The Jobbridge Scandal

starlit

fin12 wrote: »

I worked in the Department of Social Welfare and they are very odd and suspicious around people doing Voluntary work, you are better off not mentioning voluntary work if you are doing it.

Why is that? You don't get paid doing voluntary work? It should only affect you unless you getting more than 120e a week from paid employment and notify SW department. They can be sticklers for that sort of thing alright.

livedadream

doovdela wrote: »

Why is that? You don't get paid doing voluntary work? It should only affect you unless you getting more than 120e a week from paid employment and notify SW department. They can be sticklers for that sort of thing alright.

why wouldn't they be? if you can do voluntary work you can do paid work...

so why not get paid for it and come off welfare?

from my experience people on welfare doing voluntary work frequently have worked out they are better off financially on the dole.

Tasden

doovdela wrote: »

Why is that? You don't get paid doing voluntary work? It should only affect you unless you getting more than 120e a week from paid employment and notify SW department. They can be sticklers for that sort of thing alright.

You're spending time working (albeit in a voluntary capacity) and so are not available for full time work. You may also not be genuinely seeking work if you are committed to the organisation you're volunteering with. It also means you're doing work that the organisation could be paying somebody to do (in theory). Plenty of reasons why they don't want people doing it, they have certain rules about it being a registered charity and it not displacing paid employees etc.

MOH

livedadream wrote: »

why wouldn't they be? if you can do voluntary work you can do paid work...

so why not get paid for it and come off welfare?

from my experience people on welfare doing voluntary work frequently have worked out they are better off financially on the dole.

Assuming you can find paid work.

From my experience people on welfare doing voluntary work are those who can't find work, but want to be getting out and doing something rather than sitting around at home all day.
Plus they feel it's going to look better to a prospective employer that they actually did something productive with their time while job-hunting

livedadream

MOH wrote: »

Assuming you can find paid work.

From my experience people on welfare doing voluntary work are those who can't find work, but want to be getting out and doing something rather than sitting around at home all day.
Plus they feel it's going to look better to a prospective employer that they actually did something productive with their time while job-hunting

i agree but i think Tasden summed it up better than i ever could.

Robsweezie

Tasden wrote: »

You're spending time working (albeit in a voluntary capacity) and so are not available for full time work. You may also not be genuinely seeking work if you are committed to the organisation you're volunteering with. It also means you're doing work that the organisation could be paying somebody to do (in theory). Plenty of reasons why they don't want people doing it, they have certain rules about it being a registered charity and it not displacing paid employees etc.

you've summed it up precisely, buy surely you can be volunteering and still be available for work? surely the majority of people would drop the volunteering at the prospect of a paid job. I know I would in that situation. its just instinct.

my understanding of ''available for work'' is ''ready to quit volunteering if a paid position comes up''

Tasden

Robsweezie wrote: »

you've summed it up precisely, buy surely you can be volunteering and still be available for work? surely the majority of people would drop the volunteering at the prospect of a paid job. I know I would in that situation. its just instinct.

my understanding of ''available for work'' is ''ready to quit volunteering if a paid position comes up''

It's not their understanding though.
And it's not only the available for work criteria, its the combination of factors. You are allowed to volunteer, it just has to be approved by the department first based on the factors outlined in my previous post.

fin12

livedadream wrote: »

why wouldn't they be? if you can do voluntary work you can do paid work...

so why not get paid for it and come off welfare?

from my experience people on welfare doing voluntary work frequently have worked out they are better off financially on the dole.

It's not about that there's a big difference between going out getting voluntary work and getting paid work, I know I could walk into town tomorrow and be able to sign myself up for a voluntary job straight away unless u need Garda vetting, u couldn't say the same about getting a paid job and all I know is the reason I did voluntary work when I was unemployed was to not have gaps on your cv.

And the reason the social have a problem with it, is they think the time u spend doing voluntary work is time taken away from job hunting which is all bullsh1t.

zcorpian88

fin12 wrote: »

It's not about that there's a big difference between going out getting voluntary work and getting paid work, I know I could walk into town tomorrow and be able to sign myself up for a voluntary job straight away unless u need Garda vetting, u couldn't say the same about getting a paid job and all I know is the reason I did voluntary work when I was unemployed was to not have gaps on your cv.

And the reason the social have a problem with it, is they think the time u spend doing voluntary work is time taken away from job hunting which is all bullsh1t.

I remember when I finished my own Jobbridge scheme and like most of them they don't keep their people on and give them a paid position, I went down to sign back on, my mentor/manager wanted me to stay on voluntarily until I got another job so I wouldn't sit at home twiddling my thumbs. Didn't fancy working for free but at the same time I wanted to be out of the house, so I took a letter from the mentor stating did I have permission to stay on there voluntarily just so I'm not doing nothing.

