1. What is the Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS)?

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1 1. What is the Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS)? The Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) is a work placement scheme that is targeted at young jobseekers aged years who are unemployed for at least twelve months and are in receipt of certain qualifying payments, or if unemployed for less than 12 months, face barriers in their efforts to find employment. The YESS will provide young people with the opportunity to learn basic work and social skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement. The scheme is specifically for those young people who are not currently engaged in employment, education or training. 2. Is my Organisation eligible? In order for your organisation to participate you must comply with the following criteria: An organisation, or a local branch, must have a minimum of 1 full-time employee who is employed for 30 hours or more per week (i.e. on payroll and subject to PAYE and PRSI). Sole Traders are allowed to participate on the scheme provided they meet the necessary eligibility criteria, and if they are able to mentor the participant for the duration of the placement. You must be an organisation in the private, community or voluntary sector only. Public sector organisations including schools and colleges are excluded from participation on the YESS. Be a legal entity and/or a charity recognised by the Revenue Commissioners (with a CHY number) Have NO vacancies in the area of activity in which the placement is offered. Offer a placement which will not displace an employee or potential employee. The Scheme Administrator reserves the right to review cases where it is reported that this is the case. Should have Public/Employers Liability insurance and Motor Insurance, if applicable, that will cover any Participants on YESS Be fully compliant with current workplace Health and Safety and all other legal requirements. If Garda vetting applies to the placement, ensure that the vetting process is applied. 1

2 3. How many YESS placements can I offer? The total number of YESS places an organisation can offer at any one time is: Number of Full Time Number of Participants allowed Employees* 1-10 employees 1 Participant employees 2 Participants employees 3 Participants 31+ employees 10% of the workforce to a maximum of 10 participants whichever is smaller * Who is employed for 30 hours or more per week (i.e. on payroll and subject to PAYE and PRSI) Local branches of national organisations will not be regarded as individual placements hosts for the purpose of YESS. 4. Why should my organisation participate in the Scheme? To give a jobseeker the opportunity to gain relevant work experience and to break the cycle of no work, no experience, no experience, no work To access potential future employees. To actively contribute to your Corporate Social Responsibility 5. Can a Placement Host take on a Participant if they have an existing or had a previous employment relationship with? No. A Placement Host may not provide a placement opportunity under the scheme to any individual if they had a previous employment relationship with that person. 6. If a company has made an employee redundant, can they offer a placement opportunity? A Placement Host cannot offer a placement if they have made an employee redundant in the last 6 months 7. How do I register as a Placement Host? Go to and follow the steps to advertise a YESS placement 2

3 If your organisation is not already registered on jobsireland.ie, you will need to do so to offer a placement opportunity 8. How will candidates apply? Interested and eligible candidates for YESS positions will be put forward by DEASP case officers for selection by the Placement Host. Each Placement Host will decide how they select a Participant (s) for the placement. For example, they may ask for a CV to be forwarded or invite the candidate to attend for an interview. 9. How do I start a Participant? When a suitable candidate has been selected for a placement, you will need to contact the DEASP case officer and a start date should then be agreed. The start date should always be on a Monday. When the placement commences, a Standard Agreement/Learning and Development Plan should be agreed and signed by both the Placement Host and the participant. The Standard Agreement should include details of the placement while the Learning and Development Plan should clearly outline the social and work skills that will be developed during the placement. A signed/scanned copy of the Standard Agreement/Learning and Development Plan should be provided to the DEASP case officer and Participant, while the Placement Host should also retain a copy. 10. What do I need to do once the Participant commences on the Scheme? The Placement Host will nominate an individual to support and mentor the Participant during the placement. The mentor should provide induction training to the Participant, while they should ensure that the work experience as described in the Standard Agreement/Learning and Development Plan is progressed as outlined. In organisations where a formal mentoring system exists, YESS participants should be included in this process. 11. Do I pay Participants? No, payment to participants by a Placement Host is not permitted under this Scheme. The YESS participants will be paid a weekly YESS allowance of for 24 hours per week. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) will pay this allowance. 3

