Publication
Operational Guidelines: Work Placement Experience Programme
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
Departments and publications
About gov.ie
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a work experience programme for jobseekers in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment and who have been unemployed for six months or more. It aims to provide jobseekers who have never had a job or who have lost employment with an opportunity to gain meaningful work experience. Placements will provide Participants with training, upskilling and work experience in a new work role where they have had no prior experience in the past 18 months that will further enhance their potential for progression and to re-engage with the job market. The programme seeks to equip participants with relevant work and personal development skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement, with a view to increasing their employment prospects.
Participation on the WPEP is entirely voluntary. There will be no financial penalty on social welfare payments for non-participation.
The key objectives of the WPEP are:
Participants will receive a WPEP personal allowance of €323 per week regardless of other income or means. In addition, Participants will continue to receive any underlying entitlements for qualified adults and children and any underlying secondary welfare benefits they had an entitlement to prior to commencing a WPEP placement. Payment will be made by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).
To participate on the WPEP, an individual must be:
The qualifying payments are:
Where a person is in receipt of a qualifying payment and in receipt of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), they will be required to close their PUP claim in order to participate on WPEP. Customers in receipt of One-Parent Family, Disability Allowance and Blind Pension will automatically qualify for WPEP without the required 156 days qualifying timeframe.
Time spent on the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA), Community Employment Scheme (CE), TÚS and Rural Social Scheme (RSS) will count towards eligibility. However, the person must be eligible for and transfer to a jobseeker's payment before taking up a placement. Time spent in prison may count towards the qualifying time (156 days) once entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment is established. An application for jobseeker’s payment must be made on-line on MyWelfare.ie
Time spent on Active Labour Market Programmes (ALMPs) will count towards eligibility for the WPEP provided the programme has been completed in full and the person was 18 years or older while on the programme. The jobseeker must have been in receipt of a qualifying Social Welfare payment immediately prior to commencement on the ALMP and will need to go back onto an eligible payment immediately prior to commencement on WPEP. Some of these programmes include: Education Training allowance, Back to Education allowance and Springboard.
The following customers are not eligible for WPEP.
JobPath customers are eligible to participate on the WPEP. Jobseekers should inform their JobPath personal adviser that they are interested in pursuing a WPEP position. Where a Jobpath customer has applied for and is selected to participate on a WPEP, the local Intreo Centre will notify the local JobPath provider of the WPEP start.
When a customer who is engaged with the JobPath service commences a WPEP placement, their referral to JobPath will be set to “Stop the Clock” status for the duration of the WPEP placement. A Jobpath customer can participate on one WPEP placement while on a Jobpath programme.
LES customers are eligible to participate on WPEP. Jobseekers who inform their LES mediator that they are interested in pursuing a WPEP placement will be advised to contact their Intreo Centre.
Where a LES customer commences a WPEP, the customer will be assigned a Case Officer who will contact the LES mediator to release the customer.
To participate on the WPEP, the Host must be:
All WPEP placements will be advertised on the JobsIreland.ie website. Jobseekers wishing to apply for a vacancy, must apply online by clicking the Login or Register button on Jobsireland.ie
Each Host will determine the application method that suits their recruitment process to select the WPEP Participant. For example, they may ask for a CV to be forwarded by e-mail, post a cover letter and CV, or apply online.
The Host is responsible for contacting unsuccessful applicants at the recruitment stage.
Once the Host has selected the successful applicant, the Host and the applicant must complete and sign the work placement joint application form (WPEP1) . This form is used to confirm the eligibility of the Host and Participant to take part on the programme. This form should be completed in full and signed by both the Host and Participant.
The Host will include a proposed start date on the application. The proposed work placement start date must be a Monday. For administrative purposes all placements will begin on a Monday and end on a Friday.
The Host must submit the completed WPEP application form (WPEP1) to wpep@welfare.ie .
