Interns
There are many different kinds of internship available. You will need to look at the agreement you have with the provider of the internship to see what your status is and what rights you have: for example, you may be employed or be a volunteer, undertaking unpaid work.
An internship is basically a period of work experience. It may be called a work placement, trial, volunteering or something similar. Many of these arrangements are unpaid. However, if you are performing meaningful work that benefits an organisation, this may not be correct. You may legally be entitled to at least the national minimum wage (sometimes called NMW).
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Interns and the national minimum wage
The first thing you need to establish is the precise nature of your working agreement.
If you are employed or are a ‘worker’, then in most cases your employer has to pay you in accordance with national minimum wage (NMW) legislation. You may be paid more than this, but this is the basic minimum.
Having set hours, an obligation to fulfil those hours and complete tasks, and individual responsibility for work are all aspects that will be taken into consideration when determining if you are employed or are a ‘worker’.
There are specific types of student internships where, as part of your course of UK-based higher or further education, you are required to undertake an internship of less than a year: in these cases you are not entitled to the minimum wage.
If, instead, you are taking part in a government scheme to provide training and work experience, or are genuinely doing voluntary work, for example, for a charity, it is likely you will not be entitled to the minimum wage. You may find it helpful to look at our page on volunteering.
In a similar way, work experience students who are under the compulsory school age (usually 16 years) are not entitled to the minimum wage.
If you are an intern, you may find it useful to read the GOV.UK guidance on the minimum wage for organisations who offer work experience, including placements and internships. This contains a number of worked examples.
Interns, tax and expenses
This section applies to interns who are being paid for their work.
If, instead, you are only being paid expenses as a genuine volunteer, look at the page on volunteering.
As a paid worker, you are in the same position as other employees with regards to your tax. This usually means you will have pay as you earn (PAYE) income tax and National Insurance deducted from your wages. You may find it useful to read our guidance for first time workers and on the taxation of apprenticeship income.
Broadly, any non-business expenses paid to you by your employer are potentially taxable, whereas any allowable business expenses can be paid free of tax and National Insurance. If your employer does not pay or reimburse your expenses, you may be able to claim certain expenses as a deduction against your employment income and get tax relief – as long as you are a taxpayer.
Note that home to work travel expenses are usually not tax deductible.
More information
Further information on the subject of employment status and employment law rights is available in our section on employment status.
Interns who are providing services on a genuinely voluntary basis should look at our page on volunteering.
There is more information on when volunteers may be ‘workers’ and due the minimum wage in the HMRC National Minimum Wage manual. You might be able to get help from the Acas pay and work rights helpline if you are not sure whether you should be paid the minimum wage.
You can use the find an internship tool on GOV.UK.
