Publication

Operational Guidelines: Jobseeker's Benefit

From: Department of Social Protection
Published on: 14 January 2020
Last updated on: 14 April 2025

Description of the Jobseeker’s Benefit Scheme
Qualifying Conditions
Claims
Disqualifications
Decisions
Waiting Days and Claim Linking
Optional Jobseeker's Allowance
Carer's allowance
Overlapping provisions
EU Regulations
Procedures Following Award
Credits
Taxation of Jobseeker’s Benefit

BREXIT impacts

Ireland / United Kingdom Social Security arrangements from 1st January 2021

The European Union and the United Kingdom agreed a Trade & Cooperation Agreement which contains a Protocol on Social Security to take effect from 1st January 2021. The Protocol provides for a wide range of social security issues into the future. On the 31st December 2020, the Convention on Social Security agreed between Ireland and the United Kingdom was commenced. Together these Agreements ensure, that all existing social security arrangements for Irish & UK citizens are maintained into the future. Ireland as an EU Member State, will extend on a unilateral basis the advantages of the Convention to Union citizens, as required.

For Brexit-related information see:

Item was unpublished or removed

For information on social welfare entitlements see:

Description of the Jobseeker’s Benefit Scheme

Description of Scheme

Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) is a social insurance scheme. It is paid weekly to insured persons who work part-time, casual or short-time, those whose employment is based around the school or academic year, retained fire-fighters and seasonal workers.

Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is available to those who are fully unemployed on or after 31 March 2025, whose last day of employment was on or after 28 March 2025.

Legislation

The main provisions relating to Jobseeker's Benefit are contained in Chapter 12 of Part II of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, and Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. No. 142 of 2007) as amended.

Administration

Jobseeker's Benefit is administered through the Department's network of Intreo Centres and Social Welfare Branch Offices throughout the country.

All guidelines for staff on the operation of the Jobseeker’s Benefit are issued by the National Processing Team: Schemes Policy Unit, Gandon House, Amiens Street, Dublin 1.

Qualifying Conditions

Qualifying Conditions In Detail

Fully unemployed people who are in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit on or before 31 March 2025, will continue to qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit until a person takes up, returns to employment or until their entitlement expires.

If a person is fully unemployed on or after 31 March 2025, with their last day of employment being on or after 28 March 2025, they may be eligible for Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB), and an application for Jobseeker’s Benefit will not be accepted.

If a person moves from Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit straight to Jobseeker’s Benefit where they have commenced part-time employment, the person is deemed to have satisfied the contributions for Jobseeker’s Benefit and the income used to determine the rate of Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit will be used to determine the rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit payable.

Time spent on Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit will be counted on the Jobseeker’s Benefit cumulative total (CT) days in the normal way. Each week of Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit will be counted as six days.

The following class of people will continue to qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit on and after 31 March 2025:

Part-time, Casual and Short-time workers.
Temporarily laid-off workers who are continuously laid off at specific times during the year.
Those whose employment is based around the school or academic year.
Retained Fire-Fighters.
Seasonal Workers.

To qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit a person must:

Be under pensionable age and are under 70 years if they were born since 1 January 1958 and have not drawn down their State Pension (Contributory),
Be capable of work,
Be available for full-time work,
Be genuinely seeking work,
Have sustained a substantial loss of employment,
Satisfy the contribution conditions,
Prove unemployment in the prescribed manner.

Unemployed

Jobseeker’s Benefit may be paid in respect of any day of unemployment which forms part of a period of interruption of employment (PIE) if all the conditions are satisfied.

A day of interruption of employment means a day of unemployment or of incapacity for work.

Any 4 days of interruption of employment, whether consecutive or not, within a period of 7 consecutive days, including Sunday is treated as a `period of interruption of employment' (PIE) and any 2 PIEs not separated by more than 26 weeks are treated as one PIE.

This means that a person must be fully unemployed for at least 4 days in any period of 7 consecutive days.

Where a person re-applies for Jobseeker’s Benefit within 26 weeks of a previous Jobseeker’s Benefit claim, they are entitled to receive the same rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit that was previously in payment subject to satisfying the conditions for receipt of the payment and subject to any change of circumstances and budgetary increases

Day of Unemployment

A day is not treated as a day of unemployment unless on that day a person is capable, available for full-time work and genuinely seeking work.

A person is not regarded as unemployed for any day in which they are engaged in self-employment, is working under a contract of employment or is in receipt of wages.

Public Holidays and Jobseeker’s Benefit

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 provides all employees with a minimum legally enforceable entitlement to paid holidays and public holidays. It repeals the Holiday (Employees) Act, 1973 and Section 4 of the Worker Protection (Regular part-time Employees) Act 1991.

Pay For Public Holidays for Employees

Full-Time Employees

Employees who work or are normally required to work on a public holiday are entitled to payment by the employer for the public holiday.

Employees who are not normally required to work on a public holiday are entitled to one fifth of their normal weekly rate of remuneration from the employer for the public holiday.

A full-time employee, who ceases to be employed during the week ending on the day before a public holiday, is entitled to be paid by the employer for the public holiday if they have worked during the 4 weeks preceding that week.

Part-Time/Casual Employees

Part-time or casual employees must have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks ending on the day before the public holiday to establish a statutory entitlement to pay in respect of a public holiday.

Part-time or casual workers are not entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit in respect of paid public holidays.

NOTE: Good Friday is a bank holiday not a public holiday therefore, employers are not legally required to pay in respect of that day. If the employer does pay in respect of Good Friday, Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable.

Public Holidays

There are ten public holidays:

New Year's Day
The first Monday in February, unless 1st February falls on a Friday, in which case, Friday 1st February will be the public holiday
St. Patrick's Day
Easter Monday
Monday in May
First Monday in June
First Monday in August
Last Monday in October
Christmas Day
St Stephen's Day

Holiday Pay/Accrued Holiday Pay

Entitlement to holiday pay is built up as a person works during the year. Therefore, a person who is let go on a temporary basis may have an underlying entitlement to holiday pay. Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable in respect of any day for which a person receives holiday pay.

Holiday pay legislation provides that pay in respect of holidays is required to be paid in advance. However, it is also open to an employee to make an agreement with their employer not to receive accrued holiday pay at the time of a temporary lay-off where they wish to take these paid entitlements at a later stage. In this type of situation, the person is considered to be on a temporary lay-off and the number of days for which the holiday entitlement has accrued should not be deducted until the paid leave is taken.

