Why It’s A Good Idea To Have A Work Experience Agreement (2026 Updated)

Offering work experience can be a win-win. You get an extra set of hands (and potentially a future great hire), and the student or jobseeker gets exposure to real-world work, skills, and confidence.

But here’s the catch: work experience arrangements can get legally messy surprisingly quickly if you don’t set expectations clearly from day one.

This 2026 update reflects the current compliance environment in New Zealand, where businesses are increasingly expected to be clear, fair and privacy-conscious when engaging people in the workplace - even for short placements.

A simple, well-drafted work experience agreement helps you protect your business, treat the participant properly, and reduce the risk of confusion or disputes later on.

What Is A Work Experience Agreement (And When Do You Need One)?

A work experience agreement is a written document that sets out the terms of a work experience placement. It’s usually used when someone is coming into your business to observe or gain exposure, rather than being hired as an employee in the usual sense.

It’s common to use a work experience agreement for:

• secondary school or tertiary students completing required placement hours
• career changers trying out a new industry
• people looking to build confidence and experience before applying for paid roles
• participants referred through a programme provider

Even if the placement is short (for example, a few days), it’s still worth having something in writing. In practice, short placements are often where misunderstandings happen - because everyone assumes “it’s obvious” how things will work.

One important point: a “work experience” label doesn’t automatically mean the person isn’t an employee. Whether someone is legally an employee depends on the real nature of the relationship (what tasks they do, how directed they are, whether there’s an expectation of work, and whether the arrangement looks like employment in practice).

That’s why the agreement matters. It helps evidence the intended arrangement, and it forces you to think through the structure so you don’t accidentally create employment obligations without realising it.

Why Having A Work Experience Agreement Protects Your Business (And The Participant)

Most businesses don’t run into issues because they’re trying to do the wrong thing. Problems usually come from unclear boundaries, unclear supervision, or different assumptions about what the placement involves.

A well-structured work experience agreement helps by putting key points in black and white, like:

• What the participant will do (and won’t do) so you don’t accidentally place them in a role that looks like a paid job.
• When they’re expected to attend so both sides can plan properly and avoid “no show” misunderstandings.
• Who supervises them so you’re not leaving them unsupported (which can become a safety issue).
• Confidentiality expectations so your customer lists, prices, IP, and internal documents aren’t floating around after day one.
• How to handle issues such as illness, incidents, or concerns about behaviour and performance.

It can also help you avoid awkward situations. For example, if a student expects a reference at the end, or expects to be offered a paid role, you can address what you can and can’t commit to upfront.

Ultimately, a work experience agreement isn’t about making the arrangement “more legal” and less human. It’s about making the arrangement clearer - and that tends to make it better for everyone involved.

Key Legal Issues To Think About: Employment, Health & Safety, And Privacy

Work experience sits at the intersection of several legal obligations. You don’t need to turn the placement into a full corporate onboarding process, but you do need to take the basics seriously.

Are They An Employee Or Not?

This is usually the biggest risk area.

If the participant is effectively working as part of your business - doing productive work, under your direction, on set hours, and you’re benefiting from their output - there’s a risk the arrangement looks like employment (even if it’s unpaid or described as “work experience”). That can trigger obligations under employment law, such as minimum entitlements and good faith obligations.

Where you actually are hiring someone, you should use an Employment Contract rather than a work experience agreement, so the relationship is set up properly from the start.

If you’re not sure where your placement sits, it’s worth getting legal advice early. Fixing it later can be much harder.

Health And Safety Duties Still Apply

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, you must take reasonably practicable steps to keep people safe in your workplace. This isn’t limited to paid staff.

From a practical point of view, this means you should be thinking about:

• a proper induction (even if brief)
• site-specific hazards (machinery, chemicals, heat, vehicles, clients, aggressive behaviour risks)
• appropriate supervision and instruction
• what tasks are off-limits for the participant
• incident reporting and first aid processes

Your work experience agreement should align with your actual safety processes. It’s not helpful if the agreement says “no operating machinery” but, in practice, they’re on a machine on day one.

Privacy: Be Clear About Personal Information

Many work experience placements involve collecting personal information - even if it’s as simple as a CV, contact details, emergency contact info, or a copy of an ID.

Under the Privacy Act 2020, you need to collect, store and use personal information appropriately. In a work experience context, common privacy issues include:

• how you store application details and identity documents
• whether the participant will have access to customer information
• whether you’ll take photos or videos of them for marketing
• whether you use workplace surveillance tools (like cameras or device monitoring)

If your business has a Privacy Policy, it’s a good idea to ensure it matches what you’re actually doing with participant information (and who has access internally).

What Should A Work Experience Agreement Include?

A good work experience agreement isn’t just a “signature page”. It’s a practical roadmap for the placement.

What you include will depend on the industry and the participant’s role, but most work experience agreements should cover the following.

1) Who The Parties Are

List:

• your business legal name (and NZBN if relevant)
• the participant’s full name
• any school, provider or guardian involved (if applicable)

If a programme provider is involved, they may have their own required wording or forms. Your agreement should be consistent with those requirements (and not contradict them).

