Unemployment Benefit in Ireland

Information

Unemployment Benefit in Ireland is a weekly payment made to insured people who are out of work. (An insured person, is someone who was paying social insurance (PRSI) before they lost their job). Unemployment Benefit is paid by the Department of Social and Family Affairs through their network of local offices throughout the country.

Rules

To qualify for Unemployment Benefit you must:

* Be unemployed,
* Be aged under 66,
* Be capable of work,
* Be available for/genuinely seeking seek work,
* Have sufficient PRSI contributions and
* Have sustained a loss of employment in any period of six consecutive days.

Self-employed people do not qualify for Unemployment Benefit. However, they can qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
Spare time work

As a general rule, you will not get Unemployment Benefit for any day during which you are employed or self-employed. However, it is possible to do some spare time work and still get Unemployment Benefit for the day in question. If you are offered or have spare time employment, you should always check with the Department of Social and Family Affairs to see whether or not your Unemployment Benefit will be affected.

As far as spare time work is concerned, the general rule is that it is possible to do spare time work if that work could have been done while you were in full-time employment. If you normally did shift work or worked non-standard hours, such spare time work might not be possible. If the spare time work involved very late hours, the Department may take the view that you are not actually available for work the next day.

If you have less than 117 paid PRSI contributions in the three years before becoming unemployed, you may not earn more than 12.70 euro a day from spare time employment. There is no earnings limit if you have more than 117 paid PRSI contributions.

Systematic short-time working

This situation arises if you are normally working full-time but short-time working is introduced on a temporary basis. You will continue to pay PRSI in the normal way. If the short-time work involves a three-day week, you may get Unemployment Benefit for the other two days, provided you meet the other relevant conditions that apply to Unemployment Benefit. In this situation, the social welfare week is five days and you will get two-fifths of the normal amount of Unemployment Benefit. There are no limits on how long short-time working can continue, however, there are circumstances in which you may be able to claim a redundancy payment, which would mean that you would be wholly unemployed.

It was announced in Budget 2005 that the exemption from income tax for Unemployment Benefit paid to systematic short-term workers will be extended until the end of 2006.

Job sharing and week on/off

If you have been working full-time and then enter a job sharing arrangement, you are not eligible for Unemployment Benefit because you have voluntarily opted to work fewer hours or days. If you are recruited into a job sharing arrangement, you may be entitled to Unemployment Benefit for the days you are unemployed, depending on the exact circumstances of your situation. If you are working week on or off, you are in the same position as job sharers, unless, of course, you come under the heading of systematic short-time working. Your entitlement to Unemployment Benefit will depend on whether you are available for work on the week off.

In these types of situations, you need to be careful to ensure that you have a full PRSI record. Depending on your precise working arrangements, you could end up with only 26 paid contributions, which would not be sufficient to claim certain social welfare benefits such as Disability Benefit. However, if you are getting Unemployment Benefit for the week you are not working, you will be awarded a PRSI credit.
Casual work

You should note that a PRSI credit is only awarded for weeks in which you are unemployed for six days. Therefore if you have casual work for one day and earn less than 38.09 euro, you will have neither a paid PRSI contribution nor a credit for that week.

On strike

If you are on strike, you will not be considered unemployed and will not therefore be entitled to Unemployment Benefit. If, however, you are out of work as a result of a strike, for example, you have been laid off, you may qualify for Unemployment Benefit if you are "not participating in or directly interested in the trade dispute which caused the stoppage at work".

Age

A person aged over 66 is not eligible for Unemployment Benefit. In practice, if you are aged under 16 and three-quarters, you will not be eligible either as you could not have sufficient PRSI contributions paid before that age.
Capable of, available for and genuinely seeking work

You may be asked to show evidence that you are actively seeking work, for example, letters showing job applications or failure to get a job. You may also be asked about domestic responsibilities, for example, who is looking after any child dependants. This question must be asked of both male and female applicants. Other circumstances in which you could be considered unavailable for work and therefore not entitled to Unemployment Benefit include:

* Illness (you may be entitled to Disability Benefit instead)
* Looking after a sick or elderly person
* Only being available for work for very restricted hours

Contribution conditions

In order to qualify for Unemployment Benefit, you must pay Class A, H or P PRSI contributions. Class A is the one paid by most private sector employees. Class H is paid by soldiers, reservists and temporary army nurses, who do not qualify for Unemployment Benefit until they have left the army.