Examples:

i) A person from the education sector e.g. school warden etc. decides, with the employer's agreement, that they do not wish to receive holiday pay entitlements accrued at the Christmas/Easter etc. lay-off periods, until the summer lay-off at the end of June. In such cases, the number of days for which the holiday entitlement has accrued should not be deducted from their Jobseeker’s Benefit payment until they receive their holiday pay entitlements at the end of June.

ii) In some cases, e.g. factory work, with the employer's agreement, the employee may decide not to take their accrued holiday pay entitlement at the time of a temporary lay-off because they intend to take holidays with pay from this employment at a later stage. In such cases, the number of days for which the holiday entitlement has accrued should not be deducted from their Jobseeker’s Benefit payment until the paid leave is taken.

Holiday Pay Received on Return to Work

Certain employments have regular seasonal lay-offs where employees have an accrued holiday entitlement which is not actually paid during the period of the lay-off. For example, a temporary school employee who is laid off during the summer months may not be paid during this period, instead they are paid their accrued holiday pay entitlement at the end of the lay-off period.

If this situation occurs, the local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office should ensure that,before the end of this lay-off period, the number of days for which Jobseeker’s Benefit is paid is reduced by the number of days for which holiday pay has accrued. This is to ensure that a person does not receive Jobseeker’s Benefit and holiday pay in respect of the same period.

Temporary Lay-off

Employees who are laid off temporarily and are expected to return to the same employment at a later date, are not entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit in respect of any day for which they receive holiday pay. This applies even if there is no definite date of resumption of work.

Additional Holiday Pay Entitlements for Part-Time Workers

Part-time workers may also have an entitlement to additional holiday pay under the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Part Time Workers) Act, 2001. Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable in respect of any day on which a person receives holiday pay.

Treatment of the Additional Holiday Pay Entitlement for Jobseeker’s Benefit Purposes

Any additional holiday pay entitlement received by an employee in respect of any part of the lay-off period should be treated in the same manner as the accrued holiday entitlement, when calculating entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Calculation of Paid Holidays

Where a part-time employee is laid off and receives holiday pay from the employer, the number of days deducted from their entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit should represent the number of working days which the holiday entitlement represents. Therefore the number of hours for which they have received holiday pay should be divided by the number of hours worked per day in order to determine the number of days for which Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable.

Rounding of Days

When calculating the number of days for which holiday pay has been accrued or received, a part of a day should be rounded up to the nearest day, as appropriate.

Examples:

A person normally works 2 hours per day, and receives 30 hours holiday pay. As this has been accrued at 2 hours per day, the number of days for which Jobseeker’s Benefit is withheld = 30/2 = 15 days.

A person normally works 3 hours per day, and receives 40 hours holiday pay. 40/3 = 13.3 (rounded up to 14).

Hours Varied Per Day

Where the number of hours worked per day varies the total number of hours holiday pay should be divided by the average number of hours worked per day. In most cases, the average will be furnished by the employer. However where necessary, the 13 week period immediately prior to the date of claim, or a more representative period, may be used.

School-Related Employees

Casual and non-casual teachers and special needs assistants employed in recognised primary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools and Education and Training Boards (ETB’s) will be paid a separate payment in respect of holiday pay. Accumulated holiday pay will be paid at the end of the school terms at Christmas, Easter and Summer in respect of any holiday pay accumulated in the previous period.

Subsidiary Employment: Special Provision

A day is not normally treated as a day of unemployment if the person is engaged in any occupation from which they derive any remuneration or profit unless the following conditions are satisfied:

the occupation could ordinarily have been followed by them in addition to their usual employment, and
the occupation could ordinarily have been followed by them outside the ordinary working hours of his usual employment

and either

at least 117 employment contributions have been paid in respect of them in either the last 3 years or the last 3 complete contribution years immediately prior to the date of claim, or
the remuneration or profit from the occupation does not exceed €7,500 on an annual basis or €144 on a weekly basis,

In general, it would be deemed appropriate to consider an occupation/employment as subsidiary where the above conditions are satisfied and where both employments were carried out concurrently for a period of approximately 6 months immediately prior to the date of claim. In such circumstances it is possible for a person to be engaged in insurable employment or self-employment and still satisfy the unemployment condition.

Example:

A person is a factory worker (8am - 5pm) and also works at night as a barman. Their employment at the factory ceases but he continues to work at night.

It is clear that the bar work is a subsidiary occupation as it could be followed in addition to, and outside the normal working hours of their usual employment as a factory worker. If the condition as to remuneration not exceeding €7,500 on an annual basis or €144 on a weekly basis or the requirement to have at least 117 contributions paid in the relevant period is satisfied, the days on which they work as a barman may be treated as days of unemployment.

This provision relates solely to the determination of circumstances in which days may be treated as days of unemployment. The other conditions for receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit must also be satisfied before payment can issue.

Subsequent changes or increases in the level of engagement in a subsidiary occupation may affect its status, claims should be examined where there is a change or increase in that employment.

Night-Shift Work and days of unemployment

If a person works from one day into another, the day on which the longer number of hours are worked is treated as the day of employment, the other day is treated as a day of unemployment. If the hours of employment are equal for both days then the 2nd day is considered the day of employment, and the 1st day as a day of unemployment.

rHoliday Pay/Accrued Holiday Pay

Examples:

Holiday Pay Received on Return to Work

If this situation occurs, the local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office should ensure that, before the end of this lay-off period, the number of days for which Jobseeker’s Benefit is paid is reduced by the number of days for which holiday pay has accrued. This is to ensure that a person does not receive Jobseeker’s Benefit and holiday pay in respect of the same period.

Temporary Lay-off

Additional Holiday Pay Entitlements for Part-Time Workers

Treatment of the Additional Holiday Pay Entitlement for Jobseeker’s Benefit Purposes

Calculation of Paid Holidays

Rounding of Days

When calculating the number of days for which holiday pay has been accrued or received, a part of a day should be rounded up to the nearest day, as appropriate.

Examples:

A person normally works 3 hours per day, and receives 40 hours holiday pay. 40/3 = 13.3 (rounded up to 14).

