Placement and Internship agreements
In some countries like France and Germany the legal status of placement students is different, and they use 'placement or internship agreements' instead of an employment contract. If your intended employer wants to create one with you and requires the university to be part of it, here's what you need to know, and what you need to do.
Is your placement a formal part of your degree?
- A residence abroad placement, eg for a modern languages degree
- Industrial placement or accredited placement year
- Internship or project which is a required part of your programme
In these cases, you should speak to the placement co-ordinator in your School to discuss the placement agreement request. If the placement is a formal part of your course, then the university may enter into a placement agreement, but this is done at School level as they will be taking on responsibility for monitoring your placement, and there may be insurance cover the university needs to provide for you.
If your placement isn't one of the above but you are a student
Eg A summer internship/vacation job.
If your intended employer wants to use a “placement agreement” (common in Europe), you must contact a member of the Internships Team at the Careers Service for a template approved for use by The University of Manchester. Please email workexperience@manchester.ac.uk to request a template or for more information stating your name and student ID.
If the placement will take place after you have completed your degree
In this case the university is unable to enter into a placement agreement, as it is not responsible for monitoring or assessing you during this time. You should contact your intended employer and inform them of this, and ask if they can be flexible. Because of the legal requirements on them they may not be able to do this, so you may need to approach a different employer.
