CIPR Employment Issues
Employment Issues ‘Starting an internship’ & ‘Your first full time job’ March 2012 Edition
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CIPR Employment Issues Section One: Starting an Internship Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3 Work placement and internships .......................................................................................... 3 Getting started ..................................................................................................................... 3 What to expect on your first day ........................................................................................... 4 What is expected from an employee? .................................................................................. 4 Reference ............................................................................................................................ 4 Are internships paid? ........................................................................................................... 4 What is National Minimum Wage? ....................................................................................... 5 Your rights .............................................................................................................................. 5 Additional note ..................................................................................................................... 5 Further information on employment issues ........................................................................... 5
Section Two: Your first full time job Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 6 Getting started ..................................................................................................................... 6 What is expected from an employee? ................................................................................... 6 What is National Minimum Wage? ....................................................................................... 6 PAYE .................................................................................................................................... 6 Student loan repayments ..................................................................................................... 7 Income Tax .......................................................................................................................... 7 National Insurance ............................................................................................................... 8 How annual leave is calculated ............................................................................................ 8 Do part-time workers rights differ to full time employees? .................................................... 8 Keeping records .................................................................................................................... 8 For further information on employment issues see ................................................................ 9
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CIPR Employment Issues Section One: Starting an internship Introduction This section hopes to help with employment issues for students taking part in work experience, work placements or internships. This guidance explains the different forms of work placements and internships and lays out what you can expect from them. Work placements and internships It is never too early to start thinking about your future. With so many people now having degrees it is important to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs. One way to do this is by getting a range of experience that will add value to your CV or application forms during the summer holidays at school or university. All work experience or internships undertaken should be viewed in a positive light as it will either confirm for you that this industry is a possible career for you or you will realise it is not what you want to do with your future. Work placements and internships come in many different forms, examples of which are listed below. Sandwich placements: a fixed-term period of assessed, paid work that forms part of your degree. It often lasts for a full year. Work-based project: a specific piece of assessed work for your course, undertaken at an employer's premises. Work placement: a period of work experience. This can be arranged through your university with an employer or by yourself and is for an agreed period of time. Internship: a phrase that is increasingly used by large organisations and refers to a placement within their organisation, usually over 6-12 weeks during the summer holiday. Voluntary work: any type of work undertaken for no payment, in your spare time. Part-time work: paid or unpaid work, less than 35 hours per week. Work shadowing: where you observe a member of staff working in an organisation, to gain an understanding of what a particular job entails. Getting started It is customary, to discuss the role or to agree a contract with your employer before you start. This is a good time to get any questions you may have about the job answered. Examples of which are listed below: Any questions about your role or duties - including whether a full time job will be offered at the end of a placement. A work plan should be discussed and agreed by both parties. The salary or fee for the placement should be agreed before the placement commences – see note below. Hours of work and the duration of the placement should be established. A period of up to three months is suitable in most cases, and if a placement is to be extended much beyond this there should be good reasons and the employer should consider whether they are offering the appropriate remuneration. Dress code should be stated, and also expectations and guidance on professional conduct explained. 3
CIPR Employment Issues It should be agreed that constructive feedback be provided as appropriate, informing you where you need to improve or when you are doing a good job. Your contract/employer should provide you with information on holiday rights. Those with worker status as an intern are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year. This entitlement may include public holidays. If your internship includes work experience or on-the-job training, you should be entitled to statutory holiday rights. For those taking part in a PR internship/placement this is a good time to ask your new employer if they are aware of the CIPR work placement charter What to expect on your first day Interns or those on a placement should be treated with the same respect that other members of staff expect. The organisation should ensure that you are guided through your first day and throughout the placement. Administrative and health and safety procedures should be explained. Full training on any software or equipment to be used, if necessary should be discussed. What is expected from an employee? Arrive every day on time. If illness arises then the employee must let the employer know before 9am of that working day. Contact must also be made if the employee is going to be arriving late. Adhere to dress codes, working hours and conduct yourself in a professional manner. Do not lie or mislead the organisation. Do not divulge or exploit any private or confidential information. Act in a mature and professional manner and treat all staff with the same respect expected in return. Do not use the Internet or email for private use unless given permission to by the organisation. All employees must follow the health and safety policy of the organisation. Reference Before leaving work experience or an internship you should request a reference from your employer. To be collected either on your last day, sent to you electronically or in the post. Are Internships paid? National Minimum Wage legislation requires employers to pay minimum wage or above for all work placements, unless they fall within the following exemptions: Students who are studying on higher education courses at UK universities or colleges if placed with an employer as part of their course. This exemption may be applied for a maximum period of one year. Students doing voluntary work for a registered charity and those doing workshadowing. The government's own guidelines on payment for internships are not entirely clear in this area and there is anecdotal evidence that PR internships are frequently unpaid. 4
