Going from Full to Part-time Employment

Calibos

I'm a bit lost because I've never claimed anything in my life.

Single male over 25 living with parents and employed (paye) in family business. Living at home with parents as well. I've no partner or dependents.

Things aren't going well for the business and I'll be made part time soon enough. My days will be cut from 5 to 3 days effectively. It can be via a cut in hours per day or a cut in days but the cuts do have to be made one way or the other for me and the other staff. Do the cut in hours need to be full days or reduction in hours over the 5 days.

Am I eligable for anything and can anyone give me an idea how much. My gross currently for the 5 day week is just over 16,000 per year I think. 300 net per week.

What to I ask at the Welfare office. What am I likely to be asked or what documentation should I have ready to provide?

I'm lost as I said, as I have never applied for any benefit in my life before.

Thanks in advance for any advice

bigbarginhunter

My advice is to cut down your days & not your hours, 18 months ago I was only working 20hours a week over 5 days and wasn't entitled to anything because it doesn't go by the amount of hours you work. I ended up changing my hours so it worked out at 3 days working and the other 2 days were paid by the SW.
You need to go into the SW office and get the sheets that you fill out for casual work.

danjo-xx

As you were on paye I assume you were paying prsi and earning stamps.

If so then JSB Job Seekers Benefit would be your first stop. This will give you rough idea if you would qualify for any help.

Loss of employment

You must have suffered a substantial loss of employment in any period of six consecutive days to be eligible for Jobseeker's Benefit.

This means that you must have lost at least one day's employment and as a result of this loss be unemployed for at least 3 days out of 6 days.

Your earnings must also have been reduced because of the loss of employment.

http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Jobseeker%27s-Benefit.aspx

allthedoyles

note that systematic short time work would be more favourable to you than casual/part-time work .

In other words , if you systematically work 3 days a week , you should qualify for JB for the other 2 days . ( depending on prsi contributions ) .

Whereas , if you will be working various number of days of the the 5 working days , its assessed differently .

You must be unemployed for at least 4 days out of a period of 7 consecutive days.
If you get 4 days work, Jobseeker's Benefit is not paid at all.

Calibos

So JSB is based on PRSI contributions. I've been employed nonstop since the 90's.

If my reading is correct on a 3 day working week I would get 2/5's of JSB (€188) which is €75 max.

Yet on JSA I would get (€60 - €20 = €40 x 60% = €24 x 3 = €72) €188 - €72 = €116.

Am I understanding that correctly? So, eh Why did I pay stamps again???

I think I read a thread where someone was asking if they could reapply for JSB and not be moved to JSA. Why, if you'd get more on JSA? Whats the catch? Would a means test prevent me getting the €116. (+25yo single male involuntarily living at home with parents with no dependents or partner).

I fear I am missing something.

Calibos

What I am asking is that I assumed from reading a bit about it in previoius threads that the stamp based 'benefit' when recently made unemployed or partially unemployed would naturally be the higher amount and that it was only when your stamps ran out that you were moved to JS Allowance at a lower amount. This assumption seemed reinforced in my mind by people recently asking about how to re-qualify for JSB and not be moved to JSA.

Why then does it appear I would get less while my stamps are in play and get more when moved to JSA and why would I not be chomping at the bit to get onto JSA or indeed why would I not apply for JSA instead of JSB in the first place. (Assuming I didn't get work elsewhere in the interim of course)

Why did I pay Social insurance contributions if I actually get less money than those that never made any or already used theirs up??

Its all very confusing/counter intuitive and thats why I fear I have mixed up the details or have missed something important in my understanding of all this.

danjo-xx

Does this help:

Take Job Seekers Benefit, which lasts 6/12 months, this is 'Earnings Related' payment, so you have to have been earnings €300 p.w. or more to get the full rate of €188 assuming you have enough stamps.

Say you were only earning €208 p.w. you would only get a reduced amount of €121.40 JSB, so in that case it might be better to claim Job Seekers Allowance, which is a means tested payment, like all 'allowance' payments.

If you had no means or they were under 20k you should get the full rate of JSA €188.


Stamps help during times of unemployment and illness and also vip go towards getting a contributory State Pension at 66.

Calibos

€300 net. (300/5=60) If I lose 2 days of work I am down €120. Yet my reading of JSB is that if I am down 2 days from 5 to 3, I get 2/5ths of the €188 JSB. ie. €75.20

Yet on JSA I would get (€60 - €20 = €40 x 60% = €24 x 3 = €72) €188 - €72 = €116.

Am I undertanding wrong or should I be applying for JSA and not JSB. Can I even do that? ie. Skip JSB and go straight to JSA?

danjo-xx

On the Job Seekers Benefit Application form, there is a choice to be made.

If you would not qualify for the full rate of JSB would you like to be assessed for Job Seekers Allowance.


Decide first which would give you the full rate, if JSB does then you will have to run with that, then when that runs out you will be asked if you want to claim JSA.

Sorry i'm not well up on the part time work hours but figures seem ok, others would no better.

danjo-xx

Just to sum up on what to apply for,

As you will be going on part time employment of no more than 3 days a week then you have to apply for Job Seekers Benefit first and that could run for ages, but you will be pushed to get back into full time emplyoment.

allthedoyles

From what I understand , you are reading JSA incorrectly . -

Don't know where you got your figures from , but if you are classified as a casual worker , and you work 3 days , it is unlikely you will receive any JSA in that particular week .

On JSB , you are guaranteed to receive weekly , but JSA is means-tested

Calibos

Systematic Part time is what I'll be on apparently if my reading of other threads on the forum is correct. I also saw that JSA calculation by one of the mods in another thread used as an example in answer to someone elses question. The figures happened to match my situation.

Calibos

To reiterate:

Single, Over 25, no dependents, living with parents. Earning a Net €300 pw for a 5 day week currently. Being put on Systematic Short time soon where I will be working 3 days a week. I've no assets apart from a car and about 4 grand savings in the credit union but a larger loan in the credit union so its not as if I can touch the CU money. My assets do not exceed 20000. Over 25 so parents income is not taken into account?

Can someone tell me what other information they need to calculate what I would be entitled to on JSB and JSA and which to go for because apparently I am mis-applying the formulas or something.

Thanks again.

allthedoyles

Looks like your figures are pretty much correct , but when calculating JSA , you need to use your gross weekly amount rather than €300 p/week.( less PRSI )

But in your case JSA will not apply , as you are contributing PRSI ,and would remain on JSB for a number of years .

Have a look at these case studies :- If you hav'nt already .

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/reference/worksheets/worksheet_jobseekers_allowance_and_income_from_work.html

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/reference/case_studies/case_study_jobseekers_benefit_and_systematic_short_time_work.html

Calibos

Thats really cleared a lot of things up. Thanks Allthedoyles. No where else had I come across the information about the 312 or 260 days whatever it was not being calendar based (Except effectively when claiming Full JSB(5 days) but being the total amount of days for which a Systematatic 3 day a week short time worker will only use up 2 a week thus making the 260/312 days last a couple of years.

However its still unclear to me how subject to a means test the JSA could be higher than the JSB. It just seems counter intuitive to me that one could have paid in no contributions to the system and yet get more out than someone who did?