Jobseekers Payments

There are three main payments:

• Jobseekers Benefit (JB) – Insurance based

• Jobseekers Allowance (JA) – Means Tested

• Jobseekers Allowance Transitional (JAT) – Means tested for those parenting alone

What Is A Reduced Rate of JB?

This applies where a claimant was earning less than €300 per week during Governing Contributing year (two years previously).

What Is Jobseekers Allowance Transitional

Jobseeker's Transitional Payment is a special arrangement under the Jobseeker's Allowance scheme that aims to support parents who are parenting alone and not co-habiting into the workforce while they have young children. There are a few useful things to note about this:

• You do not have to unemployed for 4 out of 7 consecutive days

• You do not have to be available for or genuinely seeking full time work

• You may take part in a training or education course and retain payment

What Does ‘Genuinely Seeking Work’ Mean?

This is a term that the Department uses in relation to Jobseekers Payments. Its saying that you are:

• Willing to accept any reasonable offer of employment based on your qualifications and experience

• Willing to accept any reasonable offer of training or education

• Taking reasonable steps to find employment

• Using available services and supports

• Able to show proof of job seeking efforts

Jobseekers Aged Over 62 Years

A few important points:

• You must be genuinely seeking and available for work

• You are not required to engage with the activation process

• You can voluntarily avail of supports, including training opportunities

• You may only be required to sign on once a year

• You can have your payments made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) into your bank account

What Is Not Counted As Unemployment

• A career break

• Garden leave

• Being in receipt of holiday

• Working as little as 1 hour in a day

• Being temporarily laid off with pay

What is Systematic Short Time Employment

A few important points to consider include:

• This is when the normal number of working days is temporarily reduced

• The work pattern must be systematic

• You must work a minimum of one of the ‘normal’ working days

• You should be working with same employer at a minimum for 6 months previous to the start of the short time work

• Your decision to work short time is involuntary

Delays In Payments/Denial of Payment

This can happen if:

• You gave up work without just cause or good reason

• You lost your job through misconduct

• You received a redundancy payment of over €50,000 and is under the age of 55

• You fail to answer questions fully

What Is A Penalty Rate?

This is the rate of payment that can be imposed in the wake of a benefit sanction. The Penalty Rates for Jobseekers Allowance in 2023 are:

• Age 25 or over reduce payment to €176.00

• Age 18 – 24 reduce payment to €104.70

What Is Jobseekers Benefit

Jobseeker's Benefit is a weekly payment from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to people who are out of work and are covered by social insurance (PRSI). If you don't qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit you may qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance.

To qualify you must be:

• Aged 16+

• Living in Ireland

• Unemployed for at least 4 out of 7 days

• Genuinely Seeking Full Time Work

• Earning at least €300 for full rate Jobseekers Benefit

• Have 104 paid contributions since starting work and 39 paid or credited contributions in the GCY including 13 paid contributions in the GCY or 26 paid in the GCY and 26 paid in the year previous to GCY

• You must have suffered a substantial loss of employment (at least 1day)

What Is Jobseekers Allowance

Jobseeker's Allowance is a payment to people who are unemployed. If you are unemployed, you can apply for Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) or Jobseeker's Benefit (JB). You can apply for JA, if you have been on JB and your payment has ended.

To qualify you must:

Be living in Ireland

• Be age 18+ for JA

• Be unemployed for minimum of 4 out of 7 consecutive days

• Be Genuinely Seeking Full Time Work

• Satisfy a means test

• Have insufficient contributions to claim JB

• Satisfy the Habitual Residence Rule

Remember - 1 hours work = 1 days work

What Is Jobseekers Allowance Transition (JST)

Jobseeker's Transitional Payment (JST) is a social welfare payment for people who are parenting alone, whose youngest child is aged between 7 and 14. JST also pays an extra amount per child. You may get less than this based on a means test.

To qualify you must be:

• Living in Ireland

• Not cohabiting

• Satisfying a means test

• Satisfying the Habitual Residence Rule

• Capable of work

• Willing to sign a quarterly declaration confirming you continue to be eligible for JST

JB/JA Payments and Work

Here are some important points to consider:

• The Main Claimant may work maximum of 3 days – there is no hourly maximum

• 1 hour worked equals 1 days work for MC (as they are no longer available for full time work on that day)

• The Qualified Adult has no limit on hours/days work

JB and Part Time Work

Here are some important points to consider:

• You can work up to 3 days a week

• You are assessed as a 5 day week (over 6 consecutive days)

• You lose benefit for days worked

• The Qualified Adult Earnings assessed as per tapered scale (SW19)

• Remember - 1 hours work = 1 days work

What Is An Spouse/Qualified Adult (JB)?

Your social welfare payment is made up of a weekly amount for yourself, called the Personal Rate.

You may also get an extra amount for your adult dependant called an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA). An adult dependant is usually your spouse or civil partner.

If the IQA is working, it can have an affect on the payment of JB:

• QA earning < €310 per week, MC will receive QA rate (based on SW19)

• QA earning between €310 - €400 per week child dependent rate will be halved

• QA earning > €400 per week, MC wont receive QA rate; no payment for child dependent

If the IQA is working, it can have an affect on the payment of JA:

These are the main points to consider:

• There is no limit on number of hours/days worked

• There is a disregard €20 per day to max three days

• Earnings is assessed at 60%

Casual/Part Time Work and JA

Calculating JA When Working

This is the usual way that Jobseekers Allowance is calculated:

• Calculate weekly reckonable earnings

• Disregard €20 per day to max three days

• Earnings assessed at 60%

What Happens If You and Spouse/Partner are Getting a Social Welfare Payment*

Your joint means are halved if your spouse or partner is:

• Getting a social welfare payment* in his or her own right (except CB,DP, GP, DCA, SWA, half rate CA)

• Getting a Health Service Executive payment (except FCA)

• On an ETB course or on a VTOS course and getting an allowance

*Excludes Community Employment, TÚS and Gateway schemes

Job Seekers Transitional Payment and Work

These are the main points to consider:

• The 3 day rule does not apply

• Assessment is based on income

• The first €165 of income from employment is disregarded

• The remaining income is assessed at 50%