Maternity Benefit & JSB

newdad20

Hi all,

My wife is being laid off from work. Her contract has come to an end and is not being renewed. It is not directly related to C-19, it is the end date of a multi-year contract. The company is cutting back and not renewing expiring contracts.

She is 6 months pregnant and we're trying to figure out if she should apply for Maternity Benefit now (laid off within 16 weeks of birth date) or wait and apply for JSB now first?

If she applies for MB now, she'll have used up the maternity benefit when the baby is only 3 months and will need to be back out seeking work.

Or should she apply for JSB now for a couple of months, then apply for Maternity Benefit close to the birth date so she has most of the MB with the baby. She is very willing to work between now and the birth but very unlikely to get something in the current climate and being 6 months pregnant. Or does going from JSB to MB make her ineligible for MB??

In either scenario, if she goes on JSB after the Maternity Benefit, how long is she eligible for JSB? I understand it's 9months in total but is the 26 weeks MB taken from this? If she does 2-3 months first, can she pick it up again after MB?

We tried emailing Welfare on this but got directed to Covid-19 payments and Illness Benefit!!

Thanks for any advice!

splinter65

1890 690690 is the number for MB. She needs to be within 16 weeks of her due date and still in insurable employment in order to be eligible for MB. The phones are very busy all over SW, prepare for a long wait.

lughildanach

Under normal circumstances, she should be able to start her Mat Benefit from the point she was laid off, provided that was within the 16 weeks prior to due date. In these circumstances the Maternity Leave is deemed to have started on the day after the termination of the employment.

newdad20

splinter65 wrote: »

1890 690690 is the number for MB. She needs to be within 16 weeks of her due date and still in insurable employment in order to be eligible for MB. The phones are very busy all over SW, prepare for a long wait.

You don't need to be in employment, from the Citizens Information summary - "All employees must have their leave certified by their employer. However, if your contract of employment ends within 16 weeks of the end of the week in which your baby is due and you satisfy the social insurance (PRSI) conditions, Maternity Benefit is payable from the day after your employment ends."

newdad20

lughildanach wrote: »

Under normal circumstances, she should be able to start her Mat Benefit from the point she was laid off, provided that was within the 16 weeks prior to due date. In these circumstances the Maternity Leave is deemed to have started on the day after the termination of the employment.

Sorry I'm not following... how is it different to the normal where you can start her MB from the point she is laid off? It's 13 weeks now until she's due so being let go within the 16 week window.

newdad20

Thanks for the responses so far and sorry if some questions aren't clear! Neither of us are familiar with claiming benefit and it seems like a bit of a maze.

splinter65

newdad20 wrote: »

You don't need to be in employment, from the Citizens Information summary - "All employees must have their leave certified by their employer. However, if your contract of employment ends within 16 weeks of the end of the week in which your baby is due and you satisfy the social insurance (PRSI) conditions, Maternity Benefit is payable from the day after your employment ends."

But she did need to be in employment in the 24th week of her pregnancy (within 16 weeks of due date) if her employment ended before that date then she would not be eligible.

newdad20

splinter65 wrote: »

But she did need to be in employment in the 24th week of her pregnancy (within 16 weeks of due date) if her employment ended before that date then she would not be eligible.

Oh yes, she is finishing up at the end of this week (~13 weeks before due date).

lughildanach

newdad20 wrote: »

Sorry I'm not following... how is it different to the normal where you can start her MB from the point she is laid off? It's 13 weeks now until she's due so being let go within the 16 week window.

We are talking about the normal situation (who knows, perhaps there will be some Corona exceptions that will impact on this, but I wouldn't count on it - although if she is re-employed by the employer within a short period, and then wants to take her Maternity Leave later, she could in theory apply for Maternity Benefit at a later stage instead).

But as things stand now, she can apply, and she should put her Maternity Benefit start date as the date immediately after her employment ended (because she is within the 16 week window).

newdad20

lughildanach wrote: »

But as things stand now, she can apply, and she should put her Maternity Benefit start date as the date immediately after her employment ended (because she is within the 16 week window).

But can she apply for JSB now, then apply for MB close to the due date and start the 26 weeks from then?

That would allow for most of the 26 weeks with the baby without going out looking for work. She is looking for work between now and the birth but it's very unlikely.

splinter65

newdad20 wrote: »

But can she apply for JSB now, then apply for MB close to the due date and start the 26 weeks from then?

