READ ME! Frequently asked questions answered

cee_jay

It seems the same questions are coming up again and again in this forum so I decided to put together a few details about Social Welfare - to the best of my knowledge!

IF you lose your job, you must go and sign on the day after you finish work. So if you finish work on Friday, get into your local office on Monday. Yes there probably will be a queue but there will be a queue most days. You cannot apply over the internet, but you can download the form from www.welfare.ie and have it filled in before you go. Also bring in a proof of your current address, some form of ID (Passport/Driving Licence/Age Card etc). If you have your P45 bring that in. If not you can send it in later.

There are 2 different schemes you may be entitled to as a Jobseeker.

Jobseekers Benefit
If you are unemployed you may qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) which is based on your social insurance record. A fundamental qualifying condition for Jobseekers Benefit is that you must be available for full time work.

To qualify for JB a person must have:
At least 104 PRSI contributions paid since they started work.
At least 39 PRSI contributions in 2007 (at least 13 of these must be paid)
OR
26 contributions paid in both 2006 and 2007.

To qualify for JB, a person must be unemployed for at least 3 days in 6 and must suffer a substantial loss of employment and be available for work and looking for work. Unemployed persons who are classified as casual workers do not have to have suffered a substantial loss of employment.

Jobseekers Allowance
If you are unemployed and do not qualify for Jobseekers Benefit you may qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) which is based on your weekly means.
You will have to meet with a Social Welfare inspector for them to determine your weekly means.
If you are under 25 and living at home, your parents income will be taken into account in calculating your means.
If you are married or living with a partner, their income will be taken into account in calculating your means.

Voluntarily Left Employment
A person may be disqualified for receiving Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance for up to 9 weeks from the date of leaving employment if they left the employment voluntarily and without just cause. Social Welfare can and do check with previous employers to see why someone was left go.
Also, A person may be disqualified from receipt of JB or JA for up to 9 weeks where they have lost their employment through their own misconduct.

Late Claims
A claim may be backdated for a maximum of 6 months where the person can prove to the satisfaction of the Deciding Officer or Appeals Officer that they satisfied the qualifying conditions throughout the period and that there was good cause for delay in making the claim. It will not always be backdated so as I said above - go in the day after you finish work!

Will it be long before I get my payment?
Nobody here can say it will definitely take X number of weeks. Your social welfare office can't even say that! Every office is different as some are extremely busy, and some not so busy. There are reports of it taking 10-12 weeks in some places. If you are in financial difficulty while waiting, go to your local health centre, meet with the community welfare officer there and ask about supplementary welfare allowance.

How do I get paid?
Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance are paid weekly in arrears in a post office using a social welfare services card. Casual workers are paid by cheque.

Can I go on holiday?
A person may receive Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance for 2 weeks holidays (i.e. 12 days excluding Sundays) in any calendar year. These holidays may be taken abroad or even in another part of Ireland!

The person is required to inform the Local Office in advance of their departure and to complete a form. All holiday payments will be made retrospectively, so when you are back you need to go in to inform them of this. If a person goes on holiday for longer than 2 weeks, they may be paid in respect of the first two weeks, but should not receive payment for any period abroad in excess of this.

How often do I have to sign?
It is for the local office to decide how often the person must sign, where and at what times. A person may be disallowed for failure to sign. Usually customers sign once a month but this may vary.
Where a person fails to sign on their signing day and has still failed to sign by the next payment run date, payment is suspended on the computer system and the next payment does not issue.
Where a person contacts the local office and a Deciding Officer is satisfied that they still satisfy the statutory conditions for Jobseeker's Benefit/Allowance, the payment suspension is removed and payment will issue.
Regular failure to attend on the appointed signing day may result in loss of payment.


Most of the above I took from here which is a good FAQ done by Social Welfare.

Another thing is - if you cannot get through to your local Office on the phone, GO IN in person! They are the people with your claim and can answer any queries better than any person here on boards that doesn't have your claim.

cee_jay

Rent Supplement is a payment to assist with reasonable accommodation costs for private rented accommodation.
You will not normally receive a Rent Supplement if:

* Your rent is above set limits (your CWO will advise you of these limits)
* You do not comply with a request to apply to a Housing Authority for accommodation
* You are not assessed as having a housing need
* You have been evicted or excluded from Housing Authority accommodation
* You do not reside continuously in the rented accommodation.

To apply for a Rent Supplement you will need to complete forms (SWA 3 and SWA 1)


Mortgage Interest Supplement is a payment to assist with the interest element of your mortgage repayments in respect of your sole/main residence.
You will not normally receive a Mortgage Interest Supplement if:

* You entered into the loan agreement when you were not in a position to meet the repayments
* Your loan is not with a registered financial institution

To apply for a Mortgage Interest Supplement you will need to complete forms (SWA 4 and SWA 1) and provide a copy of the original loan application.

