As the cost-of-living crisis continues, getting a part-time job while you study is more important than ever. You can find part-time and casual jobs on Handshake – our jobs portal.
For Devon-based students our Student Employment Fair is on Wednesday 4 October 2023, 11:00 – 15:00. And for Cornwall-based students we’ve created a Part-time Jobs Pack to help you in your job search.
While the great majority of roles you’ll see online are from genuine employers (we check the jobs that are advertised on Handshake), there are scammers around looking to separate you from your money. Here’s our guide to knowing the difference between paid and unpaid work, as well as your rights in the workplace.
You can’t sign away your right to the National Minimum Wage, even if you want to.
A glitzy record company offers an inside track into the glorious world of Artists & Repertoire. They can’t offer a salary, but the experience is priceless. And if you do really well, you might even get a proper job out of it.
Unpaid work is everywhere these days. If everyone is doing it then it must be okay, right? Well, not necessarily. Working for free can be legal in certain circumstances and can offer valuable experience – but often it’s about unscrupulous employers exploiting people who don’t know their rights.
So, what are your rights when it comes to getting paid for the work you do?
What’s in a name? Workers, Volunteers and Voluntary Workers
Your organisation might call you an “intern”, a “volunteer”. They might call your role “work experience”, a “placement”, or an “internship”. They might ask you to sign something waiving your right to the National Minimum Wage.
None of that matters.
You can’t sign away your right to the National Minimum Wage[1], even if you want to.
And it doesn’t matter what your role is called. Many of the commonly used terms have no legal meaning. What really matters is the actual real-life detail of your situation.
In legal-speak, if you’re a worker, you get the NMW. If you’re not a worker, you don’t.
But how do you know if you’re a worker or not? Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes not. But here are the basic definitions.
“One important indicator that can determine whether you’re a worker or not, is the question of reward.”
You’re usually a worker if you have things like set hours, defined responsibilities, have to do the work yourself, and have to turn up for your agreed hours even if you don’t feel like it.
A voluntary worker is someone who’s a bit like a worker (they have set responsibilities, hours, etc.) but who still works for free. The big thing here is who you’re working for. You can only be a voluntary worker if you’re working for a charity, voluntary organisation or a statutory body of some sort. People who help out at their local school or hospital, or do time in a charity shop are often voluntary workers.
A volunteer is someone who has no defined responsibilities, no obligation to turn up or do anything, and gets no financial benefit from the work they do. You can volunteer in this sense for any organisation, not just a charity.
Lastly, there’s work-shadowing. This isn’t a legal term, but if you’re hanging about the workplace (with their permission of course!), getting a feel for what goes on, watching people work, chatting to them about their jobs, etc. but not doing any actual work yourself then you’re not a worker and thus have no right to the National Minimum Wage.
What are you getting out of it?
One important indicator that can determine whether you’re a worker or not, is the question of reward.
Are you getting a payment? Have you been promised some training or a job at the end of your stint? If so, you could cross the line from volunteer or voluntary worker and become a worker.
Once again, it doesn’t matter what your organisation calls the payment or benefit you’re getting – what matters is the detail.
Maybe you get “travel expenses”. If this means you give your bus tickets to your organisation and they give you back the cash you spent on them, then there’s no problem. But, if they just give you a flat rate, regardless of your actual costs, that’s something else entirely. If you’re getting £20 a week for travel but you’re walking to work, then you could be a worker.
The same applies to “benefits in kind” (basically, non-monetary rewards). If the organisation gives you a pair of safety boots to wear on site, or a uniform, then that’s fine. But if you’re working for a music company that gives you free concert tickets or a fashion company that gives you a pair of posh shoes, then that’s a payment, potentially making you a worker[2].
Even promising a paid job at the end of your stint can cross the line and put you in the worker-camp.
Work experience in your course
If you’re doing work experience as part of your course, you’re not usually entitled to the National Minimum Wage, unless the duration exceeds one year.
Our view
As responsible adults, the ultimate decision to do unpaid work lies with the individual student. Only you can decide whether the trade-off of no cash vs. experience is worth it in your particular circumstances.
However, in general, we advise students to take on unpaid work only when you’re:
- Doing a placement or work experience modules in your course;
- Volunteering for charitable and non-profit organisations.
We don’t usually promote unpaid opportunities that last longer than three months, even if these are legitimate. You can find out more about our policy on vetting unpaid vacancies here. The benefits of other sorts of unpaid work are questionable, with little evidence to suggest that they improve career outcomes.
I feel like I’ve been ripped off … what do I do?
If you feel like you’ve been scammed, then it’s important to talk to someone about it.
You can always pop into see us. We can’t take action on your behalf, but we can certainly give an opinion on whether you have a genuine grievance. We can also talk to you about what you were hoping to gain from the experience and see if there’s a better way to meet that goal.
If you found this job through Career Zone, it’s very important you tell us. We aren’t perfect and sometimes inappropriate vacancies do slip through. It may also be that the employer hasn’t been honest with us – either way, we need to know to make sure other students don’t get ripped off.
The Advice Unit at the Students’ Guild can help with many problems and should be able to chat through the issue and talk through your options.
If you want to take action, you can report the company to HM Revenue & Customs. They can fine companies and force them to pay you what you’re owed. More information on how to make a complaint can be found here.
[1] When we refer to the National Minimum Wage we also include the National Living Wage because National Minimum / Living Wage is a bit of a mouthful. You can find the current rates for the National Minimum Wage here.
[2] It’s worth noting that, although benefits in kind might make you a worker, they don’t usually count towards NMW. The employer who gives you a pair of £500 shoes risks making you a worker, but the £500 won’t count towards what they should pay you!