They had a huge problem with it!

They said and I quote "You can only do that if it's for a charitable organization" boggled my mind really, they would rather I traipse around town looking for work and going nowhere for months rather than I doing a bit for an organization and looking for work at the same time? Only so much of the day you can dedicate to looking for work, what the f**k do you do with the rest of the day?

I stayed on with them for another month anyway, f**k them, telling me what I can and can't do with my own time. The place closed down a while after, boss couldn't afford the rent on the building and he went back to Dublin where he was based before.

starlit

I don't know of many or any employers having taken on someone after they completed a jobbridge with them! The vast majority leave the company or move on to another job. I've known a few to leave after a few months or once its finished. I don't know is it me or do potential employers look down on people who have complete unpaid and or volunteering work despite building up their cv/experience?

Hopefully they sort something more concrete in September by Leo Vadkar.

Xenji

Had three encounters now with this JobPath lot. First time was a group info session and then quick meeting with my personal advisor. Second time I got some tips on improving my CV and had to complete some online questionnaire called Catalyst.

Then yesterday I was expecting to be chatting with the advisor again. When I got there I was shoved into a room full of PCs and handed a sheet to record job applications on.

There was no career advice or guidance. Nor was there any kind of advance notice that I would be put into a computer room on my third visit.

It seemed like complete chaos there to me. I kind of felt sorry for my advisor as she was run off her feet (she'll probably end up cutting my money now). The hour passed and she had another load of people waiting to come into the room!!

Xenji wrote: »

The DSP even refer to Jobpath as an activation scheme on its own site https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/JobPath.aspx

Got a letter from Intreo saying I'm excused signing for the year I'm on JobPath.

fin12

Deleted User wrote: »

Had three encounters now with this JobPath lot. First time was a group info session and then quick meeting with my personal advisor. Second time I got some tips on improving my CV and had to complete some online questionnaire called Catalyst.

Then yesterday I was expecting to be chatting with the advisor again. When I got there I was shoved into a room full of PCs and handed a sheet to record job applications on.

There was no career advice or guidance. Nor was there any kind of advance notice that I would be put into a computer room on my third visit.

It seemed like complete chaos there to me. I kind of felt sorry for my advisor as she was run off her feet (she'll probably end up cutting my money now). The hour passed and she had another load of people waiting to come into the room!!



Got a letter from Intreo saying I'm excused signing for the year I'm on JobPath.

Why will she end up cutting your money? You did what was asked of you, showed up for your appointment.

No I was being kind of sardonic. Feeling sorry for her this week and she'll probably end up fcuking me over some other week down the line!!! Joke mate, joke.

carzony

I never understood why we don't have a job centre type system? Surely they would be better off setting that up? Where the SW could try partnership with most companies and get REAL jobs from it straight away. Instead of an activation meeting, give people options as to what jobs they want, and set job interviews up with real pay and conditions.

England have been doing it for donkeys years.

All these stupid schemes being thought up and yet noone actually mentions a proper job centre initiative!!!

livedadream

carzony wrote: »

I never understood why we don't have a job centre type system? Surely they would be better off setting that up? Where the SW could try partnership with most companies and get REAL jobs from it straight away. Instead of an activation meeting, give people options as to what jobs they want, and set job interviews up with real pay and conditions.

England have been doing it for donkeys years.

All these stupid schemes being thought up and yet noone actually mentions a proper job centre initiative!!!

youve just described Turas Nua...

rgossip30

livedadream wrote: »

youve just described Turas Nua...

I am with Turas Nua 4 months and just do useless courses . I have not and will never be sent even to an interview .

livedadream

rgossip30 wrote: »

I am with Turas Nua 4 months and just do useless courses . I have not and will never be sent even to an interview .

nothing stopping you heading off and finding a job yourself mate.

Xenji

livedadream wrote: »

nothing stopping you heading off and finding a job yourself mate.

If he finds one he could come under constant harassment by whichever Jobpath provider he is with, a friend of mine found a job off his own bat after being on the scheme for a month and one meeting under his belt and his mentor or the office manager would call, text or email him about 10 times a week after he had left the scheme and started in the new job, it was down right bullying.

They were trying to get him to give them a letter from his new employer so they can get their commission, basically trying to claim they got him the job even though they had no involvement with it and he was not going to let them away with that, in the end he had to make an official complaint to the DSP and they left him alone after that.

fin12

Xenji wrote: »

If he finds one he could come under constant harassment by whichever Jobpath provider he is with, a friend of mine found a job off his own bat after being on the scheme for a month and one meeting under his belt and his mentor or the office manager would call, text or email him about 10 times a week after he had left the scheme and started in the new job, it was down right bullying.

