TUS Programme

Hi fiestywonder

Being honest I don't know. It is the basic €188+€20 extra and you are taken off the live register. I am eight weeks into my TUS Programme now. I'm really enjoying it. You will have to ask them during your interview. Best of luck!

DenMan wrote: »

Hi fiestywonder

Being honest I don't know. It is the basic €188+€20 extra and you are taken off the live register. I am eight weeks into my TUS Programme now. I'm really enjoying it. You will have to ask them during your interview. Best of luck!

DenMan quick question were you getting €208. I was getting €198.40. Im not sure if it was emergency tax or what it was.

Nuts102 wrote: »

DenMan quick question were you getting €208. I was getting €198.40. Im not sure if it was emergency tax or what it was.

I didn't get the €208 until a couple of weeks into the new year. I was put on emergency tax for two weeks and got it back after. I got my P60 last week. You'll get it back.

dubscribe wrote: »

I can confirm, you are exempt from the USC charge when on the TUS scheme, I've done the research online - HOWEVER, you will be charged 4% PRSI, so of the initial 20 euro extra you get, nearly 9 euro of it goes on PRSI, hence you really get about 11.50 euro extra a week on top of your dole money, for working 19.5 hours a week.

YES, without a doubt, the organisations the jobs are with seem MUCH MORE worthwhile than some of the companies who have exploited the JobBridge Scheme.

not on our scheme, can't remember the details, I'll dig it up tomorrow, all of us here on our scheme get the €208 p.w.

My cousin went for an interview 2 weeks ago. He was asked the usual questions but he was also asked "what do you do all day". He thought it wasn't right to be asked this and wondered if anyone else was asked this question.

So an update all i can say is the scheme is misleading imo and unfair on people who are actually trying to work.

As if people read my last few posts would have seen i pulled out of a TUS job because i didn't feel it was benefitting me and answering phones didn't suit me and my nerves were not the best.

So i was called in for a meeting. The boss at the place i left admitted that their wasn't enough work their and i was doing very little except answering phones. She agreed i wasn't benefitting as much as i should be and understanded why i left. You are told when you go down to them that you do not have to take a job once it doesn't feel it will help improve your skills. Also you can pull out of a job if you are not getting any experience that is helpful to you and they will find another job for you.

So i was told yesterday that they will keep up my payments for two or three more weeks. They are using all their contacts to get me another placement. If i can't find a job within that time i will have to go back on the dole. I was told basically i am going to be cut off from my payments or get a cut in the dole.

So basically this means even if i get offered a job on the scheme even if it doesn't suit me i have to take it. It also means that even though your told you can pull out of a job if you are not getting the experience you are meant to it is a lie. Even though since i quit last week i have had a job interview that i applied for myself it doesn't make much difference. I have countless job applications i could show to the dole office. I have also been looking at going back to college to do a masters degree. But i was told this doesn't really matter i will basically get cut if im not working in the next two or three weeks. My heads all over the place with worry. I don't know what to do this really is a bad way to treat people who want to work.

dubscribe wrote: »

Nuts102, this is dreadful news to read, poor you. What an appalling way you have been treated. I know, essentially you sound like a timid and shy person but I'm sorry to say that this is one occasion where you will have to stand up for yourself and your rights.

Certainly the one thing I have learned from your experience is that if they say I don't have to accept an unsuitable job, I want it in writing. It would appear their word is unreliable. They tell you one thing and then do something else.

At this stage I would suggest you ask to meet with the overall supervisor of the Tus scheme in your area and ask him/her for an explanation as to why they want to reduce your dole money because they did not deliver on their word, ie a suitable placement. This is not your fault and you should not be penalised for it. These schemes always have a "right of appeal" policy/system, I suggest you engage with it now rather than wait until your dole is cut and then have to fight for it to be reinstated.

I also suggest you contact www.inou.ie - the National Organisation of the Unemployed. Tell them what's happening with you. They will definitely have good suggestions to offer you.

