Professional internship

A professional internship is one of the basic instruments for activating people who are short or long-term unemployed. It is primarily directed at people who have completed education and are looking for their first job in their profession. But it should be emphasized that you can apply for an internship at any point in life, even many years after receiving a diploma. This situation usually occurs when we are thinking about changing our professional industry. The Labor Office can be the coordinating place for professional internships. An internship from the Labor Office is strictly controlled by the appropriate authorities and is subject to relevant regulations, the violation of which carries penalties.

Internship offers can also be found at job fairs or in career offices run by schools and universities, as well as on the Internet. The employer has the right to conduct an initial selection of candidates, so when responding to an internship advertisement, it is worth meticulously preparing all application documents. The purpose of the internship is practical preparation for the profession. The employer does not expect the intern to have all the skills necessary for a given position. In the case of an internship, engagement and willingness to learn are key.

A professional internship organized by the Labor Office is available to:

• unemployed persons who have not reached the age of 25 and unemployed persons before the age of 30 (if 12 months have not passed since completing education at a higher education institution),
• long-term unemployed persons,
• unemployed persons who have a disability certificate,
• unemployed persons who have served a prison sentence and did not take up employment after leaving the prison,
• unemployed persons who are single parents raising a child with a disability certificate,
• women who have given birth to a child and have not taken up employment,
• unemployed persons who have reached the age of 50,
• unemployed persons with lower or secondary education who do not have professional experience.

In order to complete an internship under the conditions specified in the Act, it is necessary to have a referral issued by the Labor Office. This referral can be obtained after submitting the relevant documents required by the Labor Office, such as an identity document, a declaration regarding the place of registration, school completion certificates, diplomas, certificates from other workplaces. If you want to start an internship in a given company, you can ask if the employer offers such an opportunity and wants to establish cooperation with the Labor Office.

In the case of an internship organized independently by a company, a referral is not required. Any person, regardless of age, education, or professional experience, can undertake such an internship. This opportunity is mainly used by young people, right after finishing school, who are looking for a way to gain experience in the profession.

Professional internship vs. graduate internship

A graduate internship is a form of professional internship directed at people who have obtained a diploma of completion of studies at a higher education institution, are registered as unemployed, and have not reached the age of 30. An internship coordinated by the Labor Office can last from 3 to 12 months. The employer is not obliged to employ the intern after the completion of the internship. However, if the employee proves themselves in a given position, the employer may offer the intern a full-time or part-time job. The intern can apply for a second or subsequent internship in the same company in a different position. The maximum, total time for completing an internship with one employer is 12 months. However, it should be kept in mind that there should be a break between them of at least one year. A person who is an intern must also remember that they can use this form of gaining professional qualifications and experience for a maximum of 24 months.

What does an internship look like?

An intern directed to an internship by the Labor Office, like any employee, is entitled to two days off for every 30 calendar days of the internship. During the apprenticeship, they are covered by retirement, disability, and accident insurance. An intern who completes an internship outside their place of residence also has the right to apply for reimbursement of travel costs to the place of work. According to the law, an intern cannot work more than 8 hours a day. The sum of working hours in a week cannot exceed 40. The internship takes place from Monday to Friday, excluding Sundays and holidays. Usually, it does not take place at night, unless the company operates in a shift system. The intern also has an assigned supervisor or mentor. This is a person who takes care of the intern and introduces them to new duties.

Does the intern receive remuneration?

The state fully finances the remuneration of interns – through the Labor Fund or EU funds. The remuneration of an intern completing an internship from the Labor Office is sometimes called a scholarship. The intern is entitled to a monthly scholarship in the amount of 120% of the unemployment benefit (art. 53 of the Act of April 20, 2004, on employment promotion and labor market institutions).

From June 2022, the unemployment benefit is 1304.10 PLN – Announcement of the Minister of Family and Social Policy of May 10, 2022 (M. P. item 486). Moreover, an internship financed from EU funds is exempt from certain contributions, so the net remuneration will be slightly higher. Currently, the net remuneration for an internship from the labor office is the same as the gross remuneration.

The scholarship is transferred to the bank account indicated by the person undertaking the internship.

