Internships are a great way for those interested in pursuing a career as an architect to gain knowledge and experience and increase their chances of securing a job in the future.
Students intending to register as an architect will need to fulfil the requirement of completing a period of practical experience under the supervision of an architect, so it is unsurprising that there is a culture within architecture for practices to support graduates at the start of their careers through work experience.
If you are working with interns, or planning to work with interns, it is important to be aware of what is legally required of you as their employer, particularly in relation to pay. By law, an employer must pay the statutory minimum wage to anyone carrying out work for them, unless the following exemptions apply:
- Student Internships: Students that are required to do an internship for less than one year as part of a UK-based further or higher education course.
- School and work experience placements: Work experience students of compulsory school age
- Voluntary Workers: Workers are not entitled to the minimum wage if they are working for a charity, voluntary organisation, associated fundraising body or a statutory body.
- Work Shadowing: The employer does not have to pay the minimum wage if an internship only involves shadowing an employee, meaning no work is carried out by the intern and they are only observing.
If the internship or work placement does not fall within one of these categories, then the person employed must be paid the minimum wage. Aside from the obligation to practise lawfully, Standard 1 of the Architects Code expects all architects to act with integrity.
Internships offer significant benefits to employers and students, but the relationship between the two must be carefully managed, and this includes fair payment for work. An employer cannot contract out of its legal obligations to pay the minimum wage by way of an agreement with the intern for that very reason, and if your practice does engage interns or work placements, you should take advice to ensure that they are appointed appropriately.
Further information for both employers and interns can be found at https://www.gov.uk/employment-rights-for-interns and https://www.acas.org.uk/advice
