The Work Placement Programme provides up to 9 months work experience for 2,000 unemployed individuals. The fact that a person is participating in the Programme does not in itself affect their social welfare entitlements.
Participants on the Live Register must be in receipt of social welfare payments for 3 months if they wish to retain these payments as this gives them the opportunity to pursue employment or further education and training opportunities, prior to seeking the work placement. There is considerable churn on the Live Register and in the last 12-month period 498,229 people left the Live Register with 159,390 of these gaining employment. Given that a large proportion of people leave the Live Register in the first few months, the removal of the Work Placement Programme's 3-month criteria could result in less people leaving the Live Register to take up paid employment.
The Programme offers work experience and does not involve paid employment so there is no obligation for the provider to pay social insurance contributions for the person placed with them.
There are no restrictions on the provider of places if they so wish to provide travel and subsistence support. However, if a provider decides to pay travel and subsistence to a person placed with them, this could be deemed to be more and could affect that participant's social welfare entitlements. The Department of Social and Family Affairs would need to be informed of such payments to participants. Further, these payments might require approval of the Revenue Commission from a taxation perspective.