Parliament’s mandate, prepared by the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, proposes changes to new EU rules on traineeships to better prevent abusive practices and to ensure trainees have contracts with clear provisions on pay, duration, and social protection.

MEPs say traineeships should be for a limited duration and involve entry-level work. Prospective trainees should have a written traineeship agreement describing pay, tasks, learning objectives, and the duration of the traineeship, and they should have access to social protection, such as health insurance. Parliament wants all types of traineeships to be included under the new rules, except for mandatory traineeships as part of education undertaken to obtain academic credits, and apprenticeships.

A traineeship that is not paid in accordance with national law, lacks a training component, or has no mentorship or evaluation, should be considered an abusive practice, according to MEPs. They also want organisations to…