For more information, please visit the citizens information guide to rent supplement.

cee_jay

Since 1 May 2004, all applicants regardless of nationality are required to be habitually resident in the State in order to qualify for the following payments:

Jobseeker's Allowance
State Pension (Non Contributory)
Blind Pension
Widow(er)'s Non Contributory Pension
One Parent Family Payment
Guardian's Payment
Carer's Allowance
Disability Allowance
Supplementary Welfare Allowance (other than once off exceptional and urgent needs payments) and
Child Benefit

Habitual residence means you have a proven close link to Ireland. If you are now resident in Ireland, and have lived here and in other parts of the Common Travel Area all or your life, you will probably satisfy the habitual residence condition.

The factors taken into account for HRC are:
the length and continuity of residence in the State or in any other particular country;
the length and purpose of any absence from the State;
the nature and pattern of the person's employment;
the person's main centre of interest, and
the future intentions of the person concerned as they appear from all the circumstances.

You may satisfy the habitual residence condition even if you have not lived in Ireland or other parts of the Common Travel Area for all of your life.

If you are found to be not habitually resident, you can appeal this decision.


Family benefits
Under European law, Child Benefit, One Parent Family Payment and Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) are classed as family benefits. You do not need to satisfy the habitual residence condition for one of these payments if you:

are a national of Switzerland or a country in the European Economic Area,
are employed or self-employed, and
pay Irish PRSI or receive Irish Jobseeker's Benefit.


More info here

cee_jay

You may get Jobseeker’s Benefit if:

Your days at work are reduced (systematic short-time working)
You are job-sharing week on and week off (but not if you have chosen to do so)

(You must meet all the other conditions for Jobseeker's Benefit).

If you normally work full time, and your days at work are reduced temporarily, you may get Jobseeker’s Benefit. Reduced working hours on a temporary basis is called systematic-short time working.
If the short-time work involves a 3 day week, you may get Jobseeker's Benefit for the other 2 days. In this situation, the social welfare week is 5 days and you will get two-fifths of the normal amount of Jobseeker's Benefit (€204.30).

If you normally work full-time but your employer reduces the number of days you work on a permanent basis, you may get Jobseeker’s Benefit for the days you don’t work. You will be assessed for Jobseeker’s Benefit as a part-time worker.
For each day you are unemployed, one-sixth of the normal rate of Jobseeker's Benefit is payable, provided that you are unemployed for at least 3 days out of a period of 6 consecutive days.

For example, if you get part-time work for 2 days, you can get four-sixths of the normal Jobseeker's Benefit for that week.

You must claim Jobseeker's Benefit for at least 3 days in any week. If you get 4 days work, Jobseeker's Benefit is not paid for the other 2 days.


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 Jobseeker's Benefit because you have voluntarily opted to work fewer hours or days.
However, if this is forced on you by your employer, you are entitled to claim for your week off.

In the above cases, you are required to complete "casual dockets" and return them to your local office every week - basically it is marking Xs and Os on a docket for the days you have and haven't worked.
Payment will then issue by cheque on a weekly basis - you don't need to sign once a month.

More info here

cee_jay

If you do not have enough contributions for Jobseeker's Benefit, and your working week has been reduced, you can claim Jobseeker's Allowance. However, as with a regular JA claim, this will be means assessed and your earnings from your reduced working week will be assessed.

If you have always worked a reduced working week, and are now available for work for the other days but your current employer cannot increase your hours, there is no loss in employment. Therefore, you do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit (even if you have the correct contributions). You can open a Jobseeker's Allowance claim if that is the case.

Again, you complete the dockets weekly, and cheque issues by post if you qualify.

cee_jay

Second Level Student
If you have just sat your Leaving Certificate, you are disqualified from claiming JA for 3 months. The 3 month disqualification period commences on the day following the last exam.

If you left you second level education, but did not complete your Leaving Cert, you are disqualified for 3 months from the date of leaving school.

If you repeat your Leaving Cert, you are also disqualified for 3 months after your last exam.

Irish and other EEA/non- EEA students studying abroad who have just completed second level studies abroad are similarly subject to disqualification (for 3 months from the date of leaving school or completion of examinations).

BTEA participants who are second level students are not subject to the 3 month disqualification.

THIRD LEVEL STUDENTS

Third level students who have not completed their final year at college are disqualified for receipt of JA during the academic term and for the duration of the summer vacation periods. This disqualification also applies to:

* Students pursuing Post Leaving Certificate courses of more than one year's duration;
* Irish/ EEA students returning from courses abroad; and
* Non- EEA third level students applying for JA in Ireland.


Third level students between academic years, who sit summer examinations, but state that they do not intend to return to college in the autumn, are disqualified from claiming JA up to the commencement of the next academic year (Sep/Oct as appropriate). These students are considered to be following a course of study up to that date.