An approval notification will issue to the Host and Participant to confirm approval and commencement date. Incomplete WPEP1 forms may delay the commencement process.
Important: The Participant cannot commence the WPEP placement until Host and Participant eligibility is verified by the Work Placement Unit (WPU). Once the WPEP application form (WPEP1) is approved a notification will issue to the Host and Participant stating the actual commencement date.
Special arrangements are in place for people covered under section Other ways to qualify.
When selected for participation these special categories should complete the WPEP1 application form as set out in section Application Process. Once the WPEP1 form is submitted to the WPU, a notification will issue to inform them that they will need to apply online on MyWelfare.ie and establish their entitlement to a Jobseeker payment prior to being approved for WPEP. Once an underlying entitlement to a Jobseekers payment is established a notification will issue to the Host and Participant confirming the WPEP start date.
The proposed work placement start date (always a Monday) will have been agreed between the Host and the Participant as inserted on the Joint Application Form (WPEP1) . However, the actual commencement date must be confirmed by the Work Placement Unit. An approval notification will be issued to the Host and Participant to confirm approval and the actual commencement date.
The duration of a WPEP placement is 6 months. Extensions will not be permitted.
The Participant can complete a maximum of two placements (52 weeks) but not with the same Host.
If a person has not progressed into employment or education on completion of their first work placement a 4-week gap between work placements is required before a Participant can commence a new WPEP with a new Host.
Participation must be for 30 hours per week, which must be completed over 4 or 5 days in each week. If there is shift work or weekend work involved, this must be advised to the Participant prior to commencement. The 30 hours includes time spent on training.
Participants will receive a personal weekly allowance of €323 per week. Participants will continue to receive any increased payments in respect of qualified adults and children. WPEP is not subject to means assessment. Underlying entitlement to secondary benefits (such as fuel allowance, Christmas bonus) will not be affected.
Hosts must not pay top-up contributions to Participants. However, where a Participant incurs expenses that have been approved in advance, these expenses may be reimbursed by the Host to the Participant on a vouched basis (receipt). The Host should be conscious that a tax liability may be incurred in line with the Revenue Commissioners Benefit in Kind arrangements. Expense reimbursement will not be permitted for expenses for travel to and from work in line with Revenue guidelines. Taxation of WPEP will depend on your primary payment; for further information see Taxable Social Welfare Payments/Schemes.
Participants will be paid via Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) directly into the Participant’s bank account. Payment will be weekly in arrears. However, where the Participant is currently being paid through the Post Office, they will continue to be paid in this manner. A participant who wishes to change to EFT should contact their local Intreo Centre to arrange this. Collection of WPEP payment at a Post Office should be done in the Participants own time and outside of WPEP hours.
Participants must notify their DSP Intreo Centre/Scheme Area of any relevant changes to their circumstances while on WPEP.
While on a placement, Participants can commence part-time employment without affecting their entitlements provided that it does not interfere with the required hours of the WPEP placement. Part-time employment with the WPEP Host is not permitted.
Participants must notify their DSP Intreo Centre/Scheme Area of relevant changes to their circumstances.
Hosts will be required to complete a monthly compliance checklist over the duration of the programme. The monthly compliance checklist ensures that placements are progressing in accordance with the programme guidelines.
The monthly compliance checklist verifies that:
Where a Participant has been absent during the placement, the type and period of absence must be recorded.
Compliance notifications will be e-mailed to the Host monthly and must be completed and returned to the Work Placement Unit at wpepcompliance@welfare.ie within five working days of receiving the compliance notification.
Failure by the Host to complete and return the monthly compliance checklist may affect the Participant’s WPEP allowance and the Host’s continued participation on the Programme.
If a placement finishes early or at short notice for any reason, for example if the Participant gains employment, the WPU office must be notified immediately and an Early Finisher Form (WPEP7) completed. Early Finisher Forms can be located on www.gov.ie/wpep and must be completed and returned to the Work Placement Unit without delay to wpep@welfare.ie .