They were trying to get him to give them a letter from his new employer so they can get their commission, basically trying to claim they got him the job even though they had no involvement with it and he was not going to let them away with that, in the end he had to make an official complaint to the DSP and they left him alone after that.

God thats Terrible, absolute assholes.

rgossip30

livedadream wrote: »

nothing stopping you heading off and finding a job yourself mate.

yes I am waiting 3 weeks just to hand in an application for BTEA , so before you go into auto rant and accuse me of being a waster .Mate

Tasden

Xenji wrote: »

If he finds one he could come under constant harassment by whichever Jobpath provider he is with, a friend of mine found a job off his own bat after being on the scheme for a month and one meeting under his belt and his mentor or the office manager would call, text or email him about 10 times a week after he had left the scheme and started in the new job, it was down right bullying.

They were trying to get him to give them a letter from his new employer so they can get their commission, basically trying to claim they got him the job even though they had no involvement with it and he was not going to let them away with that, in the end he had to make an official complaint to the DSP and they left him alone after that.

Or maybe they required proof that he had gained employment before they could close his file?

Jim Bob Scratcher

rgossip30 wrote: »

yes I am waiting 3 weeks just to hand in an application for BTEA , so before you go into auto rant and accuse me of being a waster .Mate

Off Topic, But when is the BTEA office open ?

The Raptor

Xenji wrote: »

If he finds one he could come under constant harassment by whichever Jobpath provider he is with, a friend of mine found a job off his own bat after being on the scheme for a month and one meeting under his belt and his mentor or the office manager would call, text or email him about 10 times a week after he had left the scheme and started in the new job, it was down right bullying.

They were trying to get him to give them a letter from his new employer so they can get their commission, basically trying to claim they got him the job even though they had no involvement with it and he was not going to let them away with that, in the end he had to make an official complaint to the DSP and they left him alone after that.

So someone is proactive in getting work and they want to claim the credit for it.

I read a few pages back or somewhere else that someone was with another recruitment agency and they were told they weren't allowed to use them, they were with them now.

Are these guys ONLY getting paid when they get someone work?

The Raptor

Tasden wrote: »

Or maybe they required proof that he had gained employment before they could close his file?

The department of social and protection didn't need proof that i got work to close my file. They were happy to close it when i told them i got work.

Sweetemotion

Tasden wrote: »

Or maybe they required proof that he had gained employment before they could close his file?

Funniest thing I read in a long time. Thanks for the laugh.

Xenji

Tasden wrote: »

Or maybe they required proof that he had gained employment before they could close his file?

His file got closed when he told the DSP he started back in full time employment, they did not ask him what job he got nor do you have to tell them, only wished him luck in it, the Jobpath company harassed him for over a month after his claim was ceased.

Xenji

The Raptor wrote: »

So someone is proactive in getting work and they want to claim the credit for it.

I read a few pages back or somewhere else that someone was with another recruitment agency and they were told they weren't allowed to use them, they were with them now.

Are these guys ONLY getting paid when they get someone work?

Both JobPath companies work on a commission basis, they have regular wages, but receive commission if they find people jobs.

Tasden

Xenji wrote: »

His file got closed when he told the DSP he started back in full time employment, they did not ask him what job he got nor do you have to tell them, only wished him luck in it, the Jobpath company harassed him for over a month after his claim was ceased.

Dsp don't care once you're no longer getting a payment. You can be signing off due to work, illness, rich grandparent dying, its none of their concern once you're no longer taking money from them. Jobpath are only contracted to dsp so they don't have full access to all the payment info so the only way they know you have work is if they get proof from you directly. They care if you get work because their KPI/targets are based on you getting work. If their stats are based on people getting employment they will want proof its due to work before closing your file.

Xenji

Tasden wrote: »

Dsp don't care once you're no longer getting a payment. You can be signing off due to work, illness, rich grandparent dying, its none of their concern once you're no longer taking money from them. Jobpath are only contracted to dsp so they don't have full access to all the payment info so the only way they know you have work is if they get proof from you directly. They care if you get work because their KPI/targets are based on you getting work. If their stats are based on people getting employment they will want proof its due to work before closing your file.

Their targets should have nothing to do with it if the person finds a job off their own bat with no help from the company, they will just be taking credit for something that they had nothing to do with and making their figures look better.

They only want proof to ensure they receive their commission from the government, nobody is gonna try and make contact with a person nearly 50 times just to make their stats look better.

Tasden

Xenji wrote: »

Their targets should have nothing to do with it if the person finds a job off their own bat with no help from the company, they will just be taking credit for something that they had nothing to do with and making their figures look better.

They only want proof to ensure they receive their commission from the government, nobody is gonna try and make contact with a person nearly 50 times just to make their stats look better.

Clearly you know more than I do. Was just suggesting it was a possibility.