A student who leaves college mid-year, and state that they do not intend to continue with their studies (and do not sit summer exams), are regarded as no longer attending a course of study, so are therefore not subject to the disqualification.


Legislation provides for disqualification while attending a full time day course of study. Third level students who have completed final examinations but are completing theses or projects cannot be regarded as still attending a full-time day course of study and, therefore, cannot be disqualified under this provision. Entitlement may, however, be considered under the availability condition, depending on the degree of commitment to the project/thesis.

Students pursuing a course at Postgraduate level by research only, who do not have fixed lectures or holidays but who work "at their own pace" until the thesis is submitted, will be examined on an individual basis to ensure that the general availability/ seeking work conditions are satisfied.

Third level examination only students (registered in an University/college to sit exams only, don't attend, e.g. repeat years/night study/Open University) are not disqualified for receipt of JA, but need to satisfy the availability/seeking work conditions.

There are two exceptions to this disqualification

1. persons aged 21 years or over who have been in receipt of JA/ JB for at least 6 months and who are participating in approved courses of education, training or development
and
2. mature students, i.e. persons over 23 years of age on or before 1st January in the year in which the course of study commences.

are not subject to this disqualification.

Xiney

The department of social welfare will count means as a couple living together as if they were married even if they are not legally married. To give false information to the means test inspector, saying that you are not living with your boyfriend/girlfriend, is social welfare fraud and is against the law.

Yes, we know it isn't fair that when you are working you can't share tax credits if you're not married but when it suits them they treat you as a married couple. However, this is the law - if you want it changed please contact your TD. It's about time they made it fair - but they won't bother unless people make a ruckus!



As for the actual means test, it's a bit complicated. Citizens' Information have a worksheet [URL="http://www.citizensinformation.ie/comhairle/References/worksheets/worksheet-jobseeker-s-allowance-and-income-from-work]here[/URL]. Alternatively, I have a spreadsheet (which does not currently work if you have children) that does the math for you, which you can download below. Please note that this spreadsheet is by no means official, I just made it using the information I got on the internet.

cee_jay

See here for the rates of payment for Rent Allowance around the country.

Xiney

Short version: If you forget to sign on, go into the office as soon as you remember and explain the situation. Don't do it very often or they start to get suspicious: put a reminder on your phone!

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Additional, long winded info:

If your office has a separate section for current claims (common in the larger offices I believe) you will get in line or take a ticket for this. Offices which have dedicated sign on hatches are generally for that day's signings only.

You will have to explain that you forgot about your sign on day. Being unavailable for a valid reason such as having a job interview in another locality is acceptable, but note that you should have some kind of proof of your having been. Being out of town is NOT an acceptable reason not to sign on, since this would be considered holidays and they prefer if you request those in advance.

If you wait too long or if you miss a few sign on days in a row or too many in a year, social welfare start to wonder if you are indeed available for work. They may review your claim, take a look at your bank statements to make sure you don't have any unexplained income (for example from off the books work) and/or make you sign on daily.

brendansmith

cAr0l wrote: »

I
Jobseekers Benefit


To qualify for JB a person must have:
a) At least 104 PRSI contributions paid since they started work.
b) At least 39 PRSI contributions in 2007 (at least 13 of these must be paid)
OR
c) 26 contributions paid in both 2006 and 2007.

This part is confusing

Is it:

a + b = entitled
a + c = entitled
a or b or c = entitled?

Please clarify?

Thanks

Xiney

it's a+b or a+c = entitled

brendansmith

Xiney wrote: »

it's a+b or a+c = entitled

What if you have been residing in another country for the last 3 years but are forced to come back to Ireland?

Xiney

then you can apply for JSA, a means tested payment, provided you have documentation supporting the habitual residence condition.

Dagon

Another question; not sure if it has been answered but I couldn't see it above:

Q. Does my account balance affect my dole? i.e. if I have been working for a few years, will they look at the balance and say "you have enough to survive for a year (or however long it takes to get a job), you don't need dole until x date"?

Xiney

You can have up to 20 000 euro before they start judging it as means for JSA and other means tested payments - and even then it's only on a sliding scale.

Edgedinblue

cAr0l wrote: »

Third level students between academic years, who sit summer examinations, but state that they do not intend to return to college in the autumn, are disqualified from claiming JA up to the commencement of the next academic year (Sep/Oct as appropriate). These students are considered to be following a course of study up to that date.

I've finished up college exams and all on the 17th of may, there is an opinion in my course to to an add on 4th year. I havnt chosen to do that, am i techinically still a 3rd year until september? and wont recieve JA until then to make sure i dont go back?

billy the squid

That all depends on the course, speak to the social welfare representatives at your local office. my own course is four years - I know it is four years and cannot offer you any better advice on a course that has an optional fourth year.

It might be worth speaking to your college student Union office also. they should be able to offer youadvice.