Hang in there. You have support with us.

TAKEN from INOU website:
Refusing an offer of Training
If you refuse an offer of training without just cause or good reason the Department of Social Protection may apply a penalty rate to your Jobseeker's Benefit/Jobseeker's Allowance payment. If this happens you may ask for a review of this decision. Please contact the INOU on (01) 856 0088 for information.

Thanks for that. I am just not sure what way to approach it. The person who is dealing with me from TUS seems genuine. TUS are going to continue paying me for the next few weeks. If they can't get me a placement then i will have to go back on the dole. He said he should be able to get me an interview or two and he is using all his contacts.

He said the dole would then call me in for a meeting if i didn't get a job. He didn't say i would be cut but basically said it would be bad for me if i had to go back onto the dole. He said he would fight my case for me but their was not much he could do. He didn't say i would be cut off directly but gave a big hint that i would be getting cut money.

Their is a place that advises citizens on their rights and about money etc i think i will call into them and get their advice. My friend told me that it was dodgy when they told me you only have to take the job if it will benefit you and you don't have to take the job. He also said to be wary of them saying you can leave the job if it's unsuitable. Just don't know what way to approach it really as i don't know anybody else who was in the same situation.

What i found odd was it didn't seem that they thought it mattered that i have proof of looking for jobs. Surely if i get called in by the dole i can prove i had an interview. Also provide them with rejection emails for jobs. I presumed proving your looking for work was the main requirement for recieving your dole.

rsole1 wrote: »

Can you not go back to your original job and just "play the game" ? Just sit there and play them at their own game. I'd have a bit of fun at their expense, they'd be glad to get rid of me.

I went on a TUS interview last September and didn't hear another word. How long between interview and them finding you a place?

It was a few weeks before they got me a job. Being honest i would rather not go back their and i told them that.

I finished Tus in January and I was offered part time work from the placement. I was delighted but before I started the position I had been called to the local Social Welfare Office to discuss what happens after Tus. I told them I had been offered part time work which I had yet to begin but had a letter from my employer confirming this and I would be claiming for the days I wouldn't be working. My case officer told me this was not good enough and gave me a number of positions to apply for , none of which I was qualified for and all were part time. What the hell do I have to do ?? I've never missed an appointment or interview , never refused to take part in any scheme or training , managed to secure part time work but its still not good enough. I have to apply for the jobs she gave me or she said they're would be penaltys to my payment.

Karen23 wrote: »

I finished Tus in January and I was offered part time work from the placement. I was delighted but before I started the position I had been called to the local Social Welfare Office to discuss what happens after Tus. I told them I had been offered part time work which I had yet to begin but had a letter from my employer confirming this and I would be claiming for the days I wouldn't be working. My case officer told me this was not good enough and gave me a number of positions to apply for , none of which I was qualified for were and all part time. What the hell do I have to do ?? I've never missed an appointment or interview , never refused to take part in any scheme or training , managed to secure part time work but its still not good enough. I have to apply for the jobs she gave me or she said they're would be penaltys to my payment.

So you have been offered a PT position with the company you have trained with and she wants you to apply for other PT positions with companies you haven't trained with that's a bloody joke Karen. If you were told to apply for FT positions then fair enough but what exactly is the difference between one PT job and another in you case officer's mind? She sounds like a right dosy cow, or maybe just an arch-bitch. Go back and ask her these questions and if you don't get any satisfaction go over her head.

Karen23 wrote: »

She said if the part time positions she suggested offered more hours than the part time job I had been offered then I would be obligated to leave and take the job with more hours.

Oh well Karen I know you won't like doing this but your only solution is to attend the interviews and act like a retarded mong. Just show up in creased clothing with messy hair and slouch your shoulders and deliberately **** up the interview. That way you won't be offered the position. When your dealing with mongs you have to act like one yourself.