2) The Purpose Of The Placement

This is where you clearly state the placement is for learning and exposure, and what the participant is expected to get out of it (for example, observing work processes, practising basic skills with supervision, understanding workplace routines).

Being clear about purpose helps avoid the arrangement drifting into “unpaid work” territory.

3) Dates, Hours And Location

Spell out:

• start and end dates
• expected hours (including break times)
• where the placement takes place (including multiple sites if relevant)
• what happens if shifts change or the placement ends early

This is also a good place to address whether the participant can do remote tasks (if any) and what systems they can access.

4) Duties, Training And Supervision

Outline the kinds of activities the participant may do and what they should not do.

This is especially important in higher-risk industries (construction, trades, hospitality kitchens, healthcare settings, manufacturing) where “helping out” can quickly become unsafe or inappropriate without guardrails.

Include who the supervisor is, and what to do if that supervisor is away.

5) Payment (Or No Payment) And Expenses

Be very clear on whether the placement is paid or unpaid.

If it’s unpaid, address whether you’ll cover any expenses (for example, travel, parking, uniform items, meals). If you will cover expenses, state how the participant can claim them and what evidence is required.

Clarity here prevents misunderstandings and helps keep the arrangement consistent with the intended “experience” purpose.

6) Confidentiality And Business Information

Even short-term participants can be exposed to sensitive information, such as:

• pricing and quoting practices
• supplier terms
• customer lists
• internal training documents
• software logins and system processes

Your agreement should include a confidentiality clause that matches what your business actually needs.

In some cases, you might also want a separate Non-Disclosure Agreement, particularly if the participant will sit in on meetings, access commercially sensitive information, or be involved in product development.

7) Health And Safety Expectations

It’s smart to include practical safety clauses like:

• the participant must follow all workplace instructions and policies
• PPE requirements (if any)
• incident reporting obligations
• a statement that they must not do tasks they’re not trained or authorised to do

This should work alongside your actual induction and training - the agreement doesn’t replace your safety obligations, but it helps set expectations and document the arrangement.

8) Conduct, Policies And Use Of Technology

Even if someone isn’t an employee, they’re still in your workplace. You may want to cover:

• expected behaviour and professionalism
• anti-bullying and respectful conduct expectations
• dress code or uniform rules
• social media posting expectations (especially if they’re likely to post “day in the life” content)
• device and system usage rules

If you have an internal handbook, you can reference it - but the agreement should still clearly highlight the key points that matter for the placement.

Common Mistakes Businesses Make With Work Experience (And How To Avoid Them)

Work experience is meant to be a positive experience. Most issues happen when the placement is treated too casually.

Here are common pitfalls we see - and what to do instead.

Mistake 1: Treating The Person Like A Regular Staff Member

If the participant is essentially filling a roster gap or doing the same output-driven work as staff, you could be drifting into an employment relationship.

What to do instead: design the placement around learning outcomes. Make sure tasks are appropriate for a learner, supervised, and genuinely educational.

Mistake 2: No Clear Agreement On Hours, Duties Or Boundaries

Without a written agreement, both sides tend to rely on assumptions. That’s where confusion starts: “I thought I was only doing mornings,” or “I thought I’d just be observing.”

What to do instead: set it out in writing and confirm it before day one.

Mistake 3: Forgetting Privacy And Customer Data

Many placements involve access to customer databases, patient or client files, invoices, booking systems, or social media accounts. Even “just watching” can involve seeing personal information.

What to do instead: limit access, train the participant, and make confidentiality and privacy expectations explicit in the agreement.

Mistake 4: No Plan For What Happens If Things Don’t Work Out

Sometimes placements aren’t a good fit. The participant may not feel comfortable, your business may not have capacity, or a safety issue may arise.

What to do instead: include an early termination clause and a process for raising concerns.

Mistake 5: Relying On A Template That Doesn’t Match Your Situation

Generic templates often miss key details (like confidentiality, safety, or who is responsible for supervision). They can also include clauses that don’t reflect NZ law or the reality of your placement.

What to do instead: use an agreement that’s tailored to your business and the type of placement you’re running.

Key Takeaways

• A work experience agreement helps set expectations clearly and reduces the risk of disputes, misunderstandings, and compliance issues.
• Calling something “work experience” doesn’t automatically mean it’s not employment - the real nature of the relationship matters, so it’s important to structure placements carefully.
• Health and safety obligations still apply during work experience placements, so you should plan induction, supervision, and task boundaries properly.
• Privacy and confidentiality are key risk areas, particularly where a participant might see customer data, pricing, internal documents, or access business systems.
• A strong agreement should cover the purpose of the placement, hours and location, duties and supervision, payment/expenses, safety expectations, confidentiality, and what happens if the placement ends early.
• It’s worth getting your agreement drafted or reviewed so it reflects your actual workplace practices and protects you from day one.

If you would like help putting a work experience agreement in place (or checking whether your arrangement might be treated as employment), you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.