Hours Varied Per Day

Where the number of hours worked per day varies the total number of hours holiday pay should be divided by the average number of hours worked per day. In most cases, the average will be furnished by the employer. However, where necessary, the 13 week period immediately prior to the date of claim, or a more representative period, may be used.

School-Related Employees

Subsidiary Employment: Special Provision

A day is not normally treated as a day of unemployment if the person is engaged in any occupation from which they derive any remuneration or profit unless the following conditions are satisfied:

the occupation could ordinarily have been followed by them in addition to their usual employment, and
the occupation could ordinarily have been followed by them outside the ordinary working hours of his usual employment

and either

at least 117 employment contributions have been paid in respect of them in either the last 3 years or the last 3 complete contribution years immediately prior to the date of claim, or
the remuneration or profit from the occupation does not exceed €7,500 on an annual basis or €144 on a weekly basis,

Example:

A person is a factory worker (8am - 5pm) and also works at night as a barman. Their employment at the factory ceases but he continues to work at night.

Subsequent changes or increases in the level of engagement in a subsidiary occupation may affect its status, claims should be examined where there is a change or increase in that employment.

Night-Shift Work and days of unemployment

Under pensionable age

A person may receive Jobseeker’s Benefit up to the day before their 66th birthday. Persons approaching pension age should be advised to apply for State Pension (Contributory/Non-Contributory), 3 months in advance of the relevant age limit.

A person between 66 and 70 years of age if they were born since 1 January 1958, who have not retired from employment or self-employment, may be entitled to receive Jobseeker’s Benefit where they defer drawing down their State Pension (Contributory).

Capable of work

For a day to be regarded as a day of unemployment, the person claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit must be capable of work on that day. A person is considered to be capable of work if there is no evidence to the contrary.

Available for full-time work

A person must be available for full-time work in order to qualify for and continue to receive Jobseeker's Benefit. There must be no legal restriction on the person taking up full-time employment (e.g. visa restrictions on taking up employment in the case of non-nationals). The onus is on the person to show that this condition is satisfied on an on-going basis.

A person is regarded as being available for full-time work if they are prepared to accept at once any offers of suitable full-time employment. While a person should be free to take up employment at once, a person may, in some circumstances require a day or two to make any necessary domestic arrangements.

It should generally be accepted that a person is available for full-time work, if:

They state that they are available for full-time work.
They do all that is asked to show compliance with the availability condition.
There is no evidence to suggest the contrary.

Payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit to Non-EEA Nationals

A work permit is no longer required for a Non-EEA National who makes a claim Jobseeker’s Benefit and is:

An asylum seeker who has been granted refugee status, or,
The spouse/civil partner of an Irish or another EEA national, or,
The parent of an Irish born child.
A person who has been given temporary leave to remain in the State on humanitarian ground.

They should have the following stamp, issued by the Department of Justice on their Certificate of Registration, stating:

"Permitted to remain in Ireland until..........."

Payment should not continue beyond the date the person is permitted to remain in the State. If a Non-EEA National works for a period of time and then loses their employment, the Non-EEA National can make a claim for Jobseeker’s Benefit, provided all other conditions for receipt of payment are satisfied. Payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable unless the person has permission to remain in Ireland.

Residence certificate –Irish Residence Permit (IRP)

Non-EEA nationals who are resident in Ireland for more than 90 days are required to have a permission to stay and to register this permission at a Registration Office. Upon registration, their passport is endorsed with the relevant Stamp and they are issued with a registration certificate.

The registration certificate known as the Irish Residence Permit (IRP) will be posted to the applicant.

Suitable full-time Employment

The person must be available for suitable full-time employment. In determining what constitutes full-time employment, regard should be had to the normal working week or normal working pattern in the employment for which the person is holding themself available.

When deciding whether the person is available for suitable full-time employment, the Deciding Officer should take into account:

The person’s skills, qualifications and experience,
The length of time that the person has been unemployed, and,
The availability of job vacancies that locality.

The Deciding Officer should have particular regard to the period of unemployment when deciding on availability. A person who has recently become unemployed would be regarded as available for full-time work where they are seeking to become re-employed in their usual employment, provided there is a reasonable prospect of this. However, if it was immediately obvious that there was no employment available within a specialised field in the local area, the person could be expected to broaden the search - either to a wider area or to other types of employment within a shorter period.

If there is any doubt about the person's availability, the Deciding Officer should seek further information from the person such as:

The type of work which they are seeking and the reasons for the any restrictions placed on the type of work which they are prepared to accept.
Whether there are domestic or other commitments which limit their ability to accept a suitable job offer.

Unreasonable Restrictions

A person may be regarded as not being available for full-time work if they impose unreasonable restrictions on:

The nature of the employment,
The hours of work,
The rate of pay,
The duration of the employment,
The location of the employment,
Any other conditions of employment which they are prepared to accept.

In any case where a Deciding Officer is of the opinion that the person has placed unreasonable restrictions on themselves, they should be interviewed and given the opportunity to respond. In some cases a person may demonstrate that the restrictions are not unreasonable and that they have a reasonable prospect of getting full-time employment despite such restrictions.

Retained Fire Fighters

Retained fire fighters are required, under contract of employment, to reside within 1.5 miles of the fire station and to commit to turning out to the fire station within 5 minutes. Such employment should not, in itself, be regarded as representing an unreasonable restriction on availability. However, retained fire fighters must be available for additional part-time employment within the 1.5 mile area AND/OR for suitable alternative full-time employment beyond it.

In summary, while employment as a retained fire fighter is not sufficient grounds for a disallowance on availability, this does not mean that persons so employed are exempt from availability criteria.

In terms of genuinely seeking work, the retained fire fighter should similarly be seeking employment additional to their employment as a retained fire fighter within the 1.5 mile area AND/OR should be seeking alternative full-time employment both within and beyond this area. In particular, a retained fire fighter should be required to provide substantial evidence that they are applying for and is genuinely prepared to accept full-time employment that would preclude employment as a retained fire fighter.

