Intern Aware says that a paid internship is usually a short-term period of employment aimed at providing you with professional skills and experience. It is different from a work shadowing scheme where you only observe other people working, and different from volunteering where you choose to give up your time to help a cause or a company [ Making internships work: an interns guide].
You should be treated with exactly the same degree of professionalism and duty of care as regular employees, including access to disciplinary and grievance procedures. You should be given as much responsibility and diversity in your work as possible. Your employer should make sure that you are made to feel part of the organisation and are not treated merely as a visitor. You must be provided with work that develops your skills. Your structured work plan should contribute to your professional and learning objectives and should be open to revision. You should be allowed to attend job interviews or complete study requirements. [Common best practice Code for high quality Internships]
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