Re: Re: RKD Architects hiring now (€50 / week)

The internship involves someone getting social welfare retaining this social welfare payment and, in addition, getting paid – in theory – 50 bucks more a week for working

Obviously €50 a week is not going to shift any unemployed person off their hole unless they are really, REALLY, bored
RKD have a big job and need staff. A student just out of college is, in reality, of little or no use in the current climate to a company like that. What they need is experienced staff who are currently “at leisure” but, as above, 50 bucks ain’t gonna do it. €50 is a decoy.

What happens, therefore, is that a company such as RKD, through FAS, agree to pay an experienced person €x00 a week. In effect they pay them €x00 minus the employee’s social welfare payment that they will continue to get anyway which suits the employee as they pay less tax. The company in question only has to pay PRSI on their own portion of the €x00 which suits the company as they pay less tax. The employee, despite remaining on social welfare, is taken off the live register, which suits the government.

A further benefit to the company is that they can afford to employ someone for longer thanks to the portion that you and me pay, via our taxes, through the social. Hence a 9 month internship is cheaper than a 5 month contract for the company. It is more expensive, however, for the taxpayer.

Those of us who continue to work as before get doubly shafted as we subsidise the company in question AND pay the social welfare o f the person who is getting paid to work whilst also being paid to be unable to take another job.

It’s a con, a tax-break, a smoke and mirrors exercise that ultimately, tax payers cover. There’s no doubt that students and graduates will be caught up in this and exploited but, ultimately, the companies that take advantage of this, has bigger fish to fry