Internship and benefits

sebastianj

Hi all,
I have been asked a question,
The person is unemployed for over a year, but does not claim any benefits. He has been offerred an Internship (3 months) with one of the Universities without any pay and they will not reimburse the travel costs etc.
At the end of the 3 months he hopes to be employed by them but how does he survive these 3 months? Any suggestion most appreciated.
kind regards,
sebastian

bryanb

How has he survived so far?

karenx

Well he could claim JSA but that means he will still have to look for full time employment, so should another job arise he will have to take it

Oldernotwiser

If he has survived for a year without claiming benefits, why does he need to claim them now?

sebastianj

He did not want to be a burden on the state, his Mother supported him. The current situation is different because he needs to travel and other expenses which his mum may not be able to afford.
I thought people here were to provide helpful comments, apart from 'Karenx' I cannot make sense of others comments, perhaps it is the wrong forum.
rgd
seb

karenx

sorry but there is nothing available for him to claim to help with travel costs etc

healy

sebastianj wrote: »

He did not want to be a burden on the state, his Mother supported him. The current situation is different because he needs to travel and other expenses which his mum may not be able to afford.
I thought people here were to provide helpful comments, apart from 'Karenx' I cannot make sense of others comments, perhaps it is the wrong forum.
rgd
seb

Other peoples comments seem quite clear to me. It is the first thing that springs to mind when someone has not been claiming - how have they survived so far and why do they want to claim now.

sebastianj

healy
You have quoted me, read it again, is it not clear? Shelter and food is something different than paying your own way through an internship.
Claiming benefits is not an issue, he could go and sign on, I guess. I have not come across such scenario before and thought may be someone has had a similar problem instead of asking irrelevant questions.
seb

healy

sebastianj wrote: »

healy
You have quoted me, read it again, is it not clear? Shelter and food is something different than paying your own way through an internship.
Claiming benefits is not an issue, he could go and sign on, I guess. I have not come across such scenario before and thought may be someone has had a similar problem instead of asking irrelevant questions.
seb

I know what you said but my point is that they are perfectly reasonable questions.

Oldernotwiser

If he had signed on when he was actually seeking work then he could have claimed JSA and kept it for an eventuality like this if he didn't need it. Now he won't be available for work or seeking it, he isn't eligible for anything.

sebastianj

Many thanks all, and oldernowiser.
healy, depends what you mean by reasonable. If someone asked how can he get from A to B, then do you think it is reasonable to ask him 'why does he want to go there'? It is none of any one's business. If any one asks for help then help otherwise we should not be asking abnormal questions.
seb