Jobseeker’s Benefit where a retainer payment is paid by an employer as agreed at the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court

Where a person is in employment that is subject to an agreement at the Workplace Relations Commission or the Labour Court, under which the person is retained in their occupation by their employer without undertaking any gainful employment for that employer, a person may receive total remuneration not exceeding €144 per week for a period not exceeding 13 weeks, without it affecting their Jobseeker’s Benefit payment.

Where a retainer has been awarded by the WRC or the Labour Court to a person and the retainer does not exceed €144 a week, this will not be treated as being a day of employment for the purposes of Jobseeker’s Benefit. The situation will be reviewed every 13 weeks to determine if the arrangement will be continued.

In order for this to apply, the person cannot undertake any work for the employer during this period.

Where a person takes Annual Leave for a period of a Temporary Lay-off

A different approach is needed in cases where the employee is to take annual leave during the lay-off period, as annual leave days are considered days of employment. If, for example, an employee is to take two days annual leave per week for a number of weeks, then the retainer should be paid in respect of the annual leave days. This will allow the employee to claim Jobseeker’s Benefit for the remaining days of unemployment. It is important that the retainer payment is linked to one of the annual leave days rather than applying across the whole week.

If a person chooses to take annual leave while on a temporary lay-off where a retainer payment is being made, the period during which the annual leave is taken is not included in the 13 weeks provision as outlined above. The 13 weeks period only refers to those weeks where the person is not undertaking any work or is not on annual leave

Special Provisions Regarding Availability

There are legislative provisions specifying the circumstances in which a person may be deemed to be, or is exempted from the requirement to be, available for work.

Courses of education, training or development

A person shall be deemed to be available for full-time work while participating in a course of education, training or development approved by the Minister provided that:

They are at leat 21 years of age,
They have been in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit for at least 6 months,

The course chosen must enhance the person's employment prospects. Courses must be approved by the Department's Case Officers.

Once a person has been accepted on a course, they must notify the Department by completing the Back To Education Allowance application form (BTE1), which is available from Intreo Centres or Social Welfare Branch Offices and the department’s website. The completed form should be returned to the relevant office for verification of the conditions regarding age and duration on the Live Register. The form should then be forwarded to a Case Officer for approval of the course.

In determining whether participation in a course is likely to enhance the person's employment prospects, the Case Officer should have regard to the individual circumstances of the person concerned.

A broad range of courses may be approved - from personal development or basic education through to general training or the acquisition of specific job skills.

Full-time day third level courses of education which are not:

Approved by the Department of Education for higher education purposes,
Approved for European Structural Fund purposes,
Recognised by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI Accredited)

may not be approved for the purposes of this provision.

Part-Time Education

Persons who wish to pursue part time courses must demonstrate that their participation does not restrict reasonable availability for full-time work.

Where a person in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit is attending a part time course under the Part-Time Option of Back to Education, on the understanding that the course will help to enhance their employment prospects, they should be encouraged to complete the course. It should be noted, however, that attendance on a part-time course under the Part-Time Option, is allowed on the clear understanding that availability for full-time work and genuinely seeking work opportunities must take precedence over course attendance, should a conflict arise.

Rehabilitation training

A person will be deemed to be available for full-time work on any day in respect of which they are participating in a course of rehabilitation training provided by an organisation approved by the Minister for Health for that purpose.

Drug Rehabilitation Programmes

A person participating in a recognised drug or alcohol rehabilitation programme may be deemed to be available for full-time work.

Voluntary Work

A jobseeker who engages in voluntary work within the State may continue to be entitled to a jobseekers payment provided that, in engaging in the voluntary work, they continue to satisfy the statutory conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work.

Examples of voluntary work in which jobseekers may engage include:

Helping the sick, elderly or persons with disabilities.
Assisting youth clubs, church groups, sports groups, cultural organisations, local resident associations.

The groups involved may be nationally organised groups or local voluntary or community groups.

Aims of the Voluntary Work Option

The aim of the Voluntary Work Option is twofold, namely – to encourage voluntary organisations to involve jobseekers to the greatest extent possible in their existing activities by creating new opportunities for voluntary work and to inform jobseekers of their freedom to involve themselves in voluntary work and to encourage them to do so.

Applying for the Voluntary Work Option

The jobseeker or the voluntary organisation/group involved should request an application form VW 1 from the Local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office. The completed application form should be sent to the relevant office and a Deciding Officer will determine whether the customer may take up the work in question without affecting entitlement to the jobseeker’s payment.

Decisions in relation to Voluntary Work

In considering an application, the Deciding Officer will determine whether the work concerned is voluntary within the meaning of the scheme and whether the jobseeker would continue to satisfy the statutory conditions for receiving the jobseeker’s payment. The Deciding Officer will need to be satisfied that the jobseeker is available to take up employment, if offered it, and that they are making genuine efforts to find work. This applies whether the voluntary work is full or part-time.

While it is not possible to lay down hard and fast rules as to what constitutes voluntary work the position should be clear in most cases. Factors to be taken into account will include:

The type of work involved,
The aims and standing of the voluntary body,
The weekly hours worked,
The amount of any payment received by way of out-of-pocket expenses

The voluntary work would normally involve only a few hours a day or a few days a week but full-time involvement in voluntary activities would not necessarily be ruled out. However, there should be no implication of Job Replacement or Cheap Labour. Any payment for the voluntary work should generally be limited to out-of-pocket expenses such as travelling expenses or meal allowances.

Persons on a course of education or training (part-time or full-time)

Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable where a person is in receipt of an allowance in respect of a course of education, training or development, including a course run by SOLAS/ Education & Training Boards. They do not continue to satisfy the conditions for receipt of a jobseeker’s payment on the grounds that they are not considered to be available for full-time work.

Where the person is not in receipt of an allowance, the claim should be examined to determine if they qualify for continued payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit under the Educational, Training & Development (E,T&D) option or the Part-Time Education Option (PTEO).

Spouse/Civil Partner/Cohabitant on a SOLAS/ Education & Training Boards Course

Where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant of a person in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit is in receipt of an allowance in respect of a SOLAS/ Education & Training Boards course, they are not considered to be a qualified adult dependant. SOLAS/Education & Training Boards are responsible for paying the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant and Child Support Payment, if applicable.

