illness benefit- or lack thereof

seanin4711

had a accident 11th jan and out of work since(broken leg).

applied for Illness benefit as requested by employer - fine.

got a letter yesterday dated 23rd Jan and received yesterday 6th Feb stating i wasn't entitled to IB due to being self employed for a period of almost three years(income tax and S class PRSI payments,the latter complete news to me as i assumed PRSI payments were all the same). and if i would like to appeal the desicion i had 21 days to do so(half that time eaten up already due to the postal service delivery.

I was a PAYE employee and decided to go contracting for employer (Project Engineer) half way through 2021 and remained like that until feb 2024 where i became permanent paye employee once more.

While contracting - umbrella company "director" ,my tax affairs we taken care of by a third party - Fenero.

I was never explicitly made aware of the fact that as a self employed person i wasnt entitled to illness benefit despite paying a variation of PRSI classes over the last 25+ years- as stated 3 years was S class and the majority was what welfare deem acceptable A class etc.

i have since found out the hard way.

Now i have to go to intreo with the cap out begging in order to pay the bills.

mortgage,utlity all still have to be paid.

looking for means tested supplementary welfare allowance- hoping i can get back dated to when accident occured.

i feel that this is utterly ridiculous in this day and age.

failing that it looks like a premature return to work(medical certificate until 26the Feb)

Not a happy camper!

Calahonda52

Who did you expect to tell you this:

I was never explicitly made aware of the fact that as a self employed person i wasn't entitled to illness benefit

What was the thinking behind this

decided to go contracting

i feel that this is utterly ridiculous in this day and age.

So pay the lower PRSI and expect benefits of full PRSI?

seanin4711

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123144520#Comment_123144520

Either employment agency(Hero) or accountants(Fenero) as i wasnt aware,i assumed i was paying PRSI and honestly wasnt aware of the differences within PRSI levels whatsoever.

go contracting - Felt it was my only option for career progression - which it was.

Again wasnt aware of the range of PRSI types- but i am now.

thanks for your support and advice

Necro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058394634/illness-benefit-or-lack-thereof

You can apply for supplementary welfare allowance from your local Intreo Office as you don't qualify for Illness Benefit. It's means tested but it's an option there for those who don't satisfy the PRSI qualifying conditions. If you are eligible they'll just ask you to send in medical certs to Illness Benefit while you're unfit for work so there's evidence of that.

Also the 21 days starts from when you receive the letter, not the date it was issued so if you wanted to appeal that option is available, though you'd have to show evidence of having the correct PRSI contributions to satisfy the qualifying conditions so it might not work.