Businesses need robust HR agreements in place, and internships are no exception. Read all about internship agreements, and download this free intern contract template.
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What exactly is an internship agreement, and what should be front of mind for your team when creating and managing one?
An internship agreement is a legally binding contract between an employer and an individual being hired as an intern. The document sets out the terms and conditions of the employment relationship, covering everything from how long the internship lasts to the tasks that will be performed by the intern, and how they will be compensated.
However, what an internship agreement should cover will vary wildly between businesses, roles, and even geographies. Some will be paid, and others will not. There are also different legal requirements for internships in certain jurisdictions, so it’s important that you nail your internship contracts first time.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of internship agreements, let’s start by defining an internship.
Internships are short-term periods of employment that individuals can complete to increase their exposure to the workplace and gain new skills within a particular role or industry.
There are plenty of reasons why an individual chooses to complete an internship. For example, they can:
But there are also benefits of an internship for the employer, too. This is because internship agreements provide flexibility to both the employer and the intern.
Internships give employers the opportunity to work alongside great individuals and take a better educated guess on whether they’d like for them to join the company long-term. By doing this, they can reduce turnover and disruption to the business in the future.
In fact, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 80 percent of the employers they surveyed believed that internships have the highest ROI when it comes to sourcing new employees, with them issuing between 50 to 60 percent of these interns full-time employment offers.
Apprenticeship agreements are also a great way to secure hires that are earlier on in their career.
However, apprenticeships are different from internships in that they tend to involve a long-term qualification alongside the employment, and therefore are a bigger commitment for both parties to enter into.
To put it into perspective, ApprenticeshipUSA estimate that internships tend to span between one to three months, while apprenticeships tend to last between one to three years instead.
There are also some other key differences between internships and apprenticeships, including that apprenticeships are more likely to lead to a full-time role upon completion, and they often follow a structured training schedule, too.
Internship agreements are important because they protect the interests of both the employer and intern during the working relationship. Since interns tend to have less experience in the professional world, they’re at increased risk of being undervalued or mismanaged.
An internship agreement clearly documents the nature and extent of the work they’re contracted for, and it guarantees them remuneration in some cases, too. This gives them legal security if a contractual dispute arises.
There are various types of internship agreements, depending on the nature of the internship. Let’s explore a few different types of internship contracts, and how they compare.
Some agreements stipulate compensation, while others might focus on the learning experience and state that the internship is unpaid. It’s important to consider the laws in your jurisdiction here.
For example, the UK government state that an intern is entitled to the National Minimum Wage if they count as a worker. But they are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage if they complete a student internship, school work experience placement, or a voluntary role.
According to the US government, similar rules apply. Again, if the intern constitutes an employee and works for a for-profit organization, they can expect both minimum wages and overtime pay. But their status depends on a few things, as documented here.
Some intern agreements will offer the individual part-time work, while others will form a full-time contract. Either way, the agreement should specify the expected hours and days of work, and exactly what the work will involve during that time.
The rules on this aren’t too dissimilar from those in other employment contracts and job offer letters. Clarity is key.
This distinction is especially relevant in today's digital age, where the intern might be working from a different location, or completing the internship fully remote.
In fact, with hybrid workplaces becoming more prevalent, most internship agreements should default to explaining where they expect the intern to work from, and how frequently they should commute to the office - if at all.
If the intern does work remotely, it’s also wise for the internship agreement to outline how this will be accommodated.
Internship contracts are no different from other employment contracts in that they need to be clear, specific, and comprehensive. Here’s what a typical internship agreement template ought to include:
Managing internship agreements effectively is crucial for ensuring that all terms are adhered to and that both the employer and the intern have a positive experience - from hiring to onboarding, and beyond.
Juro's AI-native contract management platform offers several features that can streamline the process of creating, managing, and storing internship agreements, so you can focus on what matters most: intern experience.
Here’s how you can leverage Juro to manage these agreements more effectively:
Juro’s automated contract templates enable you to strike a balance between watertight internship agreements, and fewer blockers from legal. Instead of getting legal involved in every internship agreement you draft, you can self-serve on the contract using a template pre-defined and approved by your legal counsel.
Juro offers:
Juro’s automated workflows allow you to streamline the approval process for internship agreements. By setting up predefined workflows, you can ensure that agreements are reviewed and approved by the right people at the right time, without unnecessary delays.
Juro offers:
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Juro’s electronic signature capabilities make it easy to finalize internship agreements. Both the employer and the intern can sign the agreement electronically, eliminating the need for physical documents and speeding up the process.
Juro offers:
Storing and organizing internship agreements is made simple with Juro’s data-rich, intuitive contract repository. All agreements are securely stored in a centralized location, making it easy to retrieve, review, and manage them as needed.
Juro offers:
Juro is a trusted partner for HR agreements, powering more than 2m contracts for some of the world's fastest growing businesses. To find out more about how Juro's contract management solution can help you reduce time-to-hire and deliver a better candidate experience, fill in the form below. For more HR-related templates, we've got you covered:
An internship agreement template is a ready-made contract that a business can adapt each time it takes on an intern. It records how long the placement lasts and what the intern will do, along with any pay and the training they can expect, so both sides start with the same picture.
Usually, yes. Without one, it can be unclear whether the intern counts as a worker or employee, which can lead to claims for back pay if minimum wage rules turn out to apply. A short agreement also sets out the learning on offer and who owns anything the intern creates.
It depends on the country and on what the intern actually does. In many places, an intern who does real work for a business counts as a worker or employee and is owed at least minimum wage, while placements that form part of a course are often exempt. In the US, unpaid internships at for-profit companies are judged on whether the intern or the business is the main beneficiary, so check the rules before offering an unpaid role.
An internship agreement suits a short placement where learning is a main purpose, with training and supervision built in. If the person is mainly doing a job for a set period, a fixed-term employment contract is usually the better fit, and calling the role an internship won't change their legal status. Many employers move a successful intern onto an employment contract when the internship ends.
It depends on the intern's status, so put it in writing. Work created by employees often belongs to the employer automatically, but an unpaid or student intern may not count as an employee, which leaves ownership unclear. Include a clause that assigns to the business anything the intern creates for it, and a confidentiality clause covering what they see during the placement.
It's a sound starting point, but it works best when you tailor the pay and working hours to the specific placement. Rules on unpaid internships vary a lot between countries and between US states, so check them before you send the agreement. For specific legal advice on your contract templates, consult an attorney.
Build the internship template in Juro once and generate every agreement from it, with HR filling in the intern's details and placement dates. When something changes, such as your standard stipend, you update that one template and every new agreement follows. Signed agreements sit in one searchable place, so you can check end dates and see which interns are due a decision on a permanent offer.
Yes. Using Operator in Juro, you can draft a new internship agreement template from your existing employment and internship contracts, so it follows your drafting style and the positions you usually take on terms like IP and confidentiality. HR and legal review and approve the first draft before anyone uses it, which keeps the template in line with your risk appetite.
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