Hiring interns?

[Rechelp]

I'm just about to launch my company, and in the beginning I'm not able to afford an account manager/sales rep. So the idea is to find interns, and hopefully after 4 month I'll be able to pay them salaries.

Is there any restrictions on that? Will it be difficult to find interns?

Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[Nochexman]

Hi Rechelp.

Your message does not inspire much confidence!

Could you say a little more about what your business is?

 

[Newchodge]

Unless you are offering only work experience - ie not requiring the slave, sorry intern, to do any work, you must pay at least minimum wage. That is £6.31 per hour for an adult.

Why would you expect anyone to work for nothing. How do you expect them to eat?

 

[Rechelp]

Unless you are offering only work experience - ie not requiring the slave, sorry intern, to do any work, you must pay at least minimum wage. That is £6.31 per hour for an adult.

Why would you expect anyone to work for nothing. How do you expect them to eat?

You are totally correct, I wouldn't want to work for free, and I don't expect other professionals to do it either.

But I work within the digital marketing industry, and the interns will learn a lot about the industry and will get tons of experience. Just as I did when I started.

 

[Silk Media]

It's actually pretty common to have interns. I don't necessarily think it's right but it does happen.

Give workiefinder.com a try, you might get some replies.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using UK Business Forums

 

[Merchant UK]

It's actually pretty common to have interns. I don't necessarily think it's right but it does happen.

Give workiefinder.com a try, you might get some replies.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using UK Business Forums

yep, there was a guy who actually died from some bank in london who was doing some 60 odd hours a week and just passed away with exhaustion

Ther are a lot of companies especially in the banking and accountancy sector that are usually oversubscribed when it comes to certain jobs and the only way for people to get on the ladder is offer themselves as an intern, to prove themselves and hoping for a job at the end.

Unless your company has recruited interns in the past, i think it will be very difficult for you to just have "Interns" without actually paying them the minimum wage as its already been said. I did read in the paper that the government is pressing for al least the min wage for interns after this guy met his timely end.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24049679

 

[Silk Media]

Yeah I read that a while back. As I said a don't think it's right to expect people to work for free!

If it's sales, can't you look in to commission based sales people?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using UK Business Forums

 

[Mayor]

I notice in the press just a few days ago that Interns are now taking legal action against previous "employers" to claw back wages that they now feel they were due. I guess this is marked by situations where the "learning and experience" aspect of their slavery didn't actually lead to high powered highly paid positions, just poverty and misery.
As an employer, I would probably be inclined to investigate some sort of basic + commission set-up, maybe even trying to defer commission payments to improve cashflow..?

 

[Nuno]

From the BBC a week ago, an article on HMRC targeting firms who use interns.

This will become a bigger issue as we get nearer to the election, and will be a minefield.

External parties, (banks, potential customers, suppliers), may well think that having to use unpaid workers indicates an undercapitalised business with all the risk that entails.

It's a step beyond offering sweat equity which is also seen by many as an improbable way to start a business.

 

[lilyhollies]

I have an intern, and it is mutually beneficial. I get some help with my work, and the intern gets work experience

 

[Merchant UK]

I have an intern, and it is mutually beneficial. I get some help with my work, and the intern gets work experience

I can't see the worker giving 100% if they are not getting paid? Just getting work experience don't necessarily make that worker excel in his knowledge

 

[beasty]

Why would you want to be an intern at a company that could not afford to pay you?

IF you CANNOT pay, then how much are they learning? They are learning what it is like to operate in a cash strapped start up that may later fail.

I do not think it is appropriate to offer this.

INTERNSHIPS are where the cream of the cream go to get a little more experience to edge them ahead of the competition for the few jobs in super competitive areas with big possible rewards.

Intern at start up that cannot pay a wage, no thanks!

GOLDMAN SACHS, Investment banking or shadowing a successful boss, yes please

To me INTERNS in a low end company, is just a way of saying free labour... you can say it is loads of experience but really who wants to say they were not even paid when they helped joe bloggs down the road who went under a year later...

PAY the person, if you cannot do that you cannot expect free labour and no one is going to stick it, unless you are an abosolute god at what you do, in which case you will quickly be able to pay people so you do not need to try and get someones time for free

 

[The Byre]

Intern at start up that cannot pay a wage, no thanks!

GOLDMAN SACHS, Investment banking or shadowing a successful boss, yes please

Exactly that!

 

[Merchant UK]

Why would you want to be an intern at a company that could not afford to pay you?

IF you CANNOT pay, then how much are they learning? They are learning what it is like to operate in a cash strapped start up that may later fail.

I do not think it is appropriate to offer this.

INTERNSHIPS are where the cream of the cream go to get a little more experience to edge them ahead of the competition for the few jobs in super competitive areas with big possible rewards.

Intern at start up that cannot pay a wage, no thanks!

GOLDMAN SACHS, Investment banking or shadowing a successful boss, yes please

To me INTERNS in a low end company, is just a way of saying free labour... you can say it is loads of experience but really who wants to say they were not even paid when they helped joe bloggs down the road who went under a year later...

PAY the person, if you cannot do that you cannot expect free labour and no one is going to stick it, unless you are an absolute god at what you do, in which case you will quickly be able to pay people so you do not need to try and get someones time for free

Thats all the more reason that a start up business would probably be prosecuted for not paying the minimum wage. No one in the right frame of mind would go to a start up business as an intern

 

[jack_sparrow]

Nobody wants to work for free, but it's hard to get a job these days and experience is priceless. There's a lot of students who still live with their parents or work part-time somewhere elese, who are willing to work for free in exchange for your knowledge and their opportunity to learn.

 

[Nuno]

Nobody wants to work for free, but it's hard to get a job these days and experience is priceless. There's a lot of students who still live with their parents or work part-time somewhere elese, who are willing to work for free in exchange for your knowledge and their opportunity to learn.

Some experience is worthless. This is when people object to internship because then it is unpaid labour not internship.