Internship agreement template

Internships are a stepping stone for many students and graduates, offering them real-world experience and a foot in the door. 

What exactly is an internship agreement, and what should be front of mind for your team when creating and managing one?

What is an internship agreement?

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. 

What is 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:

• Test roles on a temporary basis: since internships can be fixed-term contracts, they give individuals the opportunity to test career paths and discover what they do and don’t enjoy about a role.
• Develop transferable skills: internships tend to be rounded experiences, rather than specialist ones, meaning the intern has the opportunity to develop transferable skills in the process. 
• Build upon their CV: internships are a great opportunity for individuals to expand the experience on their CV, making them more attractive to relevant employers in the future. 
• Grow their network: while short, internships give individuals the opportunity to build their professional network and meet other like-minded individuals.

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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 per cent 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 per cent of these interns full-time employment offers. 

Internship vs apprenticeship: what’s the difference?

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. 

Why are internship agreements important?

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. 

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Types of internship agreements

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. 

Paid vs unpaid internships

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 is 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 work 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.  

Part-time vs full-time internships

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. 

Remote vs on-site Internships

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. 

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What should an internship agreement template include?

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:

• Parties involved: the details of both the intern and the company, as well as who they will be reporting to during the internship.
• Duration of the internship: how long the internship is expected to last, and if there are any intentions to offer a long-term position upon completion.
• Intellectual property: how any intellectual property created by the intern during their role (e.g documents, assets) are to be treated and protected. 
• Roles and responsibilities: what the intern will be responsible for while learning at the company, and what they can expect in return, like training, for example.
• Renumeration terms: whether the internship will be compensated for their time and work, and if so, how much they can expect to receive (and when). 
• Working hours: how many hours the intern will be expected to work throughout the internship, with a weekly breakdown of the agreed hours and days. 
• Confidentiality: which sensitive information the intern is agreeing to keep confidential, and which steps should be taken to protect it.
• Relevant jurisdiction: which country’s laws are applicable to the internship and employment broadly, including which employment laws apply.
• Contract termination: how the arrangement can be ended early, and which steps need to be taken for the contract to be terminated.
• Sick policies: whether any sickness policies appply, and how this impacts aspects like sick pay, notifications, and return-to-work processes. 

Manage internship agreements more effectively in Juro

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:

1. Generate internship agreements in seconds

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:

• Automated templates: Create internship agreements on demand by simply filling out a simple Q&A form to populate an automated contract template.
• Integrations with HR systems: Sync your contracts with your ATS or HRIS platforms to automate internship agreements and create a single source of truth for intern data.
• AI-assisted drafting: Generate new clauses or amendments in seconds using Juro’s legal AI assistant, which makes it easier to customize agreements safely. 

2. Automate approval workflows

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: 

• Automated notifications: Set up automated notifications to remind stakeholders when their review or approval is needed, keeping the process on track.
• Conditional logic: Use conditional logic to route agreements to different approvers based on criteria such as location, role, or compensation structure.
• Mass actions: Create, approve, or sign internship agreements at scale during busy hiring and onboarding periods. 

3. Simplify signing and execution

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:

• Electronic signatures: Allow interns and other stakeholders to sign agreements electronically, with legally binding eSignatures.
• Mobile-friendly signing: Enable interns to review and sign agreements from any device, improving accessibility and convenience.

4. Store and organize agreements securely

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:

• Centralized storage: Keep all internship agreements in one secure, searchable location, reducing the risk of lost or misplaced documents.
• Tagging and categorization: Use tags and categories to organize contracts by intern, department, or status, making it easy to find and manage specific documents.
• OCR search functionality: OCR search enables you to find HR contracts in seconds by simply typing in certain words, names, or contract values.

Need help managing HR contracts?

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: ‍

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