Jobseekers allowance and working for free

Dartz

To cut a long story short, I took a jobbridge placement with a company recently. The intent was for it to become a full-time position at the time, however the company's fortunes have worsened over the preceeding 9 months.

The company's in a position where it could well turn around within 2-3 months over the summertime, but is currently loosing money.

They'd like me to remain, on an unpaid basis, until things crank around or the business shuts down. I do have a definite timescale for when this might happen.

The business really cannot operate without me - it's a small three-person company. If it does turn around fully, I have a permanent position. If it doesn't... well, everyone's out. The next 2 months will tell.

They're able to offer enough to cover fuel bills and costs of actually making it to work in the morning, and that's about it at the moment.

The question I'm asking is how do I report this to the SW office and effect will this have on jobseekers allowance?

At most, it'll be 2-3 unpaid days a week.

Balagan

You have to be available for and looking for full-time work in order to go back on your Jobseekers payment after JobBridge. Perhaps you could talk the host organisation into part time employment for you and then you could do Xs and Os and/or a casual work arrangement, with Dept of Social Protection? Be careful about the set up which has been proposed to you. Six months after your JobBridge finish date, that host organization can get another JobBridge intern.

Dartz

It doesn't mean that I'm not looking for replacement employment. I'm no fool.

Ultimately it's a case of the business either turning around in the next three months, or winding up. There is a realistic proposition of it turning around (Otherwise the Directors would be trading while insolvent, IIRC), as there is normally a seasonal component to the business, and we are exploring new options that may pay off. There's also a fair bit of interest, but converting interest into sales is proving elusive as people just can't spend atm.

There just isn't the money right now. Literally. I've had a look at the company finances so I know I'm not getting lied to. There isn't even enough enough money for part-time work.

Arguably, I am available and looking for work.... as I have no real obligation to remain there. If the company turns around, they'll hire me, if not, so be it.

The net benefit for me for remaining is the potential for a job at the end of it, and the fact that I'm not just scratching my hole at home, but can at least say I'm doing 'something' at an interview. Not going rusty like

I have a reserve of cash built up that'll last a few months no problem so if I do lose the dole I don't really mind, I just want to be sure I'm not going to trip some fraud thing and have a headache's worth of paperwork going on.

eastbono

You need to discuss this situation with your local swo but I would think it highly unlikely that you will be able to continue to receive jsa. This unpaid work would be considered voluntary work which you need to have permission to do but I doubt very much that it would come under voluntary work option http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Voluntary-Work-Option_holder.aspx.

Dartz

I've been trying to ring them today but I've gotten no answer. Is there generally a good time to ring them, I really really hate going down there only to spend an hour in the wrong queue.

The entire jobbridge thing was a little slipshod. Despite being corrected multiple times they never sent reminder emails to the company (They sent it to the wrong email) that compliance needed to be done. They just about managed to send text messages to me a week or so after due date, but still haven't messages to let me know that it's either finished, or I have to fill out any forms and the like.

I still haven't received any messages from them about what to actually Do now that jobbridge is finished (With Respect to Signing Dates and the like) and all told, I'm drifting a little in the breeze trying to figure out what's going on. Even starting it was a bit of a mess.

eastbono

Dartz wrote: »

I've been trying to ring them today but I've gotten no answer. Is there generally a good time to ring them, I really really hate going down there only to spend an hour in the wrong queue.

The entire jobbridge thing was a little slipshod. Despite being corrected multiple times they never sent reminder emails to the company (They sent it to the wrong email) that compliance needed to be done. They just about managed to send text messages to me a week or so after due date, but still haven't messages to let me know that it's either finished, or I have to fill out any forms and the like.

I still haven't received any messages from them about what to actually Do now that jobbridge is finished (With Respect to Signing Dates and the like) and all told, I'm drifting a little in the breeze trying to figure out what's going on. Even starting it was a bit of a mess.

There are never enough people to answer phones so its best if you go down to find out when your next sign on day is. You should have been told the finish date of your internship with job bridge when you started.....it would have been on the form that you handed in to sw for job bridge.
With regard to when you started on job bridge...your sw office just sent on the form that you handed in from the host company to job bridge. It was then up to job bridge to notify you about compliance and also your host company.