Seeking Guidance on Drafting Intern Appointment Letters and Understanding Liabilities

Dear Seniors, I am working in the auto component manufacturing industry. Our management has decided to appoint interns in different departments and has asked me to draft an appointment letter for interns. Please share any draft or suggestions on how I can do it. Also, guide me if any statutory liabilities occur (like PF & ESIC) for the same?

Interns and Their Stipend

Interns are those who are undergoing some course of study and have to do an internship for a specified period as part of their curriculum. After completing the internship, they will return to their colleges to finish their course. In this scenario, you pay a stipend without deducting or contributing to any PF or ESI.

Trainees and Statutory Contributions

If you appoint trainees or individuals as trainees, you should pay all statutory contributions applicable to regular employees.

Apprentices and the Apprentice Act

You can appoint apprentices following the provisions of the Apprentice Act. These apprentices are appointed through a Related Instruction Centre. If you opt for optional trades, you can engage apprentices by registering on the portal of apprentices. Please review the guidelines of the national apprentice programs. In this case, you are not required to pay any PF or ESI. The number of apprentices will depend on the number of regular employees. There are conditions for appointing apprentices, such as not engaging them during the night or requiring them to work overtime. This means you cannot operate your establishment with only trainees!

Hi, You can appoint interns through colleges for a specific period, and they should report with a letter issued by the college. No PF/ESI is required for them. An appointment letter is not applicable for interns. Only an internship letter is enough, and after the completion of the internship, an internship completion letter can be issued. There is no predefined template for the internship letter. You can issue it on your own.