Student work

Child students who are under 16 years old are not allowed to work. 

If you are a Child student aged 16 or over, you can work:

• Up to 10 hours a week in term time.
• Full time in vacations, including before your course starts, on work placements, and after your course has ended (this is part of your vacation).

The situation is different if you have Student permission, and not Child student permission. You can work only if your independent school is a ‘sponsor with a track record’ in the status column of the register of Student sponsors.

Always check any limits on work that your school imposes or recommends. It is important that you do not exceed them.

If your school does not have a track record and you have Student permission, you are not allowed to work in or outside term time, but you might be able to take a work placement as part of your course.

You are not allowed to work if your Student sponsor does not have the words ‘track record’ in the status column of the register of Student sponsors, and is listed in the sponsor type column as:

• a private provider
• a publicly funded college
• an embedded college offering pathway courses

However, you might be able to take a work placement as part of your course.

A work placement must be an assessed and be an integral part of your course. Usually, it must not be longer than one third of the total length of your course.

If you meet both of the following requirements, you can spend up to half of your course on work placements:

• Your course is at degree level or above. This means that your course results in a qualification at RQF level 6 or SCQF level 9 or above.
• Your sponsor is an overseas higher education institution. Or your sponsor has a ‘track record’ in the status column of the register of Student sponsors.

You can treat an internship that meets these requirements as a work placement. In all other cases, it will be subject to the usual restrictions on student employment. This means that you cannot work full time during term time.

Your Student sponsor must:

• Stay connected with you during your work placement.
• Let the Home Office know that you will be working for part of your course.
• Provide a letter for your work placement provider which contains the terms and conditions of the placement and explain how your sponsor will assess it.

Your employer can pay you for your work placement. It can be full time, even in term time, and you can do it at the same time as other work. For more information about your potential employer’s duties read the Home Office’s guidance for employers.

Once you have checked your work restrictions, you can contact your college or university's careers service. They should be able to offer you help with: 

• Looking for suitable work including internships.
• Applying for a job.
• Interview techniques and practice.
• Recruiter events and job fairs.
• Contacting alumni who work in areas of interest to you.

You can also search for jobs online. Recruitment agencies and websites should not ask you to pay for help in applying for or getting work. The UK government has guidance on your rights and safety when looking for a job.

You can work with Student permission as a students' union sabbatical officer.

Volunteering offers the opportunity to undertake a wide range of activities. It is not paid, but you can meet new people and make a difference in your local community.

There are many ways of finding volunteering opportunities. Your Student sponsor can usually help, and here are some organisations who list volunteering opportunities in the UK:

• National Council for Voluntary Organisations (England)
• Volunteer Scotland
• Volunteering Wales
• Volunteer Now (Northern Ireland)

For activity to count as volunteering, it must meet certain conditions. The Student and Child Student casework guidance explains that volunteers do not have a contract and must not be a substitute for an employee. Volunteers are not paid, though it is possible to receive reasonable travel and subsistence expenses. 

"Voluntary work" is different to volunteering. Voluntary work is typically characterised by working for the benefit of a charity, voluntary organisation, or related fund-raising or statutory bodies. It is a type of unpaid employment. This sort of unpaid employment counts towards your weekly hours of work. If you have a work prohibition, you must not do anything that could be considered unpaid employment or voluntary work. 

There are some kinds of work you must not do including self-employment, business activity, professional sportsperson, entertainer, and permanent full-time job. There are some exceptions.

Self-employment

UK government information about self-employment explains when you are likely to be self-employed. For example, selling goods and services for profit, including online and through apps. The UK tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), can tell you if your proposed work would be self-employment. You can contact HMRC or use their guidance and self-assessment tools.

Your employer might suggest that you work for them as a 'contractor' or on a 'freelance' basis. This is so that your employer does not have to do so much paperwork. You must not agree to this, as you might end up breaching your work condition.

Business activity

The Student and Child Student casework guidance provides examples of business activities. You can start to prepare a business if you intend to apply under a work route that allows this. For details, see guidance for start-up and innovator endorsing bodies.

Professional sportsperson

This includes paid work as a sports coach. Information about sporting activities is in the Student and Child Student casework guidance. Ask your student sponsor if you do not understand how it applies to your situation. There is an exception for students doing work placements on a course at degree level or above.

Entertainer

This includes paid work as an actor, musician, dancer or other performer. There is an exception for dance, drama and music students doing work placements. Your course must be at degree level or above.

Permanent full-time job

'Permanent' means there is no end date in your contract. You can do a permanent part-time job. Outside term time, you can do a full-time fixed-term job.

Doctor or dentist in training

You can work as a doctor or dentist in training only if you are on the foundation programme. This restriction does not apply to you if you applied for your permission on or after 1 December 2020.