Spouse/Civil Partner/Cohabitant on other Training/Educational Courses

Where a spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is participating in a full-time or part-time course which is not administered by SOLAS/ Education & Training Boards, the full Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) is payable where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant’s total gross weekly income does not exceed €100.00 per week. Tapered IQA rates are payable where the weekly earnings are between €100.00 and €310.00. No Increase for a Qualified Adult is payable if the earnings exceed €310 per week.

NOTE 1: An Increase for a Qualified Adult is not payable where the spouse/civil partner/cohabitant is in receipt of a Social Welfare payment in their own right.

NOTE 2: Payments received by a spouse/civil partner/cohabitant in respect of expenses necessarily incurred in attending a course of education or training, e.g. travel and meal expenses, are disregarded when calculating total gross weekly income.

Jobseeker’s Benefit payable during the summer period and the reinstatement of Back To Education Allowance (BTEA) after the summer holiday period.

Back To Education Allowance (BTEA) participants formerly in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit are not entitled to be paid BTEA during the summer months.

BTEA participants, based on the primary payment being Jobseekers Benefit, who are progressing to the next year of their course or who are progressing from second level to third level approved undergraduate qualifications or from undergraduate qualification to BTEA eligible postgraduate courses will have their BTEA reinstated from the commencement of the new academic year irrespective of whether they were in receipt of an unemployment payment for the summer period.

The Back to Education Allowance is a non-statutory, stand-alone scheme.

Genuinely Seeking Work

A day is not treated as a day of unemployment unless on that day the person is genuinely seeking work which is suitable for them, having regard to their age, education, physique, location and family circumstances.

To satisfy this condition, it is necessary for the person to demonstrate that they have taken some positive action and is making genuine efforts to secure employment during a relevant period. The relevant period is the period in respect of which the person concerned has made a declaration that they have been continuously unemployed since the date of their application for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Steps required to prove genuinely seeking work

The steps which a person is required to take to prove that they are genuinely seeking work should be reasonable in their case and offer them the best prospects of securing employment. This will vary from person to person and from one period to the next.

In determining what are reasonable steps, the Deciding Officer should consider the nature and conditions of the employment sought and have regard to the individual circumstances of the person concerned in examining the steps taken to seek the type of employment in question.

When deciding whether a person has made genuine efforts and has taken reasonable steps, to seek employment, the Deciding Officer should consider all the circumstances of the case. Particular matters which must be taken into account are:

The person’s skills, qualifications and work experience,
The period of unemployment,
The efforts made in previous weeks to seek employment,
The availability and location of job vacancies,
The persons’s family circumstances.

A person's skills, qualifications and experience may affect both the type of employment being sought and the range of steps which they may reasonably be expected to take to seek such employment.

Refusal or failure to engage with Employment Support Services Measures – Penalty Rates Apply

Employment Support Services measures are separated out into two categories;

1. Refusal or failure to attend employment support servcies meetings, (Section 62A), and

2. Refusal or failure to participate in prescribed schemes, programmes or courses (Section 62B)

The Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended by the Social Welfare & Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013) provides for a reduction in payment where a person, following notice given by or on behalf of the Minister:

i) refuses or fails, without good cause, to attend at a meeting arranged by or on behalf of the Minister for the purpose of providing information to that person which is intended to improve his or her knowledge of the employment, work experience, education, training and development opportunities available to that person, or

ii) refuses or fails, without good cause, to submit to an assessment of that person’s education, training or development needs

iii) refuses or fails, without good cause, to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in

a) any scheme or programme of employment or work experience,

b) a course of education, training or development, which is prescribed for the purposes of this section and which is considered appropriate having regard to the education, training and development needs of that person and his or her personal circumstances

where a request is made by or on behalf of the Minister to that person (as a consequence of attendance for or submission to an assessment at i) or ii) above) to participate in, agree to participate in or avail himself or herself of an opportunity of participating in a scheme, programme or course, as the case may be, at a) or b) above.

Prescribed Employment Programmes and Schemes and Courses of Education, Training and Development

• Community Employment

• A course of training or development provided by or on behalf of SOLAS

• A course of education, training or development provided by or on behalf of an Education & Training Board (ETB) including VTOS courses.

• Such other course of education, training or development as may be approved by or on behalf of the Minister from time to time

Substantial Loss of Employment

To qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit, a person must sustain a substantial loss of employment. A person is regarded as having sustained a substantial loss of employment if they have lost at least one day of insurable employment in any period of 7 days as an officer of the Minister may determine, provided their reckonable earnings or reckonable income are reduced as a consequence of the loss of employment. In short, the number of days worked in any Jobseeker’s Benefit week must be less than the normal number of days worked prior to the date of claim.

Legislation Governing the Substantial Loss Condition

Section 62(1)(d) of the Social Welfare Act 2005 provides for the exemption of all casual workers and part-time fire fighters from having to satisfy the substantial loss of employment condition in order to be entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Classification of Casual/Part Time Employees for Jobseeker’s Benefit purposes

There is no situation where a person can be automatically classified as either a casual or a part-time employee. Each case must be examined on its own merits. In determining whether a person is engaged in casual employment, Deciding Officers should have regard to the following:

the person’s employment history,
any fluctuation in the number of days worked,
the existence of a written contract of employment or an unwritten understanding between the employer and employee,
the person’s commitment to a specific employer, e.g. membership of the company's pension scheme or membership of a trade union,
that if an employee is in receipt of a set wage, it is a strong indicator that their days of employment do not vary in line with fluctuations in their employer's business.

Determining whether there has been a Substantial Loss

The substantial loss condition must be satisfied at the start of all new Jobseeker’s Benefit claims, except for "Casuals".

Deciding Officers should:

Establish the normal level of employment.
Compare the level of employment in each Jobseeker’s Benefit week with the normal level of employment.
Payment should only be paid in any Jobseeker’s Benefit week where the substantial loss of employment condition has been satisfied.

Normal Level of Employment

For all Part-Time and Short-Time workers, the normal level of employment is calculated once at the start of each Jobseeker’s Benefit claim and remains for the duration of the claim. As the substantial loss condition does not apply to Casual workers, the normal level of employment is established at the beginning of the claim but not applied where there are days of employment.

During the course of a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim however, a change in circumstances may necessitate a re-classification from Casual to Part-Time. It will be necessary in these cases, to establish a normal level of employment.

