Christmas bonus

pamkilbride

Hi.

There was an article online that says 5 groups of people have been excluded from this years Christmas bonus. Included on the list was those receiving "fuel allowance". Does anybody know if this is correct?

Thanks

pamkilbride

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058218688/christmas-bonus

First things first

It's the Mirror, an absolute rag that thrives on scaremongering.

Secondly the Christmas Bonus has absolutely nothing to do with wether a person is in receipt of fuel allowance. This allowance does not form part of the core entitlement to a specific social welfare payment and is only paid for part of the year.

The Christmas Bonus is generally paid to most recipients of SW payments regardless if they are in receipt of fuel allowance, however some payments such as illness benefit may not get the Bonus (open to correction)

Last year those on PUP got the bonus, I'm not aware of any announcements on this year's Christmas Bonus, so it's a wait and see.

If SW decide to exclude those on fuel allowance it will be the 1st time and would be very controversial.

I don't know anything about those on rent allowance and Christmas bonus.

pamkilbride

Thank you for the reply.

Hope you're right. If the article was correct that would exclude over 400,000 people and almost every pensioner including my mam.

Atlantic Dawn

It doesn't go to people on Jobseekers Benefit which is a load of sheite..."thou shalt not get the bonus if you have done a days work in your life recently".

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190691#Comment_118190691

No problem, I'm not sure were the Mirror got this but absolutely no issue if in receipt of fuel allowance.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190701#Comment_118190701

Hi there,

Yes, I was aware some payments don't qualify which is very unfair, being entitled to JSB suggests a person has worked and earned the entitlement. Those on Illness benefit also don't qualify nor do they for fuel Allowance etc.

ari101

The fuel allowance itself is not going to have a bonus/double payment. This will not effect the eligibility for a bonus for other payments a person is in receipt of (e.g. Pension, Disability, PUP, etc...). It's the Mirror, whether for lack of journalistic skill, and/or intentional click bait, it's badly worded.

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118191054#Comment_118191054

Click bait I reckon, dreadful rag , yes I meant to mention Fuel allowance payment itself no subject to the Bonus 😏

ShaShaBear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118190701#Comment_118190701

Really? I've seen several articles that states that Jobseekers Benefit recipients would be eligible "in some cases". It's also not listed anywhere as an excluded payment like Illness Benefit is, but admittedly I couldn't see it on a lot of lists as an eligible payment either. I wonder what cases make it eligible as I would have thought claiming it for over 104 days would indicate long term unemployment the same as with Allowance

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118206120#Comment_118206120

The Christmas Bonus was never ever paid out to any JB receiver.

What some media are getting wrong is the difference between JB and JA. Mixing up benefit with allowance is a common mistake.

JA receivers are only getting the Christmas Bonus if they are in receipt of the payment for more than 104 days. Anyone with less days spent on JA is getting nothing.

JB is in general regarded as a short term payment- no matter if you are on it for more than 104 days.

The devil is always in the detail- but that is of no interest anymore in a fast moving world where journalists are getting paid for quantity and not for quality anymore.

ShaShaBear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118206407#Comment_118206407

Ah, I see - and figured as much. I've been in receipt of both at one time or another over the years and never thought anything of it as it was usually always short term. Definitely does seem an injustice that a hard working individual who is claiming off their stamps would be just forgotten like that. Then again, I'm not a fan of the IB claimants being excluded either, especially if they've claimed longer term. It seems a bit... *yeesh* to suggest that someone that is too ill or injured to work right now or someone who has lost a job but not due to covid isn't entitled to that help, but someone claiming PUP is :-/

Stevolende

Probably already been said but they at the Mirror probably misparaphrased what the source info said, It probably said that the money paid as Xmas bonus is the same as 100% of a weekly payment excluding the fuel allowance and the rent allowance. So transcriber is a bit thick in the info they're passing on.

I noticed that when I was looking for when the bonus happened

the whole year inn

When is the bonus being paid?

ari101

Usually seems to turn up around the 2nd week of December.

zell12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118206407#Comment_118206407

Well, that's not true. 27,177 JB recipients on >4 months got it in 2020

This suggests any Jobseekers recipient for 104 days qualifies in 2021

SourSessions

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118237278#Comment_118237278

Next week

JP Liz V1

Do PUP reciprocates get the bonus this year?

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118247111#Comment_118247111

They do seem indeed make an exception this year.

Quote:

As an exceptional measure this year, people who are receiving PUP or another Jobseeker’s payment for four months or longer will receive the Bonus. There are many individuals and families who have lost their job or business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and have been out of work for several months now. The Bonus will help to ease the financial burden on them at this very difficult time.

I cannot comment on last years figures. As I said above- the devil is in the detail. There could already have been an exception last year as well. Covid changed a lot of things.

Looking at your link again ( Social Welfare Christmas Bonus 2021 - Money Guide Ireland )

it says "some cases of JB". If you go into the detail, you find that those "some cases" are persons who make a casual claim- they are working for some days- and sign on for the rest of the week. This makes them different to the the traditional JB recipient, who signs on for all days.

Fact is that JB recipients in general still do not qualify for CB- regardless of the time spent on the sheme. Except in very limited circumstances.

Fact is that in the past nobody on JB got any CB.

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118237278#Comment_118237278

Christmas social welfare Ireland: Recipients can expect bonus payment from Dec 6 - SundayWorld.com

Ish66

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118247477#Comment_118247477

Yeah, Mon 6th Dec on

Dempo1

https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40756635.html

Just in relation to last year, it was classified as an exceptional year and some qualifying conditions waived, an example would have been those on certain payments for 4 months were included rather than the normal rules.

PUP Receipients will get it and also those who transitioned from PUP to a jobseekers payment, in essence time on PUP being included in assessment of eligibility.

ShaShaBear

I can see it has now been expressly announced that those on Jobseekers Benefit for 12 months will be entitled to the bonus. I imagine they mean those who were on a qualifying payment before they were switched seeing as you can't get JSB for a year?

Graces7

Being an English pensioner and on various Irish allowances I do not, understandably , qualify here. In the UK we get a fixed amount of 10 pounds sterling.

This was instigated way back in the early 70s when 10 pounds bought a lot.

An extra bag of coal though ( E9) is very welcome..

TooTired123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118254902#Comment_118254902

Mrs Thatcher introduced the £10 Christmas bonus. She brought a bag of groceries from the CO-OP in to the Dispatch Box in the House of Commons to demonstrate how much it would buy.

ah Maggie. There’ll never be another.

ParkRunner

I can never understand why child benefit isn’t included in the bonus payment..is that not where the majority of additional expenses comes from at Christmas?

ShaShaBear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118318329#Comment_118318329

It's probably because CB is awarded to all parents regardless of income as opposed to those on low income only. For example, an unemployed couple with three children will get €420 per month, but a couple of registered specialist surgeons with three children will also get it. Couldn't afford to give everyone double!

Dempo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118318329#Comment_118318329

CB is a universal payment , not a welfare type payment as such, worth pointing out not ALL welfare recipients / illness payment recipients entitled to Christmas Bonus despite the widely held belief they are .

ParkRunner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118330270#Comment_118330270

Why give the unemployed childless couple a bonus and not the modestly earning working family with kids who have been working all year and face particular additional expenses at Christmas. The working family on modest wages will have some difficult choices to make

hawthorne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118334328#Comment_118334328

So you think the unemployed childless couple has no tough choices to make?

ParkRunner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118336288#Comment_118336288

They will of course. The unemployed couple is getting an additional payment to help with Christmas expenses though, the working family is not.