On successful completion of a WPEP placement, the Host should provide the Participant with a reference/acknowledgement of completion letter that can be used to certify that the Participant has completed the programme.
Participants who complete a WPEP placement will revert to the primary DSP payment that they were receiving prior to commencing WPEP without having to re-apply.
A number of Training and Development supports are provided to facilitate a quality learning experience for the Participant and to ensure that the Host has access to the necessary training infrastructure that can deliver a meaningful work placement experience for both the Participant and the Host. The Participant is expected to complete at least 60 hours of Training while on the Work Placement of which 20 hours should be accredited or sector recognised training.
On commencement of the WPEP, a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) must be completed by the Participant and the Host (or mentor) to identify and address the Participant’s training and/or up-skilling needs to support them to develop and perform during the placement. The PLP form (WPEP2) is available here.
The PLP is used to underpin training and development goals agreed between the Host and the Participant. It should reflect the learning and development opportunities listed in the vacancy advertisement, including any specific work skills and formal training that is planned to ensure that the Participant develops the skills required to perform their work duties.
The PLP must set out the plan to achieve 20 hours of accredited or sector-recognised training and 40 hours of additional training to be achieved during the placement. This will include any initial induction, Health and Safety and in-house training provided. Any additional online and accredited training that the Participant will undertake during the placement must also be recorded on the PLP.
The plan can be updated during the placement in response to any additional skills development identified.
A copy of the PLP must be kept by the Host for inspection during compliance meetings with the Case Officer. The PLP should be retained by the Participant for their own records.
Participants will have the option of availing of an accredited work experience module. The Department of Social Protection and Education and Training Boards (ETBs) across Ireland have developed a specific WPEP Accredited Work Experience Module for participants.
The purpose of the Work Experience Module is to provide a WPEP accredited learning option for Participants that demonstrates that they have gained the relevant knowledge, skill and competence to work in a range of organisations. The accredited module is delivered through live virtual classroom delivery. The module is available at QQI accredited Levels 3, 4 & 5. For more details please click here or contact your local Intreo case officer.
In addition to the PLP, Participants will be provided with a Personal Learning Journal (PLJ) to facilitate the Participant to document any training and learning achieved during the placement. Completion of the journal is self-directed by the Participant and is the property of the Participant. The Personal Learning Journal can be accessed at www.gov.ie/wpep.
Purpose of the Personal Learning Journal:
On commencement of a WPEP, the Host will nominate an individual to support and mentor the Participant during the placement. A mentor should be an experienced and trusted person assigned by the Host who is willing to spend their time and expertise to help the Participant to attain important self-development and work experience goals.
The mentor must have a knowledge of the duties that the Participant will be expected to perform during the placement. The mentor must also ensure that the Participant receives a proper induction, that the placement is progressing as planned and that the required WPEP documentation is updated.
Where a Host operates its own mentoring programme, it should include the Participant where appropriate.
The role of the mentor includes the following;
A mentoring toolkit and support information for assigned mentors can be accessed here
The DSP and ETB have developed a Mentor Training Workshop specifically to support WPEP mentors and Hosts. Training will be a virtual, interactive workshop led by an ETB facilitator and lasting approximately 3 hours. All Mentors will receive a mentoring toolkit to guide mentors on how best to support the Participant during the WPEP placement. Information and registration details for the workshop will be issued to host organisations when the workshop are being arranged and the toolkit will be issued on commencement of the WPEP.
An assigned Case Officer will liaise with the Host and the Participant during the placement. The Case Officer will undertake two monitoring meetings: early in the placement and again towards the end. These may be in person or virtual. Their purpose is to ensure that the terms and conditions are being fulfilled e.g. that a mentor is assigned to support the Participant, that the PLP, PLJ and monthly compliance checklist are being completed and that both parties are satisfied with the progress of the placement. The Case Officer will be available to provide advice and support to both the Host and the Participant during the placement.