Establishing Normal Level of Employment

The period over which the normal level of employment is measured is determined by reference to a representative period preceding the date of claim.

It is usual for the 13 week period immediately preceding the date of claim to be used for this purpose, where it is an accurate reflection of the normal employment pattern. If this information is not available from a local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office records, details should be obtained from the employer.

Where the level of employment during the preceding 13 weeks differed temporarily but significantly from the person's previous level of employment, it may be more appropriate for the Deciding Officer to choose an alternative period.

For example, where the person's level of employment fluctuated because of annual workflow patterns or unusual circumstances, the Deciding Officer should look at the record of employment over the previous 26 or 52 weeks.

Where the person had no employment during the preceding 13 week period, e.g. where they lost employment while in receipt of Illness Benefit (IB), the normal level of employment should be determined by reference to a representative period before the period on Illness Benefit.

Where a person obtained additional employment during the period immediately preceding expiry of Jobseeker’s Benefit and the number of days reduced again when the new claim was made, enquiries should also be made as to whether the additional days continue to be available, and as to whether the person is available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment. A period of 26 weeks or 52 weeks would be more representative in these circumstances.

NOTE:

Sunday is counted in establishing the normal level of employment. A loss of employment on a Sunday can therefore satisfy the "substantial loss" test.
A public holiday for which a person received holiday pay from the employer during the representative period should be counted as a day of employment when determining the normal level of employment, even if the person would not normally have been required to work on that day.

Rounding of Days

When determining a person's normal level of employment, a part of a day should be rounded up to the nearest day.

Short-Time Work Support (STWS)

Short-Time Work Support is available to assist employees in cases where their working days are reduced by their employer on a temporary basis. This provision is available under Jobseeker’s Benefit and is non-taxable. An individual’s eligibility to receive Jobseeker’s Benefit while in a systematic short-time working arrangement is dependent on the extent to which their working days have been reduced. To qualify for STWS, a person must meet all of the qualifying conditions for Jobseeker’s Benefit including the PRSI contribution conditions.

Where a person’s days of employment are reduced and they do not have sufficient contributions for Jobseeker’s Benefit under Short-Time Work Support, they can apply for Jobseeker’s Allowance, which is a means tested payment.

Short-Time work means work in which, for the time being, the number of days systematically worked in a working week is less than the number of days which is normal in a working week in the employment, typically reducing from a five day week to working three days per week.

Short-Time work must be systematic, and there must be a clear repetitive pattern of employment each week, e.g. 1, 2 or 3 days per week, every week or say 2 days in the first week and three days in the second week, with this pattern repeated every two weeks.

The person must also work at least one day in each week that they would normally be working, which is normal in a working week in the employment concerned.

Work on a week-on/week-off basis is not short-time work.

In determining whether or not a person is working on a short-time basis, Deciding Officers should consider:

Whether there is a history of full-time employment
Whether the persons’s decision to commence short-time work is voluntary. A person cannot be considered as being on Short-Time Work Support if they have voluntarily reduced the days they work in a week. Only a person who has been place on a shorter working week by their employer is eligible for STWS. Whether it is the intention of the employer that the short-time working arrangements will be temporary. The likely resumption date should be noted and the position kept under review.
During the course of a claim, regard should be had to developments within the firm/company. For example, if the employer has taken on extra staff or has staff on overtime since the introduction of short-time work, the systematic short-time arrangements no longer apply. In such cases, the person may be re-classified as a part-time worker.

Rate/Days of Payment for Short-Time Work Support

The number of days of Jobseeker’s Benefit payable each week to a short-time worker is limited to ensure that the total number of days paid and the number of days worked do not exceed five. The amount of Jobseeker’s Benefit payable in respect of each day of unemployment is one-fifth of the appropriate weekly Jobseeker’s Benefit rate.

Example:

A single person's working pattern is reduced from 5 days a week (Mon - Fri) to 3 days a week (Mon - Wed). 2 days Jobseeker’s Benefit may be payable at 1/5 Jobseeker’s Benefit weekly rate in respect of each day, provided that the person satisfies the qualifying conditions for the payment.

Short-Time Work Support workers and Substantial Loss

By definition, a short-time worker satisfies the substantial loss condition. However, where a person exhausts entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit, a number of factors must be considered for re-qualification purposes, including:

Does Short-Time Work Support still apply? If the employment pattern has not changed during the course of the previous claim, it is reasonable to regard the person as a part-time worker rather than a Short-Time worker.
The sub loss condition must be examined in respect of a representative period immediately prior to the date of the latest claim.

Week-on Week-off Working and Substantial Loss

In order to satisfy the substantial loss condition, the number of days worked after the date of claim for Jobseeker’s Benefit must be less than the number of days worked before it. If a person had been working continuously on a week-on week-off (referred to as WOWO) basis prior to the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim, and continues to work the same pattern of days thereafter, there would be no loss of employment, and Jobseeker’s Benefit would not be payable.

All week-on week-off claims should be reviewed on requalification following expiry of Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Re-classification due to a change in circumstances

Deciding Officers have discretion under the legislation to revise a previous decision where it appears that there has been a change of circumstances. The employment pattern of a ‘casual’ employee should be examined during the course of the claim. If it comes to light that there has been a change in the employment pattern since the date of the original decision which suggests that the person is no longer employed on a ‘casual’ basis they may be re-classified as a part-time employee and the substantial loss of employment condition applied. The decision, in this case, should be given from a current date. The Deciding Officer must establish the normal level of employment based on a representative period. The representative period to be used could be the 13, 26 or 52 week period immediately prior to the date of the re-classification.

A claim may be re-classified at any stage during its lifetime irrespective of the type of employment in which the person is engaged. It should be noted that there are no special arrangements in place to exempt any group of workers or specific occupations from being re-classified as part-time workers.

Incorrect classification of Casuals at date of claim

Where it becomes apparent to a Deciding Officer that a person was incorrectly classified as a Casual at the date of claim, the re-classification to Part-Time should apply from the date of the award of the claim. It will be necessary to establish the normal level of employment in these cases. In establishing the normal level of employment the correct representative period to be used is either the 13, 26 or 52 weeks prior to the date of the original claim.

