You must tread cautiously when you use unpaid interns
Internships are a wonderful way for students to learn and apply the education they receive in an undergraduate or post-graduate field of study to a real-life working environment. But for many companies, unpaid interns are a source of free labour during a time of ever-shrinking budgets and downsizing.
There is a right way and a wrong way to hire interns – especially if the intern is unpaid. If you view hiring interns as a way to get free extra help in the office, you are venturing down a slippery slope, which could land you at the CCMA.
Keep the following six tips, from Jared Wade, in mind when you hire an unpaid intern to keep your company out of the courts:
1. Is the training I would give the intern similar to what he would be given at a university or university of technology?
If you give training in the types of skills which are necessary for success in your field, your chances of satisfying this criterion will increase substantially. Certainly, it will help if the internship is run in conjunction with an academic programme that the intern, for example, has to do a project for. If the intern is only performing basic clerical work, such as answering phones, you’ll have a big problem justifying that he is getting any educational value out of being in your company.
2. Is the training primarily for intern’s benefit? Is there some indication that the intern is benefitting from the programme in terms of training, exposure to the industry and contacts for potential job opportunities?
If your interns are earning academic credits, this criterion will more than likely be satisfied. The focus of the internship should not be on the free labour the intern provides: It should be on the educational benefit to the intern. When you communicate with the intern, stress the value of the programme to them, not how valuable they are to you.
3. Does the intern replace regular employees or work under their observation?
To the extent the intern is involved with tasks such as answering phones and other clerical activities, having an intern could be perceived as lightening the workload of the existing employees. If the intern is working under someone else’s close supervision, it’s less likely that the intern will replace a full-time employee.
4. Is the intern entitled to a job when the training period is over?
I haven’t met a single intern who isn’t hopeful that an internship will lead to a permanent position with the company. Understandably, many companies view the internship programme as a low-risk opportunity to evaluate potential candidates for full-time employment. While you can consider your interns for full-time positions, when you employ interns never guarantee them that they’ll get a full-time position with the company.
5. Are you benefitting from the intern’s activities?
Although you might be deriving an immediate economic benefit from having the intern in your company, always emphasise the learning opportunity for the intern and the training you’re prepared to offer the intern. It also helps if there is an indication that you are committing some of your company’s resources to the training.
6. Does the intern understand they are not entitled to wages for the training time?
The law firm of Fisher and Phillips sums it up quite nicely:
Whether an unpaid internship occurs under the auspices of an educational institution or otherwise, ask yourself this: If there is a Fair Labour Standards Act (FLSA)* claim, will the circumstances clearly and readily show that the relationship was for the purpose of providing education, instruction and training that imparted significant, substantive, transferrable knowledge of a broadly applicable kind and that what actually occurred was consistent with and carried out this purpose.
* This act is similar to the South African Basic Conditions of Employment Act. An FLSA claim in the US would be similar to a CCMA claim in this country.
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Dianne Shaddock Austin is the president of Easy Small Business HR, an online resource for managers, employees, and HR professionals which is based in the US. Dianne has over 20 years of hiring and employee management experience which she shares through her e-books, podcasts, videos and the Easy Small Business HR website. |