To supplement Case Officer reviews and monitoring meetings, Participants and Hosts may be invited to take part in short surveys for independent, anonymised feedback on the programme; these surveys will assist with the ongoing review of its operation.
DSP provides a “Training by Sector” resource on the training pages of www.jobsireland.ie to inform both Participants and Hosts of Training and Development opportunities that are available to support upskilling and development.
DSP will provide additional online supports to Participants via webinars and online recruitment events to support the Participant’s learning and development goals. Notifications about learning webinars and training resources will be issued by email and advertised on the department’s social media channels.
In addition further information on Training supports is available on the www.gov.ie webpage The Right Course.
Participants may be eligible to avail of the Training Support Grant (TSG) of up to €1,000 during a placement, regardless to whether they availed of the grant previously. A Case Officer can approve a grant for someone seeking employment under this scheme where:
All applications or referrals for support under the scheme must be made via a Case Officer. Information on the Training Support Grant can be found here.
The WPEP allows employers to host a jobseeker on a work experience placement and to help the jobseeker to build new skills and gain valuable work experience. The programme is targeted at jobseekers seeking work experience or who have lost employment and want to avail of training and work experience in order to re-engage with the job market in a new sector or new role.
The programme aims to provide Participants with relevant work and personal development skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement, with a view to increasing their employment prospects.
Hosts will provide a placement for 6 months with the Participant attending the work placement for 30 hours per week to include training.
There is no cost to the WPEP Host; the Participant will be paid by the Department of Social Protection during their placement. No top up payments to the Participant are permitted.
A Host must have a minimum of one full-time employee who is employed for at least 30 hours per week (i.e. on payroll and subject to PAYE and PRSI - Class A). The Host must assign a mentor who is available to support the WPEP Participant (see Mentoring of Participants ).
The WPEP is open to sole traders who satisfy the conditions of the Programme, i.e have a minimum of one full-time employee who is employed for at least 30 hours per week (i.e. on payroll and subject to PAYE and PRSI – Class A). Sole traders must be available to provide supervision and separate mentoring to the Participant and provide the required level of training and support.
The Programme is open to Hosts in the private, public, civil service and community and voluntary sectors. Hosts must:
Hosts with staff in receipt of Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) will be considered eligible to host a placement.
The department reserves the right to withhold approval of WPEP placements where it is considered the vacancy might bring the programme into disrepute.
There is a limit on the number of placements that a Host can offer:
| Number of Full Time Employees* | Number of WPEP Participants permitted |
| 1-10 employees | 1 Participant |
| 11-20 employees | 2 Participants |
| 21-30 employees | 3 Participants |
| 30 + employees | 10% of the workforce to a maximum of 10 Participants, whichever is the smaller |
| * Who is employed for 30 hours or more per week (i.e. on payroll and subject to PAYE and PRSI) |
The Host must wait 3 months to apply for another placement in the same area of activity after one finishes. This period may be waived in cases where the previous Participant moves to full-time employment either with the Host or with another employer.
The WPEP placement must not displace any employee or former employee of the Host from employment. The placement must be specifically for the purposes of providing a Participant with training, learning and work experience. In this context, the Host
DSP reserves the right to review cases where complaints are made in relation to these or any other relevant issue. A separate complaints procedure is available at (See Complaints and Breaches of the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme ).
The Host has responsibility to ensure that the appropriate process is applied to placements that require Garda Vetting or other sectoral requirements. Potential Participants must agree to comply with requests for Garda Vetting and other sectoral requirements where necessary, in accordance with the placement Hosts policy.
It is the responsibility for the Host to provide a Participant with specialist clothing and equipment if required during the placement. This includes protective equipment, and work tools. While Hosts are not permitted to pay Participants, they can pay reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Participants on a vouched basis for the purchase of any specialist clothing, footwear or equipment.