That would allow for most of the 26 weeks with the baby without going out looking for work. She is looking for work between now and the birth but it's very unlikely.

See this below:

newdad20

splinter65 wrote: »

See this below:

She rang Revenue (Edit: Social Welfare, not Revenue!) today - they said she wasn't eligible for the C-19 unemployment payment as she wasn't being temporarily laid off. And to apply for Maternity Benefit.

Then she got an email reply from Revenue, which she had been waiting for, saying she should be applying for JSB and apply for MB closer to the due date.

If she rings again she'll probably get different advice again...

splinter65

newdad20 wrote: »

She rang Revenue today - they said she wasn't eligible for the C-19 unemployment payment as she wasn't being temporarily laid off. And to apply for Maternity Benefit.

Then she got an email reply from Revenue, which she had been waiting for, saying she should be applying for JSB and apply for MB closer to the due date.

If she rings again she'll probably get different advice again...

I have no idea why you would contact Revenue about a SW matter.They wouldn’t really know anything about it. SW deal with SW payments which is what Maternity Benefit is and Revenue deal with tax.
This is what the SW department says about maternity benefit right now.

newdad20

splinter65 wrote: »

I have no idea why you would contact Revenue about a SW matter.

Sorry I meant Social Welfare!!

They said as it's a permanent end of an employment rather than a temporary lay off for a business that is temporarily closed or slowed so she's not eligible for C-19 unemployment payment.

Loveinapril

She should be applying for maternity benefit once she is 26 weeks pregnant to ensure she receives it from 38 weeks as there is always a backlog. I definitely wouldn't advise her to start receiving it now because the time after the baby arrives will be much better spent. Her hormones would be all over the place returning to work when the baby is only 3 months old.

dartboardio

Can someone tell me why would she be allowed apply for JSB if she is out of work because of pregnancy/ready for maternity leave and therefore not seeking work?

splinter65

dartboardio wrote: »

Can someone tell me why would she be allowed apply for JSB if she is out of work because of pregnancy/ready for maternity leave and therefore not seeking work?

She’s not out of work because of pregnancy. She’s out of work because her contract ended. If she is available for/looking for work then she is eligible for JSB until 2 weeks before her due date.

newdad20

She has lodged her application for JSB now, thanks for the replies.

Loveinapril wrote: »

She should be applying for maternity benefit once she is 26 weeks pregnant to ensure she receives it from 38 weeks as there is always a backlog. I definitely wouldn't advise her to start receiving it now because the time after the baby arrives will be much better spent. Her hormones would be all over the place returning to work when the baby is only 3 months old.

Thanks - yes hopefully the economy will be ramping up again then but would be very soon to be back out interviewing.

If she applies at 26 weeks surely that will get backdated and the end date will then also be sooner? Can you apply for a future start date? If she applies close to 38 weeks I assume JSB will continue until the switch to MB is processed?

bee06

newdad20 wrote: »

She has lodged her application for JSB now, thanks for the replies.



Thanks - yes hopefully the economy will be ramping up again then but would be very soon to be back out interviewing.

If she applies at 26 weeks surely that will get backdated and the end date will then also be sooner? Can you apply for a future start date? If she applies close to 38 weeks I assume JSB will continue until the switch to MB is processed?

The date you want to start mat leave is a field to fill in on the form.

newdad20

OK she asked the guy processing her JSB form if she should apply now for the maternity benefit with the future scheduled date. He said he didn't know because he's a man (!!!) and to ring the number for Maternity Benefit.

She rang them and now they're saying that if she is going on JSB she will not be eligible for Maternity Benefity and that she is only eligible if she applies for Maternity Benefit the day after being let go. And they confirmed that MB will run from now and until the baby is just 3 months.

Every email reply and call is from different people and different conflicting advice.

bee06

Maybe Citizens Information be the best to contact? They would have a more holistic view of how it should work? I found this on their website.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/pregnancy_and_social_welfare_payments.html

lughildanach

For those on COVID payment, they are considered to still be in employment, and so can wait until later to apply for Mat Leave/Benefit.

However, as this case is not related to COVID, normal rules apply. If she goes on Jobseekers Benefit, she is no longer in employment, and therefore not eligible for Maternity Benefit. If she wants Maternity Benefit, she must apply for Mat Benefit from the day immediately after her employment ended. This must be within 16 weeks of the due date.

If she is available and looking for work after her Maternity Benefit, she can apply for Jobseekers Benefit at that time.

It would have been different if she had been let go or temporarily laid off due to COVID.