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

[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?

[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.

[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...

[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?

[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]

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.

[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.

[Petexxx]

Also if she is doing work for why aren't you paying her? All the companies and organisations I've worked and contacted at who have had interns have paid them something. She may start off as being useless but once you have trained her "properly" then she will be useful.

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?

[SueEllen]

What I would like to know is, as a sole-trader (registered with HMRC) & not a registered company, am I allowed to take her on to complete her placement &, apart from the H&S requirements (which would be carried out in full), do I need to declare this to any Gov or other body?

Any type of business can hire staff as pointed out you just need to make sure you have the right insurance(s).

Also if she is doing work for why aren't you paying her? All the companies and organisations I've worked and contacted at who have had interns have paid them something. She may start off as being useless but once you have trained her "properly" then she will be useful.

[northernladuk]

Keep your business away from family and friends... HTH

[Petexxx]

Hi

Thank you for your replies.

I'm not looking for an unpaid lacky or anything. My daughter is in Uni & I have been asked by a friend of hers if I could hire her as an unpaid intern for approx. 16 to 20 weeks for part of her 'placement year'. She did have somewhere else lined up but, when our area was put into Tier 4 (now national lockdown), they cancelled on her so now she has to find somewhere to complete her placement year.

The GOV.UK link given by ladymuck (thank you) states 'Students required to do an internship for less than one year as part of a UK-based further or higher education course are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage'.

What I would like to know is, as a sole-trader (registered with HMRC) & not a registered company, am I allowed to take her on to complete her placement &, apart from the H&S requirements (which would be carried out in full), do I need to declare this to any Gov or other body?

Thanks

Pete

[AtW]

Unpaid inters are totally illegal and immoral, unless they work for Honourable Members of Parliament

[northernladuk]

Am sure the details will trickle through over the course of a week so changing the advice at every step along the way.

EDIT : FOG

[eek]

It's probably illegal unless you do things correctly.

and the odds of you doing things correctly are about zero

The law on unpaid internships: know your rights | TARGETjobs

[fullyautomatix]

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.