Good Day all, got a serious question I'd like resolved.
I am currently applying for a student placement but am in the odd position of being 27 years old rather than below 21 as most the companies expect. I am specifically looking at a civil engineering consultancy position that has an advertised placement position paying £12 675 for the year. As far as I can tell that is below minimum wage for anyone 21 and over, expecting minimum wage to be for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week with 52 weeks paid work in a year (6.5x8x5x52 = £13 520).
Is a placement classed as an apprenticeship in which case they can offer as low as £5 679(2.73x8x5x52)?
If not am I entitled to request that they at least meet minimum wage for my placement year?
As far as I can tell from the .gov website I am not entitled to minimum wage if I am doing work experience as part of a higher education course. Strictly speaking a placement is not part of my course, I can complete it without the placement. If I complete a placement it does give my degree a small qualifier saying that I did a year in industry though. So I am unsure if a placement qualifies as "work experience as part of a higher education course" or not.
There are placement positions I have interviewed for that offer significantly more which is why I am wondering how a company is able to advertise a job paying so little. It seems they are either expecting those being advertised to are below 21 years old, in which case it is a healthy increase on minimum wage, or they are expecting the position to fall under work experience in which case offering any form of payment is a bonus.
If someone can clarify my position that would be great. It would assist with any further applications I make and give me a better understanding of what my reply would be if I was offered the position.