Jobseekers and unpaid internships

sare88

I'm doing an unpaid internship at the moment (recommended to me by the Jobcentre), but I had my benefits cut when I started it. However, I have recently been told that this shouldn't have happened, can anyone help with this/does anyone have any experience? I'm working 40 hours a week so it's full time and lasts 3 months.

Dunroamin

If you're working full time then you aren't available for a job and will be ineligible for JSA.

DCFC79

sare88 wrote: »

I'm doing an unpaid internship at the moment (recommended to me by the Jobcentre), but I had my benefits cut when I started it. However, I have recently been told that this shouldn't have happened, can anyone help with this/does anyone have any experience? I'm working 40 hours a week so it's full time and lasts 3 months.

Who told you it shouldn't have happened ?

I would have thought it would be explained to you that the benefits would be cut.

sare88

There's a new scheme call the Work Experience programme for 16-24 years olds that unpaid internships are supposed to fall into/you can still claim JSA on. The boss of the company Inspiring Interns wrote an article about how you can claim now but no one at the Jobcentre seems to know anything about it...very confused!

cmw1212

I managed after a bit of searching to find this

The sad fact is that graduates on internships are not entitled to any benefits. Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) is only applicable for those working less than 16 hours a week or not at all. To qualify for JSA you must be unemployed, be actively seeking work and be available to work. The latter means that with an internship, you are not available to work because you are unavailable during working hours.
Since January 2010, if you have graduated in 2009 you may be entitled to a training allowance but there are restrictions: you need to have been claiming JSA for six months or more and your internship needs to be advertised on Graduate Talent Pool.
You can attempt to make a claim to receive benefits by calling the Job Centre Plus on 0800 055 6688. Your details will be taken (including your National Insurance number, so have that ready too) and the Job Centre will make an appointment for you to make the actual claim at your local branch.

from http://www.moneymagpie.com/article/graduates-how-to-manage-your-money-as-an-intern

also maybe look at
http://www.rightsforinterns.org.uk/

Dunroamin

sare88 wrote: »

There's a new scheme call the Work Experience programme for 16-24 years olds that unpaid internships are supposed to fall into/you can still claim JSA on. The boss of the company Inspiring Interns wrote an article about how you can claim now but no one at the Jobcentre seems to know anything about it...very confused!

You can carry on claiming JSA if you're sent on the Work Programme by JCP but not if you're just doing an internship you arranged yourself - there was a court case about it recently.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2184394/Cait-Reilly-work-experience-case-It-cruel-help-people-benefits-time-work.html

kizzie_nikita

Yes you should still be getting the full money. I did this for three months and it's just 'work experience' basically that the job centre send young people 18-24 on for 3 months.

sare88

Thanks for all the responses! Seems like there is still a lot of confusion out there as to interns' rights to benefits.

merlinonline

I would advise anyone who is considering an internship to be extremely careful.

The problem is it is an American idea that doesn't work in the UK very well, and most are nothing more than scams to get free labour. For example nobody should be doing the jobs in an office than no one else wants to do, if there is no learning achieved then its a waste of time.

Anyone who is out of work and claiming JSA could do unlimited hours volunteering for a charity (this was last year). The rules have changed and you can now volunteer to have a placement at a company for no more than 8 weeks (You will still be required to sign on to claim JSA). There are various back to work schemes where job seekers attend sessions on how to write a CV and search for a job and the opportunity to gain a "so called" Level 1 qualification (not that employers will take a blind bit of notice of it).

If you do have a placement then try to make sure it is going to be relevant, those 8 weeks will fill an important gap on your CV.

sare88

Although I agree there are internships out there that simply involve making tea and coffee/photcopying, there are some great ones out there too. The one I'm doing at the moment is brilliant and the company I'm doing it with is tiny (only 4 people), so deciding whether or not to take on another full-time staff member is a serious consideration. Therefore, the internship merely acts as an extended interview, in which they can decide whether or not having me onbaord is financially feasible for them, and if there is enough business coming in to justfy an extra staff member. I have been given loads of responsibility from day one, attended industry events and been fully immersed into the business. It just frustrates me that a young person (24, so I fall into the dreaded 16-24 category!), willing to do anything to get a job (work 40 hrs a week unpaid for 3 months!) is not getting any support from the government. I am getting my travel and food covered by the internship but that's it. I've put myself into debt by doing this internship, which was recommended to me by the Jobcentre (they even paid for the interview outfit!), who then cut my benefits the day I started!

Dunroamin

kizzie_nikita wrote: »

Yes you should still be getting the full money. I did this for three months and it's just 'work experience' basically that the job centre send young people 18-24 on for 3 months.

The OP hasn't been sent there by the JCP, she's doing it independently - that's why she's not eligible for JSA.