Publication
Operational Guidelines: Work Placement Experience Programme
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP) is a work experience and training programme for jobseekers in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment and who have been unemployed for between four months (if under 30 years of age) and 6 months (if over 30 years of age) and in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment. 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 €335 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). Participants will retain their medical card during WPEP and their rent payment to their local authority will not increase.
Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection who are residing in a Designated Accommodation Centre and receiving a weekly payment of €38.80 who commence WPEP will be paid a maximum of €335 per week and if they have a dependent spouse or child, their dependent(s) will continue to receive their weekly payment of €38.80 or €29.80 respectively while they participate in WPEP. Once the WPEP placement ends, the Participant will return to their weekly payment of €38.80 if they have not found employment after the placement.
To participate on the WPEP, an individual must be:
The qualifying payments are:
Customers in receipt of One-Parent Family, Disability Allowance and Blind Pension will automatically qualify for WPEP without the required 104-156 days qualifying timeframe.
Time spent on the 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 (104 to 156 days depending on age) once entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment is established. An application for a jobseeker’s payment must be made on-line by selecting Out of Work Payments on MyWelfare. The jobseeker should type WPEP1234 in the Reference Code box that can be accessed on Education & Training page of their application.
Time spent on Carer’s Allowance can also count towards the eligibility period, but your caring responsibilities must have ceased, and you must currently be in receipt of either JA, JB, JST or OFP.
Time spent in receipt of Illness Benefit (IB) can also count towards the 4 month/6 month qualifying period provided the claimant is currently in receipt of one of the above listed payments (i.e. no breaks between payments), e.g. 2 months on IB followed immediately by 2 months on JA.
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 is now 18 years or older and in receipt of an eligible payment. This includes Education Training Allowance for VTOS, Back to Education Allowance, Springboard and if you were a learner within Youthreach or a Community Training Centre and are now on a qualifying payment (no waiting time).
Time spent on Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection Weekly Payment will count towards eligibility for the WPEP programme. Time spent on payments prior to receiving a Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection weekly payment of €38.80 such as JA/JB/One Parent Family payment will also count towards the qualifying time required.
No qualifying period is required for those jobseekers in receipt of a qualifying DSP payment and who are considered by their Employment Personal Advisor to experience barriers to entry into the labour market. These barriers may include:
The following customers are not eligible for WPEP.
NES (National Employment Services) and LAES (Local Area Employment Services) are the department’s two Intreo partner contractors that support longer-term jobseekers. Employment Personal Advisors or EPAs support jobseekers within INTREO services who are 0-12 months in their jobseeking. Then CPES (Contracted Public Employment Services) refer jobseekers who need greater support in their employment support journey to INTREO Partners NES/LAES.
NES supports jobseekers who are in receipt of a Jobseekers payment from 12-24 months, while LAES supports customers receiving a payment from 24-36 months; and both provide a service to customers in receipt of a payment for greater than 36 months. NES/LAES may provide some in-house courses e.g. CV preparation, but their services are tailored towards job readiness and employment support services for the long-term unemployed. NES/LAES customers can still avail of ETB/Solas/CE/Tús/WPEP opportunities.
For communication purposes, the Work Placement Unit (WPU) will contact CPES about the jobseeker who has been approved for a WPEP placement. CPES will arrange a pause event. On completion of WPEP, if the jobseeker does not secure work, CPES will recommence the NES/LAES employment support journey. Also, if a WPEP participant finishes early, the WPU will notify CPES of this so the NES/LAES support can recommence.
NES/LAES have their own funding for training of customers, but TSG is available to a paused NES/LAES jobseeker while they’re on a WPEP placement and while an EPA is monitoring their placement. This is available to customers on WPEP regardless of whether or not they have already received a TSG up to €1000 in the previous 12 months
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. A WPEP placement cannot commence on a Bank Holiday Monday.
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 2.2 of this document
When selected for participation these special categories should complete the WPEP1 application form as set out in section 3.2. 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 (26 weeks) and the customer remains on the live register for the duration of the placement. If the customer leaves the placement earlier than 6 months, they return to their previous welfare payment
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.