CIPR Employment Issues What is National Minimum Wage? The National Minimum Wage is a minimum amount per hour that most workers in the UK are entitled to be paid. If you are being paid below the NMW you can contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline for confidential help on 0800 917 2368. Bearing all this in mind, from January 2010, graduates already receiving Jobseekers Allowance for six months or more will be able to do an internship for up to 13 weeks alongside claiming an allowance and looking for work. This means unpaid internships will be open to graduates irrespective of whether they or their families can support them. All the same, unpaid internships should be the exception rather than the rule and best practice is to offer at least the minimum wage. Your rights Interns and work placements have the right to: be paid at least the national minimum wage paid holidays protection from extensive working hours not be discriminated against Additional note While some Universities or Colleges recommend students to seek placements and internships, it should be noted that a recommendation is quite different from a requirement and that these placements are not insisted on nor part of the course work. Employment issues fact sheet: starting an internship (PDF) Employment issues fact sheet: first full time job (PDF)
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CIPR Employment Issues Section Two: Your first full time job This section hopes to help with employment issues for those entering full time employment for the first time. It gives detailed information about employment issues such as Income Tax and National Insurance. Getting started Employers must give their employees a written statement of their main terms and conditions of employment within two months of commencing employment. This should include: Information on your agreed salary Agreed working hours Holiday entitlement Amount of notice time you have to give if you want to leave Amount of notice time your employer must give you if they want to end your employment What is expected from an employee? Arrive every day on time. If illness arises then the employee must let the employer know before 9am of that working day. Contact must also be made if the employee is going to be arriving late. Adhere to dress codes, working hours and conduct yourself in a professional manner. Do not lie or mislead the organisation. Do not divulge or exploit any private or confidential information. Act in a mature and professional manner and treat all staff with the same respect expected in return. Do not use the Internet or email for private use unless given permission to by the organisation. All employees must follow the health and safety policy of the organisation. What is National Minimum Wage? The National Minimum Wage is a minimum amount per hour that most workers in the UK are entitled to be paid. If you are being paid below the NMW you can contact the Pay and Work Rights Helpline for confidential help on 0800 917 2368. PAYE When you become an employee your employer is responsible for deducting Income Tax and National Insurance from your salary before you receive it. This system is called PAYE (Pay As You Earn). You will receive information relating to PAYE from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and your employer.
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CIPR Employment Issues PAYE forms: P45 – If you have worked previously you'll have received a P45 form on leaving. A P45 is a record of your pay and tax deductions during your employment and contains information on; your tax code, PAYE reference number, wages so far in the tax year, how much tax was deducted from your wages and your leaving date. P46 – If you are starting your first job and don't have a P45, your employer will give you a P46 form to fill in and sign. HMRC will then process this and issue your tax code. It is important you complete your P46 before your first pay day. If you don't, you could end up paying the wrong amount of tax. P60 – A P60 is an annual summary of all your payslips. Your employer gives you one at the end of every tax year (6 April to the following 5 April). Student loan repayments Students loans are repaid automatically through PAYE once you start working and earning more than the repayment threshold. Income Tax Income Tax is a tax on income. Not all income is taxable and you're only taxed on 'taxable income' above a certain level. Even then, there are other reliefs and allowances that can reduce your Income Tax bill - and in some cases mean you've no tax to pay. How do you pay Income Tax? Income Tax is collected in different ways depending on the type of income and whether you're employed, self-employed or not working. The different ways Income Tax is collected include: PAYE (Pay As You Earn) Self Assessment tax deducted 'at source' whereby tax is deducted from bank/building society interest before the interest is paid to you in some cases, one-off payments If you're an employee or you receive a company or private pension, your employer or pension provider will deduct tax through PAYE. If you're self-employed, you'll be responsible for filling in a Self Assessment tax return and paying your own tax. How to check you are paying the right amount of Income Tax It's important to check that you're paying the right amount of tax. You can do this by checking your: total taxable income tax-free allowances and reliefs current tax code (if relevant) If you're paying too much tax you can claim this money back. If you're an employee or you receive a company or personal pension and you think you're paying too little tax, you'll need to contact HMRC to change your tax code. 7
CIPR Employment Issues National Insurance As well as paying Income Tax on your income, you'll also have to pay National Insurance contributions. National Insurance contributions build up your entitlement to certain social security benefits, including the State Pension. The amount of National Insurance you pay depends on how much you earn and whether you're employed or self-employed. You stop paying National Insurance contributions when you reach retirement age. Pay slip An employee is entitled to an itemised pay statement each time they are paid. How is annual leave calculated? Workers are entitled to paid annual leave from the ďŹ rst day of employment. The amount of statutory paid annual leave that a worker is entitled to can be worked out by multiplying their normal working week by 5.6 (eg, if you work ďŹ ve days per week - 5 x 5.6 = 28 days paid annual leave per year). There is no statutory right to have bank or public holidays with or without pay. Bank or public holidays which the worker has off will count towards the worker's statutory holiday, unless their contract gives bank/public holidays in addition to statutory holidays. Do part-time workers rights differ to full time employees? All part-time workers are entitled to the same contractual rights (pro-rata) as full-time workers. Keeping records HMRC suggests you keep your records for at least 22 months from the end of the tax year they relate to. The tax year runs from 6 April to the following 5 April, so keep paperwork until, at least 31 January nearly two years later. They also suggest that you keep records of the following: payslips and PAYE Coding Notices P45 and P60 forms details of taxable expenses 'benefits in kind' forms from your employer - a benefit in kind is something you get for doing your job that isn't money certificates for any 'Taxed Award Schemes' details of any state benefits you've received If anyone (other than your employer) gives you benefits in kind for doing your job, you should keep a note of their name and address and what they gave you. Employment issues fact sheet: first full time job (PDF) Employment issues fact sheet: starting an internship (PDF)
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CIPR Employment Issues For further information on employment issues see: Directgov Citizens' Advice ACAS HMRC For additional information on placements see the CIPR Work Placement Charter.
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