Scholarship for an internship for the unemployed – what should the person interested in know?

Internships, apart from training, are the most popular among the unemployed. An intern does not earn money because an internship is not an employment. However, he does get an internship. We explain who can go on the internship and benefit from this scholarship.

Acquiring new skills by the unemployed person, useful for the job that he or she will undertake in a moment – this is the main goal of undertaking an internship by the unemployed person. Employment offices offer paid internships to the unemployed, which are a form of professional activation for those seeking employment and wanting to improve their qualifications and, at the same time, their chances on the labor market. It is often the case that the unemployed person after the internship is hired by the same company for which he or she did the internship.

How long is the internship

An internship lasts from 3 months to usually half a year, although sometimes even a year. After this time, the person concerned should have the qualifications and skills necessary to obtain standard employment.

It is worth checking: Current job offers

Not everyone willing to go on an internship from the employment office has a chance to take advantage of this option. Everything is done in accordance with the regulations. The Act on employment promotion and labor market institutions as well as the regulation on the detailed conditions of internship by the unemployed apply here. Not only the company can become an internship organizer, but also, inter alia, an agricultural production cooperative or a non-governmental organization. People who got an internship from the employment office have their own rights – incl. guaranteed free weekends and public holidays, and their working day is a maximum of 8 hours (may be shorter). Another plus is that the internship taken up by an unemployed person referred from the employment office is also included in the length of service.

An internship is not a job

The downside is that the internship does not mean that you have entered into an employment relationship with an employer. Thus, taking up an internship does not result in the loss of the unemployed status. The trainee is therefore still unemployed. The internship does not take place on the basis of an agreement concluded by the unemployed person and the company that accepts him for the internship, but on the basis of an agreement signed by the staroste (the poviat labor office acts on his behalf) with the employer. The internship is carried out according to the program specified earlier in the contract.

An internship scholarship obtained from two sources

The trainee receives money for the duration of the internship. This is not a salary, as is the case for a standard employee, but an internship scholarship, or internship scholarship in short. An internship scholarship is financed from two sources. The first is the money from the Labor Fund, and the second is money from EU funds. You cannot receive a scholarship from both sources at the same time. In both cases, the internship is carried out in the same way (its organization and course are not affected by the source from which it is financed). Only the entity paying the scholarship differs. The internship scholarship is paid out after each completed month of internship.

Scholarship like 120 percent of unemployment benefit

The traineeship grant is the equivalent of 120 percent of unemployment benefit. Let’s recall: currently, until the end of May 2019, the unemployment benefit (100 percent) is PLN 847.80 gross per month (which is PLN 730.50 net). Therefore, in the case of the allowance increased to 120 percent (this is the internship scholarship for the unemployed), the trainee will receive less than a thousand zlotys on hand.

Although an unemployed person does not lose the status of an unemployed person when he starts the internship for which he was referred, he does not receive unemployment benefit during the internship. This is because he gets the aforementioned scholarship and the benefits cannot be duplicated.

When the intern becomes ill

The scholarship is also available for days off: the trainee is entitled to 2 days off for each 30 calendar days of the internship. Note: this is not the type of leave you are entitled to on a full-time employment contract.

It is also worth reading: Scholarship from the boss

Cases go over people. If the trainee becomes ill and cannot appear at the company for the internship, but presents a relevant medical certificate, he / she will also receive a payment for the period of absence as if he / she appeared at the internship. The unemployed person is obliged to notify the PUP about his incapacity for work related to the disease within 2 days from the date of issuing the certificate. If the trainee terminates the internship through his own fault or will (e.g. because he suddenly finds that it is not his job), he must cover the costs associated with the internship.

If an intern finds a job or starts a business

However, the termination of the internship does not always have such consequences. If the reason for not completing the internship is that the unemployed person has taken up employment or he has decided to start a business and work on his own account, he will not have to reimburse the costs related to the internship. If a person registered with PUP starts work or opens his own business, he automatically disappears from the intermediary’s register, so it is logical that he no longer uses the support provided by this employment office. Instead, it must notify PUP.

of a sudden change in the situation