RAFGs and DASS funding can be made available for the Work Placement Experience Programme for persons in receipt of Disability Allowance and Blind Pension, with the following noted: these grants are only available for private sector Hosts i.e. in line with the existing requirements of these grants, they are not available for public, civil service ‘Hosts’ or where on-going state support is already provided to a ‘Host’.
Participants have the following Leave entitlements:
Participants are entitled to a leave entitlement of 11 days and all Public holidays. Participants will not be compensated for annual leave which has not been taken during the duration of the WPEP placement.
Participants are entitled to suspend a WPEP placement early due to maternity leave. The DSP should be notified of such instances.
A total of 5 days sick leave will be permitted. If 5 days sick leave is reached the Host must contact the WPU to inform it that the Participant has reached the total sick leave days permissible. The WPU or assigned Case Officer will actively engage with the Participant to determine their suitability to continue the Programme.
The Participant may, in exceptional circumstances be permitted to continue with the placement where their sick leave has exceeded 5 days. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the Case Officer.
For absences in excess of two weeks the participant shall revert to their standard welfare payment rate and the period of the placement shall be extended to compensate for the period of absence subject to a maximum extension of six weeks.
When a Participant is advised to self-isolate by a doctor or the HSE due to being a probable source of infection or has been diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the following steps are to be taken:
The Participant must submit a copy of this notification to the WPU wpep@welfare.ie and to the Host of the fact that they are:
and
If the Participant has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is required to self-isolate due to medical advice their WPEP payment will continue until they are fit to return to work.
Participants must inform the Host of their intention to return date prior to their return and provide a fit-to-work note from their medical practitioner.
The Host must comply with all public health and sectoral guidelines in relation to COVID-19. Hosts will be permitted to provide remote work placements providing suitable arrangements are put in place to support the participants. This may include, e.g. remote training, instruction, mentoring and supervision. The Host will set out the proposed routine of regular updates and keeping in touch in a planned and systematic way.
In the event of a local or community lockdown where the Participant cannot travel to work or the business premises is closed, the Participant shall continue to receive their WPEP allowance for the duration of the lockdown. The Participant will be required to engage with the Host for work experience duties as directed by the Host. Where the Participant has the ability to work remotely, the Host will make arrangements with the Participant to facilitate remote working during this time.
The Host may qualify for JobsPlus if they decide to hire a Participant (i.e. offer the Participant paid full time employment) at the end of the placement. Please see the JobsPlus webpage for information on the JobsPlus incentive, eligibility criteria and how to apply. It is advised that Hosts submit applications for JobsPlus in advance of WPEP completion.
Any WPEP-related issues which arise during the placement should be addressed and resolved between the Host, the Participant and the WPU, where possible. All complaints relating to participation on the WPEP will be investigated in full by the DSP, and appropriate action will be taken. The WPEP complaints procedure is posted on the department’s website, www.gov.ie/wpep.
DSP administers Ireland’s social protection system. Customers are required to provide personal data to determine eligibility for relevant payments and benefits. Personal data may be exchanged with other government departments and agencies where provided for by law. Our data protection policy is available here or in hard copy on request.
The Host will agree to comply with the WPEP guidelines and terms and conditions when signing the WPEP joint application form (WPEP1) . The Host will also accept the Terms and Conditions when creating a WPEP vacancy on JobsIreland.ie.
In order to create a vacancy, the follows terms are important:
The work experience placement should genuinely enhance the Participant’s potential ability to obtain future fulltime work.
Please ensure that the work experience placement vacancy title and vacancy description reflect these requirements.
By submitting this work experience placement vacancy, you agree that:
The Participant agrees to comply with the WPEP guidelines and WPEP terms and conditions when signing the WPEP joint application form (WPEP1) .
The Department of Social Protection reserves the right, to change these terms and conditions at any time without prior notice. In the event that any changes are made, the revised terms and conditions shall be posted on our website, www.gov.ie/wpep.