Flexi-wage – job seeker information

If you are out-of-work and wanting to start your own business but needing some support, we may be able to help with Flexi-wage Self-employment.

What’s Flexi-wage

Flexi-wage is an employment programme that helps job seekers get the skills they need to meet the requirements of a job.

Flexi-wage provides a contribution to wages (paid to the employer) and can also include training and in-work support (such as pastoral care). The job must continue after the Flexi-wage has finished.

Who can get it

You may be eligible for Flexi-wage support if you're:

• at risk of being on benefit for a long time.

and/or

• disadvantaged in the labour market. You don’t necessarily need to be on a benefit.

Disadvantaged in the labour market means you have difficulty in getting or keeping a job. For example, you might have barriers to finding employment because you need education and training, or your current job may be at risk.

Flexi-wage can help you get the required skills you need to move into a job, which might be:

• with an employer who wants to hire you, or
• with an employer you’re already working for who needs to move you into a different role that requires further training and more hours rather than making you redundant.

The employer also needs to meet the ‘Who can get it’ criteria outlined in Flexi-wage - employer information

The job must:

• pay at least the minimum wage
• have the minimum number of hours to meet any work obligations

and be either:

• ongoing, continuing after any Flexi-wage subsidy has finished, or
• a fixed-term project that benefits the community or environment and will help you gain the skills get into work once it’s finished.

What support you can get

We may be able to make a contribution to your wages and help with training or in-work support (such as pastoral care), until you have the skills you need to do the job.

We'll talk to your employer about what help you may need and how we can help.

How to find out more

If you're already talking to us about your employment needs, ask about Flexi-wage.

If you’re not already talking to us about finding work and you don’t have an MSD client number, fill out the form below. If you select “I want help finding work” we’ll get in touch with you to talk about our employment services, which include Flexi-wage.

By getting a client number, you’re not necessarily applying for financial assistance but you can do that as well if you need to.