Unpaid or paid internship?

An internship can be understood as the performance of work, or of professional practice, in a company, a non-profit organisation, or a public-law institution. Completing an internship during university studies can also make the intern's CV more attractive. Internships are of particular interest to university students, since completing one gives the intern many new experiences as well as insight into the practice that ordinarily operates in the relevant company or institution.

Given that Slovak law does not regulate any statutorily named internship agreement, before the internship begins it will first be necessary to answer the question of whether it is to be a paid or an unpaid internship. Depending on the answer to this question, it will then be necessary to conclude one of the agreements or contracts set out below.

An unpaid internship is better suited to a shorter-term internship. The duration of an internship cannot be precisely determined; as a rule it will be a few weeks, or at most months. The legal relationship between the intern and the relevant company will be governed by an innominate agreement concluded pursuant to § 51 of Act No. 40/1964 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended. The innominate agreement may be given any name, for example an internship agreement. In the agreement the parties will agree what the subject of the internship will be, where the internship will be carried out, what the rights and obligations of the parties will be, and other elements essential to the parties.

The advantage of an unpaid internship for the company taking on the intern is, of course, the fact that it is an internship with no entitlement to any remuneration. This fact may, however, lead companies, when there is an increased amount of work, to want to find an intern instead of an employee, who through an unpaid internship will carry out the necessary activities. The intern, on the other hand, gains new knowledge and experience that they can use further in their personal or professional life. An unpaid internship can be advantageous in particular for students, who can use the internship to obtain the necessary professional practice. It is not ruled out that, after the internship, the company will also offer the intern the possibility of continuing the cooperation on the basis of concluding an employment contract pursuant to the relevant provisions of Act No. 311/2001 Coll., the Labour Code, as amended (hereinafter the "Labour Code").

The second option, however, is a paid internship. In the case of a paid internship it is not possible to use the conclusion of an innominate contract, as in the case of an unpaid internship. 

To conclude an agreement on a paid internship, it is appropriate to use one of the agreements on work performed outside an employment relationship pursuant to § 223 et seq. of the Labour Code. Specifically, these are:

• an agreement on the performance of work;
• an agreement on the temporary work of students; and 
• an agreement on work activity.

A further option is the conclusion of an employment contract or a part-time employment contract.

If the legal relationship between the intern and the company providing the internship is to be for remuneration, then the relevant provisions of the Labour Code will have to be applied to its conclusion. The intern will work for the company, for which they will be entitled to remuneration. Whether the company decides to conclude an agreement on work performed outside an employment relationship or an employment contract depends solely on its decision, or its requirements. The individual agreements on work performed outside an employment relationship differ in the scope of work that can be performed by interns on their basis.