Employer FAQ's - Students over 18

  1. What are the key benefits to using Workfinder?
  2. What is the cost of using your service?
  3. Do we pay the students for placements?
  4. How will I reimburse the student?
  5. Will students know if a project is paid before applying?
  6. Is your service open to all University students?
  7. Can we use the Workfinder service at any time?
  8. As an employer making an offer of work experience placement, am I required to carry out Right to Work checks?
  9. What projects will the students work on?
  10. What hours would students be expected to work?
  11. How many students will be in a particular project?
  12. How are duties managed to deliver a whole project?
  13. How is Workfinder responding to Covid-19?
1: What are the key benefits to using Workfinder?
  • Workfinder connects you with the best and brightest young people for high impact remote placements in your business. Whether you need more hands for marketing, data, or tech based projects, you can access talented students to help you.
  • Our intelligent algorithm matches the best young people with your placement. We provide practical tips, guidance, and regular check-ins needed to keep the project on track and deliver value, without the burden of it all falling on you
2: What is the cost of using your service?
  • Universities: FREE
  • Students: FREE - We strongly believe that opportunities should be open to all students, that is why Workfinder will always be free for our students to use.
  • Companies: -
  • Where the applicant offered a position is at the time of the placement not in Higher Education (“HE”) or a HE Graduate then the fee payable per placement is £50 [+VAT]
  • Where the applicant offered a position is at the time the placement in Higher Education or is an HE Graduate, the fee payable per placement is £100 [+ VAT].
  • You can access our full terms and conditions here.
3: Do we pay the students for placements?

  • We absolutely believe students should be paid for the work they do for a company. We strongly advocate that companies pay living wage for all students and this is built into our platform. The current rates are:-

National Minimum Wage

Age 18-20 - £6.45

Age 21-25 - £8.20

National Living Wage

Age 25+ - £8.72

The Living Wage - 18+

£10.75 in London

£9.30 across the UK

  • You can find out more about National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage here and The Living Wage here.
  • However, we appreciate that COVID-19 has unfortunately resulted in many businesses facing challenging times. So for this summer we are giving you the option to state whether you are able to offer paid or unpaid placements.
4: How will I reimburse the student?

This is up to you, however we recommend that if the placement is less that 4 weeks that they simply invoice you, for anything longer than 4 weeks you should process via your payroll in the usual way.

5: Will students know if a project is paid before applying?

Absolutely, they will receive details of the project, the company, the suggested activities and the expected outcomes before they decide to apply to be part of the remote team.

6: Is your service open to all University students?

Yes, all students are welcome to use the Workfinder service.

7: Can we use the Workfinder service at any time?
  • Workfinder is an on-demand service, meaning businesses and students can access the platform at any point in time. We want to encourage students to engage with companies for work experience at a time that is suitable for them.
  • The summer remote projects will be going live from Mid-May.
8: As an employer making an offer of work experience placement, am I required to carry out Right to Work checks?

Yes. The immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 does not distinguish between paid and unpaid work, therefore the applicant must satisfy these checks prior to starting work. We recommend you examine the documents proving ‘right to work’ as part of the on-boarding procedure on the first day.

9: What projects will the students work on?
  • We have a selection of relevant and valuable projects for you to choose from you can view a summary here.
  • The project briefs have been created based on feedback from businesses around what would be the most benefit to them at this time.
  • The projects are fully editable to allow you to make amendments to fit your specific situation and need.
10: What hours would students be expected to work?

The working hours for this would be decided between you and the student - we recommend it is two weeks full time. We ask that you encourage students to keep to set working hours, take regular breaks and to use a good working environment i.e. using a desk and chair where possible rather than a less supportive sofa to sit at all day, and if possible encouraging students to work in a space where they get natural light.

11: How many students will be in a particular project?
  • We recommend you work with a team of students, so they can separate the workload and utilise their skills and talents appropriately. We also find that students who work in groups of two or more are able to ‘buddy up’ and solve challenges between them which reduces the demand on the current team..
  • Collaboration is a key skill needed in industry, the projects will provide an excellent opportunity for students to work in partnership with others they have not met before.
12: How are duties managed to deliver a whole project?

The project is managed by you and you will ultimately be the person who decides on the number of students, mix of students and the delivery of the project. We recommend the ideal skill set mixture for a project, but the final decision is yours.

13: How is Workfinder responding to Covid-19?

Like many businesses, the team at Workfinder are now working remotely and continue to support both businesses and students to make meaningful connections.

We have launched a new programme to enable the flexibility that both candidates and employers need.

We offer remote work experience projects which are designed to be short and intensive two-week activity that will provide value to both sides. Our intelligent algorithm matches the best young people with their placement. We provide practical tips, guidance, and regular check-ins needed to keep the project on track and deliver value.