Before you apply... advice from the University of York

The University of York strongly advises students and graduates considering working overseas to refer to the guidelines provided by Careers and Placements on international work. In addition, we recommend you check to ensure that the remuneration for the post meets the country's minimum wage guidelines.

Applicants are advised to check Foreign Office travel advice prior to travelling.

Vacancies abroad requiring the right to work in that country

• Before applying, the University of York strongly advises students and graduates to explore the right to work regulations and requirements for the country. You can find out more on our international work page, and by searching the GoinGlobal database of country profiles. 

Study Abroad

• Find out more about global opportunities to study abroad during your degree at York.

Salaries paid in local currency

• Please be aware that it is not the University of York’s responsibility to check overseas opportunities that are paid in local currency, but if you would like to check try the Wikipedia page of international minimum wages.

Unpaid internships

The University of York strongly advises students and graduates taking unpaid internships or work experience to refer to the guidance in the Internships section on our Internships and work experience page, and at Your employment rights. 

Costs attached to an internship/placement

If there are costs attached to a vacancy you should research the vacancy, and employer or agency, before submitting an application and committing to this post. The University of York advises you to consider and plan how you will finance opportunities with high fees before applying. 

Unusual payment

These are generally media/PR roles: eg submit social media posts and be paid if they're accepted.

You are advised to contact the company to ensure that you are happy with the terms and conditions outlined regarding payment within this role. Please send any feedback about your experiences with the company to careers-vacancies@york.ac.uk.

We strongly advise students and graduates to consider the following points before applying for a volunteering role that is not advertised through the Careers and Placements Volunteering Team. You should consider whether:

• The role is voluntary and can be done by choice without monetary payment, gifts in kind (eg gig tickets, vouchers, CDs, meals) or coercion. 
• The role clearly benefits the volunteer as well as the community. The organisation should provide a clear volunteer activity description, indicating the benefits of the activity to the partner and the volunteer.
• The organisation is not for profit. 
• The role is not exploitative, and does not fall under the legal category of ‘voluntary work.’ 
• International students should ensure the role meets specific visa requirements.
• The role commitment is clearly outlined, with realistic, achievable and appropriate expectations. Students should undertake no more than 20 hours of extra-curricular activity a week. It is expected that an average volunteer role will be no more than 5 hours a week. 
• The role is advertised by an organisation that holds Employers' and Public Liability insurance. 
• The volunteer will receive adequate training and support to be able to carry out the role effectively.
• The organisation abides by the DBS Code of Practice as issued under section 122(2) of the Police Act 1997 for any volunteers working with young people or vulnerable adults, and will be responsible for conducting DBS checks as required and ensuring volunteers are aware of relevant safeguarding practices and procedures.  
• The role does not represent an undue health and/or safety risk. The who and what is covered webpage will give you information about which activities may be considered hazardous. Please note that the University's travel insurance only covers authorised, overseas activity that relates to a University course or programme.
• The organisation will provide reasonably appropriate and competent supervision for any students on the premises for health and safety purposes. 
• The volunteer will be provided with an induction in the workplace health and safety arrangements, including arrangements in the event of a fire and with regard to the specific hazards that may be encountered in the workplace and the relevant health and safety precautions including in relation to specific health factors and need for precautions or personal protection equipment as reasonably required and as arising from time to time, such as during any pandemic. 
• The organisation will ensure all volunteers know who to contact in the workplace regarding any health, safety and welfare issues.
• The organisation has a commitment to equal opportunities and will offer reasonable adjustments wherever required in law to volunteers with disabilities.
• The organisation abides by GDPR regulations. 

The University of York strongly advises students and graduates considering self-employment to refer to the guidance provided by Careers and Placements on the Work while you study pages. We advise against "pyramid" or "multi-level marketing" (MLM) schemes and do not advertise these.

If you are looking for further advice or if you have any questions, visit our enterprise pages or email enterprise@york.ac.uk

Note: self-employment or freelance work is not permitted to international students with a student visa.

If you are an international student, and know that you want to stay in the UK after graduation, you should explore your options to allow you to do this and make sure posts you apply for meet any visa requirements.  

If you are a non-UK national you will need to apply for a National Insurance (NI) number before becoming employed in the UK for the first time. You will only need to apply for an NI number once. Find out more on the Your employment rights page.

For further information, please visit the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website for information about working after your studies and UK Visas and Immigration.

Hours of work

If you are a current student wanting to work part-time during semester time, it is advisable to work no more than 20 hours a week. Anything over this may interfere with your studies. Be aware that late night working, taking on extra responsibility/promotion, extra shifts etc can affect your health and wellbeing, impacting on your ability to concentrate fully on your academic work.

Zero hours contracts

If you are offered a zero hours contract, you should investigate fully the terms and conditions before accepting.

Night time work/sleep-in policies

The University of York strongly advises students and graduates considering working at night to refer to the guidance provided on GOV.UK. The University also strongly advises that students and applicants interested in these positions discuss the role with the company, and are fully aware of the job expectations before applying. Detailed requirements and specifications of working at night should be provided by the employer during the application process.

Check the closing date

Although companies are asked to contact Careers and Placements with any altered closing dates for their vacancies, you are advised to check the company website regularly to ensure that you are viewing the most up to date closing date when researching or applying to this role.

Start dates

Please note that the University of York is sometimes unable to verify the start date of external opportunities. Please contact the company directly to confirm the start date. 

Vacancies with non-English websites

If the information on a website is not written in English, please be aware that it has not been reviewed by the University of York. Please contact Careers and Placements if there are discrepancies between the advert and further information provided.

Recruitment Agencies

Please be aware that the University of York may be unable to verify information and details about the actual and end employer on vacancies posted by recruitment agencies. You are advised to contact the advertising organisation to discuss the opportunity, and the end employer, in further detail before deciding whether or not to apply.

Vacancy requests a Convention de Stage

Please note that the University of York is only able to provide a Convention de Stage / training agreement when a placement or internship forms part of your academic studies. Please contact your academic department if this applies to you.  If you wish to undertake an opportunity as an extracurricular activity, please be aware that the University of York can provide confirmation of your student status only, and will be unable to sign a Convention de Stage.

Asking for photos

According to section 16.42 of the Employment Statutory Code, applicants should not be asked to provide photographs with their applications. For most roles, a candidate's physical appearance should be irrelevant. Insisting on photos could result in claims of discrimination. Exceptions could include modelling, acting or similar roles. Photographic evidence may be required to confirm a candidate's identify (for example, when verifying their right to work in the UK) but this should usually be done at the final stages of the recruitment process, ie at an interview or on appointment.