Where the re-classification and application of the normal level of employment results in a change in the person’s entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit, a Deciding Officer should make a revised decision and also determine the date from which that decision is effective. Section 302 (a) (b) & (c) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 sets out the date from which a revised decision should take effect. The Deciding Officer determines the appropriate effective date, based on the legislation and the circumstances of the case.

In these cases, where the entitlement is reduced or withdrawn due to a failure to apply the legislation correctly and no fault can be attached to the person, Section 302 (c) should be applied from a current date.

Re-classification of Casual Workers following exhaustion of Jobseeker’s Benefit

Casual claims should be examined at the requalification stage in order to determine whether the exemption from having to satisfy the substantial loss of employment still applies.

Availability and Genuinely Seeking Employment for part-time/casual & STWS persons

Part-time, casual and STWS persons are required to satisfy the conditions of being available for full-time employment and genuinely seeking employment in the same way as all other categories of Jobseeker’s. Where a Deciding Officer is satisfied that the person is not making all efforts within the means available to them to secure full-time employment, the claim may be revised on these grounds.

Contribution Conditions

To qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit, a person must satisfy certain contribution conditions and the first condition applies to all Jobseeker’s Benefit claims.

There are two methods by which a person can satisfy the second contribution condition;

First Contribution Condition

A person must have at least 104 reckonable contributions paid since they entered insurable employment or optional contributions payable at Classes A, H and P or 156 self-employment contributions paid at Class S.

Second Contribution Condition

A person must have at least 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the Governing Contribution Year (GCY) and 13 of these contributions must be paid contributions

A person must have at least 26 reckonable contributions paid in both the GCY and the year immediately preceding the GCY.

If a person does not have 13 paid contributions in the Governing Contribution Year they must have the 13 contributions paid in any one of the following years:

The two tax years before the relevant tax year
The last complete tax year

The current tax year

A benefit year begins on the first Monday in January in any calendar year and ends with the Sunday immediately before the first Monday in the next calendar year.

Definition of Governing Contribution Year

The Governing Contribution Year (GCY) is the second last complete contribution year before the benefit year in which the claim is made.

For example, for claims made in 2025, the governing contribution year is 2023.

Third condition: Earnings/Income

For employees, the amount of the person's average reckonable weekly earnings in the GCY determines the rate of benefit payable. For the full rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit to be paid, the earnings in the GCY divided by the number of qualifying contributions in that year must be above the prescribed amount.

For self-employed people, the average aggregate income (excluding reckonable earnings, reckonable emoluments and any other income that may be prescribed) from all sources for the contribution year as estimated determines the rate payable.

Graduated Rates of Jobseeker’s Benefit are payable where the average reckonable weekly earnings are less than the prescribed amount.

Reckonable weekly earnings for this purpose are earnings derived from employment which was insured at PRSI Class A, B, C, D, E, H, J and P. The reckonable earnings in the GCY are increased by the pension contributions made in that year. Reckonable earnings also include earnings from CE Schemes insurable at class A or J and SOLAS Training Allowances insurable at Class J. Where a person had no earnings (only credits) or weekly earnings of less than €32.00 in the GCY, a notional earnings figure of €32.00 is applied. Reckonable weekly income in the case of self-employed people is income derived from self-employment which was insured at PRSI Class S.

Reckonable weekly earnings and reckonable weekly income cannot be combined to determine the rate payable.

Calculation of Reckonable Weekly Earnings

The total reckonable gross earnings, with no deductions, in the GCY is divided by the number of qualifying contributions paid at class Class A, H or P in that GCY.

Example:

In the GCY 2023, a person has the following record;

5 Unemployment Credits from a Jobseeker’s Benefit Claim

40 A1 Contributions with €12,000.00 earnings

7 J0 Contributions with €500.00 earnings

The average weekly reckonable earnings are calculated as follows;

Earnings: €12,000.00 + €500.00 = €12,500.00

Total number of Qualifying Contributions: 40A

Average weekly earnings = €12,500.00/40 = €312.50

In this example, the person is entitled to the full personal rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit.

If a person worked only one week in the GCY, earning €300.00, reckonable weekly earnings would be €300.00

Volunteer Development Workers: Special Provisions

Section 13 of the Social Welfare (No.2 Act) 1993 introduced special provisions for persons making a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim having been a Volunteer Development Worker (VDW) in a developing country.

Volunteer Development Workers who worked abroad for an organisation which was affiliated to the Agency for Personnel Services Overseas (APSO), do not require reckonable weekly earnings of a prescribed amount to qualify for full-rate Jobseeker's Benefit claims made on their return. In effect, this meant that full-rate Jobseeker’s Benefit was paid in such cases for:

• All Jobseeker’s Benefit claims made during the benefit year in which the person returned to Ireland.

• All Jobseeker’s Benefit claims made in the two succeeding benefit year, provided that all other qualifying conditions are satisfied.

NOTE:

Persons in respect of whom Class A PRSI contributions were paid prior to commencing the voluntary work are entitled to credits for the period spent abroad up to a maximum of 5 years.

Persons in respect of whom Class B, C or D contributions were paid prior to commencing the voluntary work may have class A contributions paid through APSO for the first 39 weeks of the stay abroad followed by credits for up to a maximum of 5 years.

The onus is on the person to contact APSO and have the record of work abroad submitted to the Special Collection Section of the Department in order to record the number of credits due.

VDW credits are not applicable where a person has two consecutive years, in which no contribution has been paid or credited, immediately prior to going abroad as a Volunteer Development Worker (Article 57(1), SI 312 of 1996).

Contributions paid while working in another EU/EEA State

Aggregation of Social Insurance Records

Article 6 of EU/EEA Regulation 883/2004 provides for periods of social insurance (PRSI) in one Member State to be credited to a worker's social insurance record in another Member State to facilitate qualification for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

A person must have been covered by a period of social insurance in the other country.

A person who has not paid into the Irish PRSI system must have paid at least 1 reckonable contribution since the date they arrived in Ireland, unless they are a cross border worker (see section on Cross Border Workers).

Social insurance credited to a person under this Article may be used to satisfy all of the contribution conditions for entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit.

EU Records Section, Buncrana, Co Donegal are responsible for the request of all EU and UK Records.

