Internship & Work Experience Policy – T&H Employee Policies & Procedures

Internships

Internships are offered to graduates or post-graduates and are usually for a three- to six-month period. The decision to offer an internship is for each Head of Department and internships should only be offered where there is a departmental work requirement and management capacity.

It is our policy to pay our interns no less than National Living Wage. They will be entitled to pro rata holiday or payment in lieu and, depending on the length of the internship, may also qualify for pension and profit share. This encourages diversity in our applicants so that these positions are not restricted to those with independent means. It is for a Head of Department to ensure that an internship falls within their departmental salary budget and that there is management time to properly induct the intern into their department and to supervise them on a day-to-day basis.

Over the years, several of our interns have gone on to apply for and be offered permanent roles in the company. Accordingly, we view internships as an opportunity to get to know an intern and assess their suitability for permanent employment. It is also an opportunity for the intern to learn about publishing and have experience of working at T&H on their CV. It is therefore key to the success of our internship programme that the manager assigned to look after an intern is aware of this and is able to spend the time required to properly supervise and mentor them.

All our employment policies and procedures apply to interns working for us.

Work experience

From time to time we receive requests for work-experience placements. These are usually offered to school students between the ages of 14 and 18 and, occasionally, to university students, and are unpaid save for reasonable travel costs. Placements are usually for a period of a week or, at the most, two weeks. These positions are not categorized as employment, although some of our employment policies will still apply.

T&H favours such placements, but strictly in accordance with the following guidelines and procedures. Special care needs to be given where the placement is under the age of 18 (‘Young Persons’):

A work-experience placement may only be offered after discussion and in agreement with the Head of Department concerned and HR so that there are not overlapping placements at one time. Heads of Departments should consider the time needed to properly supervise the placement before making an offer;
A well-defined written description of what the placement will be doing must be prepared and agreed, in advance, with the Heads of Departments where the placement will be working and with HR. This is important so that both the placement, their parents (if the placement is under 18) and the Company understand the remit of the placement;
Under the Health & Safety Act 1974, Young Persons undertaking work experience have the same status as employees and T&H therefore has a general duty of care to ensure their health, safety and welfare; and
Young Persons are likely to be inexperienced and unaware of health and safety risks, and may be physically and mentally immature. That being the case each Young Person is to be mentored by a named member of staff (‘Mentor’), who will take responsibility for their welfare and health and safety. Although placements over the age of 18 are likely to be more mature, it is our policy to also mentor them.

The following sets out the responsibilities of the Head of Department and the member of staff assigned to be the placement’s Mentor.

Head of Department and Mentor responsibilities:

To nominate a responsible person (‘Mentor’) in the department for the duration of the placement. The Mentor will guide and supervise the placement and act as a ‘go-to person’ for any queries. HR must be informed as to who has been nominated as Mentor for each placement;
To provide HR with a summary of the planned activities for the placement. If such activities are to be in other departments they must be agreed in advance with that Head of Department;
To ensure that the placement is not placed in an unsupported situation;
To ensure that the placement only works the hours agreed (usually 10am to 4pm), and that an hour lunch break is taken;
To ensure that the placement is not given work that requires them to leave the office;
To ensure that the placement is strictly prohibited from using scalpels and other bladed equipment; and
To immediately notify HR in the event that the placement is absent, sick or has an accident.

HR responsibilities:

To ensure that the prior written consent of a parent/guardian is obtained for placements of Young Persons and that they and the placement are provided with the contact details of the Mentor;
To ensure that the Intern & Work-Experience Checklist has been completed with the placement and signed by them;
To provide the placement with our general expectations of conduct;
To confirm the placement’s working hours and lunch break;
To ensure they are reasonably familiar with the surrounding area and that they return after their lunch break;
To show the placement the location of kitchens, toilets and emergency exits;
To ensure the placement has details of who to make contact with and how in the event of absence/lateness;
To ensure that we have details of who to contact in case of sickness or accident. This will be a parent or guardian if a Young Person;
To provide details of their Mentor; and
To check with the Mentor and placement during the placement period that the placement is well and if there are any problems or issues that need to be addressed.

Last updated: 07/03/19