Social Welfare query

dotsflan

Hey i was wondering if anyone could give me advice! Last week i was made redundant due to the company i worked for going into liquidation, but i received no P45 as i was told the liquidator would have to sort all that out! I have asked them for a letter stating that i was made redundant so i could have some proof for the social welfare! But its been a week now and still nothing!! i have contacted them but getting no replies:mad:. I was wondering whats the story with social welfare, do i need my P45 before i can claim anything???

Emerald Lass

no, but you will need some sort of letter confirming that you no longer work there. If I were you I would start the SW process immediately - get the ball rolling, forms filled in and lodged etc. They will give you 7-14 days to provide the necessary documents. Keep hassling your employers. AFAIK it is not the liquidator who would issue P45's and there should be no problem getting at least a letter from them - they are just being w*nkers TBH. My bro-in-law had the same problem when he was put on temporary. Ended up he literally had to go into the office 2 days running and on the second day refused to leave until he was given the letter. He got it an hour later! this was enough for SW - he obviously still has no P45 as he is not officially sacked yet, just on temporary. As I said, get things started, then get a letter. Explain the situation to SW - they are aware of this and dealing with it everyday. They should be happy to accept a letter in lieu of a P45 initially.

good luck - it sucks I know - been there and possibly will be back there in a few months

dotsflan

cheers for that emerald lass!! yeah i went into today and just filled out the forms and that. but i dont think il get anything until they receive my P45. im starting to doubt if il ever get it to be honest!! tried ringing the boss again today and he just gave me the same bulls**t story about the liquidators doing the P45's:mad::mad:. I hope things work out ok for you

Xiney

I never got my P45 from the employer I had immediately before my first Jobseeker's claim.

Eventually I just sent a letter to the revenue CCing my social welfare officer(?) stating that despite numerous contacts (seriously, I had to start ringing them from random phones because the stupid bitch in accounts stopped answering when she saw my mobile!) my previous employer had been witholding my P45 for the past six weeks and that I was unable to obtain it from them.

I got my payment set up the next week.


Actually - since I left the employment "voluntarily" but due to the horrific working conditions (and ethics violations), the fact that they were acting like pricks only served to strengthen my claim.

dotsflan

Can i still get payments if i talk to the social welfare officer?? Also i have to be means tested cause seemingly i dont have enough stamps built up because i was in college in 2007? is this right because i thought you only had to have 2 years of prsi paid which i do from summer jobs and my last job which i was in for 16 months

LegacyUser

You should still be entitled to some form of payment. My brother in law was in the same situation he filled out and returned all his dole forms to the Social Welfare Office and while he was waiting on his P45 his Social Welfare Officer set him up with Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Here's some info I took off citizens information website:

If you have no income, you may be entitled to the basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance. If your weekly income is below the Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate for your family size, a payment may be made to bring your income up to the appropriate Supplementary Welfare Allowance rate. If you have claimed a social welfare benefit or pension but it has not yet been paid and you have no other income, you may qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance while you are awaiting payment.

Conditions

You will normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance if you satisfy the following conditions:

You are living in the state
You satisfy the means test
You have applied for any other benefit/allowance you may be entitled to
You satisfy the habitual residence test, except for the Exceptional Needs Payment. EU/EEA workers and Swiss nationals working here will satisfy the habitual residence condition. However, people from the EU/EEA or Switzerland who move to Ireland in search of employment are subject to the habitual residence test in the normal way while looking for work.
You have registered for work with FÁS if you are of working age
You will not normally qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance if you are:

In full-time work, that is, working for more than 30 hours per week
In full-time education
Involved in a trade dispute. However, you may claim Supplementary Welfare Allowance for your dependants
Means test
The following are the main items taken into account for the means test:

All cash income: including most social welfare and Health Service Executive payments, except Child Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and Blind Welfare Allowance. This also includes all financial compensation except compensation awarded by a court to people who contracted Hepatitis C through the use of Human Immunoglobulin-Anti-D or through receiving blood products or blood transfusions in Ireland, the Hepatitis C and HIV Compensation Tribunals, the Residential Institutions Redress Board, or for disability caused by use of the drug Thalidomide.

From June 2007, Guardian's Payment (Contributory), Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) and the Respite Care Grant are not taken into account in the means test for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

The value of investments, savings or property (but not the value of your own home) is calculated in as follows:

Capital Weekly means assessed
First €5,000 not taken into account
Next €10,000 €1 per €1,000
Next €25,000 €2 per €1,000
Balance €4 per €1,000
In the case of a married couple or a couple living together as husband and wife, their income is added together when doing the means test.

Repayment of Supplementary Welfare Allowance

In certain circumstances, you may have to repay any assistance you have received under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. For example:

If Supplementary Welfare Allowance is paid while you are waiting for a social welfare benefit, assistance or pension, the amount paid will be deducted from the arrears of your social welfare payment.