* you must have 52 weeks PRSI paid since starting work and
* you must have 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the Relevant Tax Year or
* you must have 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Relevant Tax Year and
* you must have 26 weeks PRSI paid in the Tax Year prior to the Relevant Tax Year

The Relevant Tax Year for a claim is the second last complete tax year before the start of the Benefit Year, e.g., if you are making a claim in 2006, the Relevant Tax Year is 2004.

There are a number of circumstances in which you will be awarded credited contributions. For example, pre-entry credits are awarded when you start employment for the first time in your working life. This means that you will be able to qualify for unemployment as soon as you have 52 contributions actually paid. Credits are also normally awarded while you are receiving certain social welfare payments, including Unemployment Benefit (provided it is for six days), Unemployment Assistance or Disability Benefit.

Contributions you have paid in other member stares of the EU will be added to your Irish contributions. If you are applying for Unemployment Benefit in Ireland and need the contributions paid in another EU country to help you qualify, then the your last contribution must have been in Ireland.

A person receiving Unemployment Benefit who has less than 260 total PRSI contributions paid will be limited to 312 days Unemployment Benefit. This provision will not apply to anyone who has already exhausted 156 days on the day this measure comes into effect.

Loss of employment

You must have suffered a substantial loss of employment in any period of six consecutive days in order to be eligible for Unemployment Benefit. To meet this condition, you must have lost at least one day's employment in that period of six days. Your earnings must also have been reduced as a consequence of the loss of employment.

You may be disqualified from receiving Unemployment Benefit for nine weeks if you:

* left work voluntarily and without a reasonable cause
* lost your job through misconduct
* refused an offer of suitable alternative employment or suitable training.
* Are aged under 55 and receive a redundancy payment of more than 19,046.07 euro.

The exact length of your disqualification (up to nine weeks) will, in practice, depend on the precise amount of redundancy payment you received.

For new claimants, payment of the half-rate Child Dependant Allowance will be discontinued where a recipients spouse's weekly income is more than 350 euro.

Rates

Weekly rates (2006)
Category of claimant Weekly rate
Personal rate 165.80 euro
Qualified adult allowance 110 euro
Each qualified child allowance 16.80 euro (full rate), 8.80 euro (half rate)

Unemployment Benefit is not payable for the first three days of any period of "interruption of employment". A period of interruption of employment is any three days (not necessarily consecutive) in a period of six consecutive days. If two such periods occur within 13 weeks, there is no break in the claim and you do not have another three days of non-payment.

If you are receiving a Widow's/Widower's Pension, a One-parent Family Payment or a deserted wives payment from the Department of Social and Family Affairs and you meet all the conditions for Unemployment Benefit, you will be entitled to half the normal rate of Unemployment Benefit for yourself. Child dependant allowances are not paid with Unemployment Benefit in these cases because you are already being paid for such children in your main payment.

A reduced rate of Unemployment Benefit is payable if your average weekly earnings before you became unemployed were under 88.88 euro (for claims made before 25 December 2003) or 150 euro (for claims made on or after 25 December 2003).

If you are affected by this rule, it may be more beneficial for you to claim Unemployment Assistance instead of Unemployment Benefit.

Spouse/partner working

If your spouse/partner works and earns less than 100 euro gross per week, you are entitled to a full increase for him/her as a qualified adult. A reduced allowance is payable where his/her earnings are between 100 euro and 250 euro. If your spouse/partner earns more than 250 euro gross per week, you will not be paid any increase for him/her.

Duration of payment

As a general rule, Unemployment Benefit is payable for 390 days (65 weeks). There are some exceptions:

* If you are under 18, you will only get Unemployment Benefit for a maximum of 156 days (26 weeks)
* If you are disqualified from Unemployment Benefit for nine weeks, this period will be included in the normal period of entitlement.

If you have used up your entitlement to Unemployment Benefit, you may requalify by working and paying the appropriate PRSI contributions for at least 13 weeks.
Extra Benefits


How to apply

You should register as unemployed ("sign-on") with the Department of Social and Family Affairs. When registering, you should have with you your P45 form. (This form is the form your employer gives you when you finish work and shows your current year's PRSI contributions, earnings, etc.). You should also have your P60 forms for the recent years. (The P60 form is the end of year statement in which your employer sets out your tax and PRSI paid).

If you do not have these documents to hand, you should register anyway and supply them later. You should remember that delay in applying for Unemployment Benefit may mean that you lose out on your full entitlements.

If your claim for Unemployment Benefit is refused, you have the right to appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
Where to apply

Your local social welfare employment office

Your Local Health Office

Social Welfare Appeals Office,
D'Olier House,
D'Olier Street,
Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 673 2800