The Employment Personal Advisor may seek a three-month extension to a placement on behalf of the customer of up to a maximum duration of 9 months if they submit a business case which is approved by their Principal Officer. Such an extension may be permitted if a business case is submitted to Work Placement Unit by the EPA, on completion of their month 5 monitoring visit, that demonstrates such an extension would improve the employability of the customer.
Extensions will be made on a case-by-case basis and can only be approved if:
1. The customer has initiated the request to extend the duration of the placement in discussion with their EPA and/or the WPEP unit.
2. The customer faces additional barriers to entry into the labour market and can be defined as a member of our priority groups:
3. The host agrees to the extended duration of the WPEP placement.
4. The EPA can demonstrate that the extension of three months will benefit the customer and increase their employability; and additional training will be agreed for the Personal Learning Plan during that extended timeframe.
5. The host has been compliant with all the terms and conditions of the programme and adequate training hours during 6 months have been recorded.
6. Written approval of the extension has been granted by the Principal Officer of Employment Services.
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 €335 per week. This rate includes an uplift to their primary social welfare payment of €103, which accounts for the training element of the programme. 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 and Cost of Living bonuses) 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. 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. The means from part-time employment is disregarded for the duration of the placement.
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. Hosts not in a position to deliver the training are required to facilitate the 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. The PLP should be updated if the original 6 month duration is extended to 9 months.
A copy of the PLP must be kept by the Host for inspection during compliance meetings with the EPA. 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 EPA.
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 and will be posted by the Work Placement Unit upon approval of the placement.
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. More information is available at wpeptraining@welfare.ie
An assigned EPA will liaise with the Host and the Participant during the placement. The EPA 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 EPA will be available to provide advice and support to both the Host and the Participant during the placement.
To supplement EPA 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.
If the placement duration is extended from 6 months to 9 months, an additional monitoring visit will be scheduled at month 8.
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. An EPA 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 an EPA. Information on the Training Support Grant can be found here.
The list of ineligible expenditure 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. A host may be approved to provide an extended placement, up to a maximum duration of 9 months if a business case from the customer (via their Employment Personal Advisor) has been approved by the Principal Officer.
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). A host who has two or more part-time staff will not be approved to host a WPEP participant. The Host must assign a mentor who is available to support the WPEP Participant, see section 4.4.
The Host must also assign a supervisor to instruct the Participant and oversee their on-the-job performance. The mentor and the supervisor must be two different people.
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:
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: The maximum number of participants is 10% of the workforce (to a max of 10 placements) for hosts that have more than 30 employees.
| 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. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, the host may be approved to host another WPEP participant sooner than the 3-month waiting period. For example: If Host X has 25 full -time employees, they are allowed to host a maximum of 3 WPEP participants. They take on their first WPEP placement in January and the participant finishes their WPEP in June. They take on their second WPEP participant in March with a finish date in August. The first participant completes it in June and returns to a Social Welfare payment. They apply to host another WPEP in July. They are eligible as they have not exceeded three placements at any one time.
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
Examples of placements that are not suitable for WPEP are any classroom or teaching assistant positions or creche assistants where the number of staff is determined by the number of students/children. A WPEP participant would displace a job in this regard
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 and Garda Vetting should be stated in the vacancy advert on the website. 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 and/or for the training element of the programme. This includes protective equipment, and work tools. . The department does not provide the Participant with a laptop to undertake the placement. 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.
Work and Access is a set of supports to help people with a disability get a job or stay in work. It is also available to customers who participate in the Work Placement Experience Programme. The supports aim to remove or reduce barriers in the workplace for people with a disability.
Supports for Jobseekers, Employees, Self-Employed include:
The participant should discuss the different types of leave with their Host.
Participants can take a total of 11 days off during their placement and are also entitled to all public holidays. Participants and hosts should discuss planned leave at the start of the placement and agree the procedure for applying for leave.
Participants may be facilitated to pause their WPEP placement due to a maternity related absence. The DSP should be notified of such instances. Participants can take time off to attend antenatal GP and hospital visits.
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 EPA 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 if there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate the Participant will resume the work placement. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the EPA.
For absences more than 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.
If bereavement leave is required during the placement, the participant should discuss this with their Host.
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/EPA, 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.