Moreover, an internship from the labor office counts towards:

• retirement
• leave
• work experience.

An internship organized independently by enterprises looks slightly different. The employer is not obliged to pay the intern remuneration.

What is the purpose of a professional internship?

An internship gives the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience. The candidate becomes more competitive in the labor market. After completing an internship from the Labor Office, the intern receives a set of documents certifying work with a given employer in the indicated position. These include, among others, a certificate of completion of the internship, the employer’s opinion, and a report on the course of the internship. Very often, the employer offers the intern to take up work on a full-time basis.

Practical training vs. internship

An internship is very often associated with practical training, and these terms are used interchangeably. This is a mistake, because both forms differ from each other:

• Practical training concerns young people and students during or immediately after their education.
• An internship, on the other hand, concerns unemployed persons registered with the Labor Office.

Both forms share a common goal – that is, supporting the acquisition of skills needed to perform a given profession and enriching experience.

What documents must the intern provide?

A person undergoing an internship should be aware of what formalities they should complete so as not to break the rules of the internship. The two most important documents in this situation are the attendance list and the internship report.

The attendance list is necessary to confirm your presence at the place of the internship. A person on an internship must deliver it to the Labor Office each month within the appropriate time – in accordance with the provision in the contract. The internship report, along with the rest of the required documentation, must be presented after its completion. It describes the specific tasks and activities that the intern dealt with to master the work in a given position. The report is aimed at confirming the fulfillment of the internship supervisor and the intern from the program that was included in the contract.

What are the benefits of completing an internship?

Experience – during an internship, you have the opportunity to gain valuable and practical preparation for performing a given profession. It is a time to use the practical knowledge gained, e.g., during studies in a real work environment. Moreover, an internship allows you to demonstrate your experience in the industry area.

Increasing chances in the labor market – experience gained during an internship makes you a more attractive candidate for a given position. Employers value people who are active and determined to develop and expand their knowledge.

Scholarship – a scholarship in the amount of 140% of the unemployment benefit is awarded and paid by the appropriate District Labor Office. This allows the intern not only to acquire professional skills but also to earn – they have a sense of stability and security during the internship period.

If you are passionate about a given area or want to make sure you are active in the labor market, an internship can turn out to be an ideal and paid form of gaining skills and experience.

Internship voucher vs. internship from the labor office

In some cases, the intern is entitled to the so-called internship voucher. To obtain it, you must be under 30 years old and present to the labor office a company that has committed to take on an internship for a period of 6 months, and then employ for another half a year after the end of the internship.

As part of the internship voucher, the employer will receive a one-time bonus of 1500 PLN. The intern can count on additional coverage of the costs of medical and psychological examinations and the costs of travel to and from the workplace (if the company’s headquarters are outside their place of residence). The latter benefit is paid in the form of a lump sum – a maximum of up to 100 PLN per month for half a year.

Can you resign from an internship from the labor office?

Yes. However, you should indicate to the official the reason for the decision to end the internship from the labor office. Resignation without reason deprives you of unemployed status (and related privileges) for 120, 180, or 270 days – depending on which time the resignation has already been submitted.

Resignation from an internship from the labor office without consequences is possible in the following cases:

• when you receive another job – then it is enough to resign from the internship and sign a contract with another employer
• if the internship does not meet your expectations (e.g., a completely different scope of duties than agreed) – in such a situation, you can file a complaint against the employer, and when the PUP (District Labor Office) considers it positively, you will return to the list of unemployed
• when pregnancy does not allow you to perform your official duties – then the labor office is obliged to offer you another internship. In the case of pregnancy, a woman on an internship from the labor office is not entitled to maternity allowance.

Internship from the labor office vs. leave and sick leave

An intern is definitely entitled to leave (although it is not a normal employee leave). The amount of leave on an internship from the labor office is 2 days off for every 30 calendar days. This is paid leave, for which you are entitled to the same scholarship as for a normal working day.

Moreover, people who have been accepted for an internship from the labor office can work for a maximum of 8 hours a day and are guaranteed free Saturdays and Sundays.

You can also use sick leave. In this case, you should notify both the employer and the district labor office. Notification of the office should take place within a maximum of 2 days from the date of issuing the L4 (sick note).