Allegations of physical assaults and bullying sees companies barred from JobBridge scheme

Businesses were barred from using the JobBridge scheme following allegations that interns were assaulted, bullied, had their safety compromised, and were forced to work unfair hours.

Internal documents from the Department of Social Protection, released to the Irish Examiner, have revealed a litany of complaints against a number of companies using the taxpayer-funded JobBridge scheme.

However, all businesses serving bans from the scheme last November had their suspensions lifted, after the department decided its own guidelines and procedures for investigating complaints “were not robust enough to necessarily comply with fair procedures”. The U-turn came despite department inspectors originally recommending some companies face “indefinite” bans from using JobBridge.