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Is covid wage topup considered a social welfare payment

  • 01-05-2020 8:54pm
    #1
    klonk1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4 ✭


    Hi,

    I'm wondering has anyone been able to get an answer for my question. I was working part time in childcare and when we closed due to covid we were put on the wage subsidy scheme.
    I hope to qualify for the Back To Education Allowance in Sept and need 75 qualifying social welfare payments to be considered.
    Does the wage top up qualify as a social welfare payment?

    Thanks in advance!


Comments

  • #2
    DeeAvery
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 127 ✭✭DeeAvery


    If you're not in receipt of one of qualifying payments or taking part in one of the schemes listed below, for the qualifying periods of time then it is unlikely you will get awarded BTEA. From my experience and anecdotal evidence in my opinion those who manage BTEA are strict and they don't use a lot of discretion. You either qualify or don't.

    The Covid-19 payment is intended to be a temporary payment for those who are temporarily impacted by the Covid-19 restrictions so they would expect you to either go back into employment after that or sign on to a Jobseekers payment like all those who are already unemployed. BTEA is program to essentially aid those who are long term unemployed back into employment by giving them the opportunity to get qualifications.

    If you’re not in receipt of a qualifying payment I would suggest getting on one as soon as you can. However, taking Jobseekers Allowance as an example, you need to be on this payment for 9 months for 3rd level, 3 months do to the Leaving Cert and 12 months for to do a Professional Masters in Education. Importantly you can’t be doing the same level of qualification twice, so if you have a level 8 degree you can’t get BTEA to do another one. So basically if you’re not on one of the below payments now it would be unlikely you will qualify for BTEA in time.

    However things are in flux at the moment, and first years will more then likely not be starting in September as normal so my main advice would be to contact your local Intreo office and look at the operational guidelines for BTEA, which can be found at gov.ie. Also citizens information is a good resource. However given that things are up in the air, no one might know. And it might be a case of waiting for there guidelines to potentially get updated.

    For all I know given the exceptional circumstances the Covid-19 payment will be counted towards your qualifying time towards meeting the requirements for BTEA. But I would say it’s likely you’ll still have to get onto the likes of Jobseekers or any of the other qualifying payments before September anyway. Don’t forget if you don’t qualify for BTEA you may still get SUSI (if you qualify for that of course).

    The qualifying payments are:
    Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker's Benefit
    Jobseeker's Transitional Payment
    Farm Assist
    One-Parent Family Payment
    Carer's Allowance
    Blind Pension
    Disability Allowance
    Invalidity Pension
    Incapacity Supplement (based on a life Disablement Pension)
    Illness Benefit for 2 years or more.

    This is a list of schemes you can use towards your qualifying period:
    Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)
    Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)
    Full-time FET (formerly FÁS) training courses
    Community Employment schemes
    Part-time Job Incentive scheme
    Gateway
    Community Services Programme
    Rural Social Scheme
    TÚS
    Workplace Placement Scheme (WPP)
    Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
    Short Term Enterprise Allowance
    Job Initiative, Job Assist and JobBridge may count towards the qualifying period for BTEA purposes
    Time spent on Youthreach can count towards the qualifying period provided you establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment before or after completing the Youthreach programme.
    Time spent in prison in the Irish State can count towards the qualifying period provided you establish an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment.
    Time spent on Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) or on direct provision can count towards the qualifying period for BTEA.
    If you have been awarded statutory redundancy and are entitled to a qualifying social welfare payment immediately before you start the course you can get immediate access to the BTEA without any waiting period. You must take part in the BTEA scheme within one year of getting statutory redundancy and satisfy all the other conditions.


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