Choosing the right employment arrangement

If you decide to take on a permanent employee, you should:

• plan how you will recruit a suitable person for the role
• understand what you need to do to set up as an employer for the first time
• be clear on your responsibilities to your employees

Permanent employees can work full- or part-time hours. You will need to decide how many hours you need the person to work for each week.

You can employ someone until a fixed date in the future under a fixed-term contract. Explore this option if:

• your business has increased demand at certain times of year – for example, retail businesses are often busier in November and December
• you need someone to cover another employee’s maternity leave or extended sick leave
• you need more help or specialist skills to complete a specific project or contract

A fixed-term employee is entitled to the same rights as a permanent employee for the duration of their contract.

Taking on an apprentice or intern can be a cost-effective way of building your workforce, as long as you have the time to invest into that person’s training and development.

Hiring an apprentice

Apprenticeships are a government-supported route to recruit and train someone and can be a great way to invest in your business’s workforce, developing employees with the exact skills your business needs.

Apprentices are employees and must be paid at least the apprentice minimum wage rate and they must spend at least 20% of their time on off-the-job training.

There are different apprenticeship schemes in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but all offer some financial support to hire an apprentice. Eligible employers in England who take on an apprentice aged 16-24 can get a hiring payment of up to £2,000.

Taking on an intern

Interns are typically students or recent graduates who gain work experience in a specific role or industry through short-term placements in a business. The term ‘intern’ has no legal meaning in the UK.

If an intern is doing any work, rather than just observing others working, you must pay them at least the minimum wage. Their other rights will depend on whether they are a worker or an employee.

Hiring someone under a flexible or zero-hours contract means you contract someone to work for you but do not guarantee them a set number of hours each week.

A zero-hours arrangement can be useful if you need flexibility. However, workers do not have to accept offers of shifts made under zero-hours contracts, which means you cannot guarantee worker availability.

Zero-hours workers have employment rights, such as the National Minimum or National Living Wage, paid holidays and rest breaks.

Your other responsibilities to staff on zero-hours contracts depend on whether they are categorised as workers or employees.

The UK Government provides financial and face-to-face support to help businesses recruit and employ people, in the form of tailored no-fee services from Jobcentre Plus Recruitment Consultants. This includes:

• recruitment advice and planning
• help to advertise vacancies and find quality candidates
• arranging work experience and work trials
• help setting up apprenticeships
• filling your business’s skills gaps
• extra support for complex recruitment needs