out as her placement fell through due to Covid. Why does everyone think I'm trying to get free labour?

Getting someone to do work for you even if it is minimal and not paying them anything is free labour.

Notice that no-one said you had to pay her NMW.

[fullyautomatix]

I am not a company, I am a one man band who buys at auctions & sells on ebay. I make enough to pay my bills & that is about it.

I have been asked as a favour if I can help this girl out as her placement fell through due to Covid. Why does everyone think I'm trying to get free labour?

Is she actually going to do some work or sit in your office and chat on snapchat/tinder all day, just so that she can tick a box that she has successfully concluded her placement ?

[SueEllen]

Is she actually going to do some work or sit in your office and chat on snapchat/tinder all day, just so that she can tick a box that she has successfully concluded her placement ?

Isn't everyone suppose to be working from home now?

[NotAllThere]

Unpaid intern, hmmmm, is this an euphemism ? Why can't you pay him/her like a decent employer ? If your business model depends on "unpaid" interns, it's probably best to shut it since it's not viable.

Anyone told Dame Vivienne Westwood - she's famous for it, while babbling along about ethics...

[ladymuck]

Aside from the ethics of unpaid internships, being a sole trader doesn't stop you taking on staff, paid or otherwise. If you're going to pay them then you'll need to register with HMRC as an employer and you'll need her P45 if she has one. If you're only covering expenses and not paying a wage then I can't find any obligation to report that to any authority.

[rik sherman]

Will you
a) be giving her the sort of experience that is required to satisfy the placement criteria for her degree course or
b) are you prepared to lie about that to her uni and any prospective employer?