If you are paid an Urgent Needs Payment, you may have to pay back all or part of what you have been paid if you are working or once an insurance claim is settled.

Rates
The basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance is made up of a personal rate for the applicant and additional amounts for any adult dependant and/or child dependant(s). A child dependant is a person under the age of 18 who lives with you and depends on you for financial support. If you have been getting SWA for at least 27 weeks, the age limit is 22 for a child dependant in full-time education or up to the end of the academic year after their 22nd birthday.

Weekly rates of payment for 2009 are:

Applicant €204.30
Qualified adult €135.60
Each qualified child €26


From the first week in May 2009, the personal rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance will be reduced to €100 per week for new claimants under 20 years of age. Also, from the first week in May 2009, the maximum Increase for a Qualified Adult payable to a new Supplementary Welfare Allowance claimant aged under 20 will be reduced to €100 per week. However, there are exceptions - see 'Supplementary Budget April 2009' above.

How to apply
You should apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance to the Community Welfare Officer at your local health centre as soon as the need arises. To help process your claim, you should have the following:

Personal Public Service (PPS) Numbers (formerly RSI numbers) for yourself, your spouse and your children
Proof of residency
Proof of identity, for example, a passport, driving licence or Social Welfare Services Card
Evidence of any income you and your spouse and children are getting
A note from your local social welfare office and your last wages slip if you have just applied for Jobseeker's Benefit/Assistance
Your Child Benefit Book or Birth Certificates for any children you may be claiming for if you do not have PPSNs for them
Rent Book if you are applying for help with your rent
A statement giving details of your mortgage interest payments if you are applying for help with your mortgage interest.
You have the right to appeal against a decision if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your claim. To appeal, you should write to the Appeals Officer at your Local Health Office.

Hope this helps.

Xiney

* At least 104 weeks PRSI paid since you first started work

And

* Have 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year (a minimum of 13 weeks must be paid contributions*)

Or

* Have 26 weeks PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and 26 weeks PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.

*If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year, the following years can be used to meet this condition:

* The 2 tax years before the relevant tax year
* The last complete tax year,

Or

* The current tax year.

The Relevant Tax Year is the second last complete tax year before the year in which your claim is made. So, for claims made in 2009, the Relevant Tax Year is 2007.

So it looks since you were in college during the relevant tax year, you're not eligible, since you need at least 26 weeks (6 months) PRSI in it. Which is kind of crap, tbh.

dotsflan

cheers for that xiney its a bit clearer now!! its a bit annoying alright but i suppose il just have to put up with it!! Do you know how long it takes to be means tested? and am i elegible to claim supplementry payments??

Xiney

I'm currently waiting for my means test in Galway city, so I'll let you know when I get mine, lol. I've been waiting for the means test for 4 weeks now, which is about half the time I expect to be waiting.

As far as supplementary welfare payments go, there's rent supplement, although you have to be living somewhere *quite* cheap to qualify for it which really messes things up a bit, especially if you're locked into a 12 month lease, not to mention that the limits are so low you're unlikely to find anything at those prices, nevermind anywhere inhabitable. Look into it though, since the dole alone isn't near enough to pay rent from if you intend to eat as well.

Anyway, if you're running out of cash while you're waiting for your means test, you can visit your community welfare officer and they should be able to help you out.

There's a whole State Benefits forum as well

dotsflan

I didnt think i would be waiting that long:eek: oh well!! i presume that the payments will be back dated to when you first apply? sorry bout all the questions but its new to me and i want to make sure ive everything in order:)

Xiney

Yup, it will be backdated to when you first apply. HOWEVER (and this is really important): if they say they need your P45 and you don't either bring it in soon or at least keep sending them letters (ringing them isn't good these days, chances are they won't answer the phone) to let them know that you haven't recieved it yet (I'd say one letter every week is enough, you can just keep copying and sending the same one with different dates on them) they can cancel your claim and then you'll have to reapply and you WON'T get it backdated.

It happened to someone else on the State Benefits forum, and it's totally crap.

But yeah. I actually started signing on for credits back in December, and I was told at the time that because my husband is employed I'm not eligible for anything. So I didn't find out until March that I might be eligible for a small payment, so now I'm waiting to be means tested for it because even a small payment to cover the shopping would be a big help, plus I would be eligible for free FAS courses which is a bigger deal.

dotsflan

yeah i was wondering about the P45 yesterday because when i called the social welfare office about my situation in not being able to get a letter or P45 off my former employers, they just said i would still have to be means tested and never said anything about bringing in p45 . i kind of presumed that whoever was means testing me would look for all that whenever im being tested!! anyway thanks for your help its greatly appreciated:)