4 12. Are Participants entitled to annual leave while on the Scheme? Yes, Participants on the YESS are entitled to the following leave: Annual Leave Participants will be entitled to all Public Holidays and 5 days annual leave for every 3 months spent on a placement. Therefore, if a placement lasts 6 month, a participant will be entitled to 10 days annual leave while on same. All annual leave must be taken during the course of the placement period. Participants will not be financially compensated for any leave which they neglected to take while on YESS. If a participant works on a Bank Holiday, they should be afforded time off in lieu for working same. Maternity Leave Participants are entitled to suspend a YESS placement early due to maternity leave. The DEASP case officer should be notified in such instances. 13. What if the Participant is not working out as expected? If any issues arise during the course of the placement, you should contact the DEASP case officer immediately and all parties should seek to resolve any issues accordingly. A placement can finish early and at short notice. In such an event, the Placement Host should notify the DEASP case officer immediately. 14. What if one placement finishes and I want to take on another person can I do this? If a Placement Host wishes to advertise another placement after one finishes, a cooling off period of 3 months will apply. This period may be waived in cases where the previous participant remains in full-time employment with the Placement Host. 15. Can Participants participate on education and training courses while on the placement? Participants on YESS may engage in education and training provided by the Placement Host or part-time education and training courses, irrespective of length and which are paid for by the State provided that it does not have an adverse impact on the placement. However, participants on YESS are not eligible to access: Full-time education or full time training courses paid for by the State, Other DEASP initiatives such as the Back to Education Allowance and the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance. 4

5 16. What responsibilities will I have as a Placement Host? Provide valuable work experience to the Participant Implement the Learning and Development Plan for the participant Complete the required monthly compliance checks You must assign a mentor to the Participant for the duration of the placement, to do the following: Provide on-going support To be a point of contact for the Participant throughout the placement Provide an induction training session Provide the opportunity to learn/apply skills in the workplace Ensure that the Learning & Development Plan for the participant is put in place and being acted upon as agreed. In organisations where a formal mentoring system exists, YESS participants should be included in this process. At the end of the placement, you must complete a Reference Form for the Participant to assist with their future job-search activities. 17. Who is responsible for providing the Participant with specialist clothing, footwear & equipment during the course of their placement? It is the responsibility for the Placement Host to provide a Participant with essential clothing, footwear and equipment as required during the course of their placement. If a Participant purchases this equipment themselves, they should be reimbursed accordingly. 18. What is the duration of a placement? All YESS placements will be for 3 months initially and the option to extend this further to 6 months may be taken after the Case Officer conducts a review of the placement two months after the commencement of same. 19. Can a Placement Host offer a placement to an individual they have made redundant? A Placement Host cannot offer a placement to an individual who they have previously made redundant; as you are not allowed to offer a placement to a person you have or previously had a prior working relationship with. 5

6 20. Why does my organisation need to be monitored? The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) is committed to the continuous improvement of all its service delivery. The DEASP recognise that key elements of continuous improvement relate to on-going monitoring and review of all schemes. The purpose of monitoring the YESS is to ensure the following: That the placement is progressing in line with the scheme guidelines That the Participant is turning up for the requisite number of hours and days per week That the Standard Agreement has been signed and is being adhered to, and that the Learning and Development Plan has been implemented and is progressing as agreed 21. What happens if a Placement Host is deemed by the Department to have breached the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme? If the Department deems that a Placement Host has breached the Terms and Conditions of YESS, then the Placement Host may be disqualified from any future participation on the scheme. Details of breaches of the scheme may also be made public as part of any requests for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Acts. 22. Who has responsibility to ensure that the appropriate process is applied to placements that require Garda Vetting? The Placement Host has responsibility to ensure that the appropriate process is applied to placements that require Garda Vetting. Participants must agree to comply with such requests where necessary, and in accordance with the Placement Host s policy on Garda Vetting. 23. Are there any financial incentives for offering a YESS placement? There are no direct financial benefits for providing a YESS placement. However, an organisation may be eligible to avail of the JobsPlus Scheme if they guarantee to provide employment to an eligible jobseeker that is on the Live Register for a specific period of time. For further information on this incentive, please see the link below: 6