Unpaid internship - Job Centre will deduct travel costs from my benefits

Voyager2002

This_Year wrote: »

Most people have a £5 disregard on earnings when claiming jsa.

Yes, that is right:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/specialist-guides/technical-guidance/pc10s-guide-to-pension-credit/income-disregards/

The disregard is twenty pounds for some people, but not the OP.

Voyager2002

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Why did you tell them in the first place about getting travel costs reinbursed? When I've done voluntary work before the jobcentre have never asked me anything about this.
The company that are paying you nothing to work everyday are in effect totally exploiting you.It wont lead to a job with them as why would they pay when they can get you or some other unemployed person for free?.
I'm sorry to hear of this, could you do any free courses instead? or some very part time voluntary work for a few hours per week where they provide proper accredited training? Then at least you would be able to concentrate on applying for jobs at the same time and you would'nt be getting taken for a ride.

Firstly, failure to declare the money paid to reimburse travel expenses is a criminal offence. Following your advice could lead to a criminal record, which is the kiss of death for a professional career. In terms of morality I would have no problem at all if someone chose to keep quiet about this kind of thing, but the chances of getting caught are fairly high.

Secondly, unpaid internships have become the main entry route to many professional careers. High-quality experience gained in this way provides something to talk about at interviews, and does sometimes make the difference between getting a job and remaining unemployed indefinitely. Yes, this is not satisfactory, but the OP is right in spending time getting the best work experience that is available.

theoretica

According to p 7 of the guide to volunteering while on benefits you should be permitted travel expenses. Link here:
https://www.gov.uk/volunteering/when-people-can-volunteer

zzzLazyDaisy

This relates to volunteer work organised by voluntary organisations in the 'not for profit' sector such as CAB or community voluntary service, or organised through the job centre.

Unfortunately volunteering to work as an unpaid intern in a corporate/commercial environment does not come under these provisions.

jacques_chirac

I'm not sure I would be rocking the boat on this one. Strictly speaking, an unpaid internship does not come under the voluntary working provisions. If a manager picks up on this, they may well suspend your claim whilst it is referred to a DM to decide if you are keeping to your agreement.

I would either try to get the placement formalised, or given that it is only for four weeks, I would keep quiet. If you decide to do the former, make sure you speak to the 'employer' first, as not all will want the JCP involved.

I understand how frustrating this is, especially for someone that is clearly doing their best to find work. It may be worth contacting your MP to ask if they would take this matter up with the DWP on a more general level - the regs need to be updated to reflect that unpaid internships are now a common (and in some cases, essential) path into some industries.

dandelionclock30

What happens with these unpaid internships is that many people do more than 1, like 2 or 3 for a couple of years and still there are absolutley no nearer getting a paid job at the end of them. Companies will not pay for staff when they can keep getting free labour for ever. There's an endless supply of graduates and college leavers. OP could be doing that forever and still be no nearer a paid job, professional or NMW.
I've worked with people who have had their travel expenses reinbursed who have been on jSA and none of these have gained a criminal record ever.
If OP wants to continue being exploited by this company then they would be best off asking the company to pay for a travel pass/card for them upfront.

jacques_chirac

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

If OP wants to continue being exploited by this company then they would be best off asking the company to pay for a travel pass/card for them upfront.

This would be treated as income in kind - payments made to a third party which are used to provide a benefit to the claimant are classed as income.

AnnoyedGuy

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

What age are you O.P ?, if your 25 or less theres places like The Princes Trust which can be helpfull.

I'm 22. I'll look into that.

jacques_chirac wrote: »

I'm not sure I would be rocking the boat on this one. Strictly speaking, an unpaid internship does not come under the voluntary working provisions. If a manager picks up on this, they may well suspend your claim whilst it is referred to a DM to decide if you are keeping to your agreement.

I would either try to get the placement formalised, or given that it is only for four weeks, I would keep quiet. If you decide to do the former, make sure you speak to the 'employer' first, as not all will want the JCP involved.

I understand how frustrating this is, especially for someone that is clearly doing their best to find work. It may be worth contacting your MP to ask if they would take this matter up with the DWP on a more general level - the regs need to be updated to reflect that unpaid internships are now a common (and in some cases, essential) path into some industries.

I went in yesterday and they said it was fine, so as long as I was looking for a job and kept to the agreement I signed. (My personal adviser spoke to her manager about this)

I think I'm just going to rough it out. I'll tell them about the expenses, as I don't want to get in trouble. Sometimes life isn't fair, so you just have to accept those terms.

I'll definitely contact my MP. Though I'm not really sure if they'd be useful, especially when it comes to helping benefit claimants....

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

What happens with these unpaid internships is that many people do more than 1, like 2 or 3 for a couple of years and still there are absolutley no nearer getting a paid job at the end of them. Companies will not pay for staff when they can keep getting free labour for ever. There's an endless supply of graduates and college leavers. OP could be doing that forever and still be no nearer a paid job, professional or NMW.
I've worked with people who have had their travel expenses reinbursed who have been on jSA and none of these have gained a criminal record ever.
If OP wants to continue being exploited by this company then they would be best off asking the company to pay for a travel pass/card for them upfront.

It's not the job that I'm betting on, I just want the experience to put on my CV (Even if it isn't long) and an actual proper reference from this large company that I'm interning for. Like I said before, I don't mind working for free as the experience is invaluable, and I believe it will give me contacts in the future - which is essential.

Either way, I know a person who has been unemployed and on JSA for over a year now. He hasn't worked once during that period, and I will not repeat that same act. I'm betting it will be harder for someone with no experience working for the past year to explain what they were doing than it is for a person who is at least doing internships, free work or something that lets future employers know what they were doing without sounding lazy.

GwylimT

When I was on JSA I did voluntary work, however the role I did was always voluntary as you cannot 'volunteer' to do a role that would normally be paid. I could also only volunteer for 16 hours per week, I was able to claim travel expenses as my volunteering met JSA requirements where as yours doesn't and if the job centre wanted to they could end your claim.

I do think the rules are silly, for example people who were on the work program could work full time hours and receive travel costs and receive JSA, yet if someone went out there and found themselves something like an unpaid internship their claim would be stopped. Unfortunately JSA really doesn't support people who are trying to better themselves.

Voyager2002

AnnoyedGuy wrote: »

I'll definitely contact my MP. Though I'm not really sure if they'd be useful, especially when it comes to helping benefit claimants....

It's not the job that I'm betting on, I just want the experience to put on my CV (Even if it isn't long) and an actual proper reference from this large company that I'm interning for. Like I said before, I don't mind working for free as the experience is invaluable, and I believe it will give me contacts in the future - which is essential.

Either way, I know a person who has been unemployed and on JSA for over a year now. He hasn't worked once during that period, and I will not repeat that same act. I'm betting it will be harder for someone with no experience working for the past year to explain what they were doing than it is for a person who is at least doing internships, free work or something that lets future employers know what they were doing without sounding lazy.

I think you are being very sensible in gaining the skills and experiences that are likely eventually to lead to paid employment.

And you should certainly let your MP know about your experiences: the people who make the rules are answerable to MPs.

I do suggest that you ask in the Job Centre what would be involved for this internship to become an "authorised" placement. You could then have a sensible conversation with your employer about whether in fact this could be possible.