Details of the person's actual earnings abroad are not sought. Instead, the person is credited with notional earnings, currently €955.49, in respect of each week that they worked in the other Member State. These notional earnings are added to any earnings from employment in this State in the GCY when calculating the average reckonable earnings. The sum of both is divided by the number of weeks worked abroad in the GCY plus the number of weeks worked in Ireland in the GCY.

Claims

A person makes a claim for Jobseeker’s Benefit online through their verified MyWelfare.ie account or by completing the Jobseeker’s UP1 application claim form and returning this to their relevant Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch office. The form must be signed by the person in verification of the contents or, if unable to sign, their mark must be made and witnessed.

A person must provide the following information when applying for Jobseeker’s Benefit:

Their own personal details and those in respect of their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant only where an Increase for a Qualified Adult is being applied for.
Their details of availability for full-time work and efforts to find work
Details of any qualified child or children, if any.

Where a person wishes to claim a Child Support Payment for all qualified children, they must supply all income details for the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant. This information is required regardless if a person wishes to claim an increase for their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant.

Late Claims

A claim may be back-dated for a maximum of 6 months where the person can prove to the satisfaction of the Deciding Officer or Appeals Officer that they satsify the qualifying conditions throughout the period and that there was good cause for delay in making the claim.

Circumstances which may constitute 'good cause' for a delay in making a claim are not defined in legislation and Deciding Officers must decide each individual case on its merits.

In all cases, without exception, the maximum period that a claim may be back-dated in this way is 6 months.

See also separate guideline "Claims and Late Claims" on Late Claims.

Documentation required when making a claim

Public Services Card (PSC)

The department must establish and verify a person’s identity to a satisfactory level before a claim for Jobseeker’s Benefit can be paid. A person who wishes to apply for a Jobseeker's Benefit payment must have authenticated their identity to SAFE Level 2.

This applies to both online and paper claims.

To get to SAFE Level 2, a person must attend their their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office to complete their registration.

Public Services Card (PSC) Legislative Requirements for identity authentication

A person who fails or refuses to engage with the authentication of their identity may be disqualified from receipt of payment (Section 241 (1) (for new and repeat claims) and Section 247C(2) (for existing claims) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended)

Proof of address

When a person makes a claim, the address given by them is accepted and there is no requirement to provide further documentary evidence.

However, if there is a reasonable doubt in a Deciding Officer’s mind, they should request that the person produces evidence of address. This could arise because of the person’s history with the department, any unusual address changes or any overpayments resulting from address changes, etc.

If necessary, a review should be carried out if the Deciding Officer feels that the circumstances merit it. The reason for the review should be clearly recorded.

The onus is on the person to prove entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit and to produce any evidence reasonably required. Where Jobseeker’s Benefit is already in payment, the person is obliged to produce any supplementary information required.

Investigations of Claims

Where the person has confirmed that their employment reduced on or after 31 March 2025, the person’s employer is required to complete the UP80 form to confirm the reduction in their days of employment.

Rates Structure

Under 65 Years of Age and between 66 and 70 years of age

Jobseeker's Benefit rates are made up of a personal rate and and Increase for a Qualified Adult, and a Child Support Payment for each qualified child.

Personal Rate: The rate payable depends on the person’s average earnings in the governing contribution year. Where the average weekly earnings in that year are €300.00 per week or more, the full personal rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit is payable. Where the average weekly earnings were less than €300.00, the rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit payable is determined by reference to the appropriate earnings band.

Between 65 and 66 Years of Age

The maximum rate of payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit is payable to all those aged between 65 and 66 years. Graduated rates do not apply. Similarly, the maximum Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) rate is payable. Tapered IQA rates continue to apply where the qualified adult has income from employment, self-employment, capital, investments, etc. However, if a person does take up some part-time employment between 65 and 66 years of age, they are paid for the days of unemployment using the maximum rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Rates of payment are set out in the information booklet - SW19.

Cumulative Total and Duration of Payment

Cumulative total

The record of the number of days used in a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim is called the cumulative total (CT). Each day of unemployment is counted in the CT excluding Sunday.

For those working in part-time, casual or short-time employment, the CT increases by the number of effective days of unemployment in each week.

Duration

Jobseeker’s Benefit will last for a total of 234 days or 156 days depending on the total number of employment contributions a person has paid since they first entered employment.

If a person has 260 PRSI contributions paid since first entering employment, the claim lasts for a total of 234 days of unemployment.

If a person has less than 260 contributions paid since first entering employment, the claim lasts for a total of 156 days of unemployment.

When the maximum number of days has been reached, commonly known as Benefit Exhausted, a person must re-qualify before Jobseeker’s Benefit can again be paid.

Between 65 and 66 Years of Age

Those aged between 65 and 66 years of age may receive Jobseeker’s Benefit beyond 234 days or 156 days, where their entitlement to benefit has exhausted, whichever is applicable up to the date on which they reach pensionable age (66 years) provided they have not less than 156 paid contributions since entering employment and they satisfy the second contribution condition. Where the period of unemployment is continuous and is within 2 years of the previous Jobseeker’s Benefit claim, the same GCY applies. If the period of unemployment is broken then a new GCY applies.

Where a person is entitled to claim Jobseeker’s Benefit but decides not to in order to avoid their benefit exhausting, that person may be treated for CT purposes as if they have been paid.

The onus is on the person in such a situation to show that the failure to claim was for reasons other than to avoid the re-qualifying conditions.

Share Fishermen

Class A contributions

Share-fishermen who have been employed under a contract of service and have been paying PRSI contributions at Class A are entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit for 234 days or 156 days, where their employment has been reduced.

Class P contributions

Share-fishermen who have been self-employed and who opt to pay PRSI contributions at the Class P rate are entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed), where their self-employment has ceased.

Re-qualification for Jobseeker’s Benefit

A person may requalify for Jobseeker’s Benefit if:

Their full Jobseeker’s Benefit entitlement has expired
They have paid 13 employment contributions at Class A after the 156th day of the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim
They satisfy the second contribution condition (GCY) on the date of the new Jobseeker’s Benefit claim
They satisfy all other qualifying conditions

As a new Period of Interruption of Employment (PIE) has commenced, waiting days apply. However, if the person has claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) in the previous 52 weeks, they may be paid Jobseeker’s Allowance for the 3 waiting days.

Increase for Qualified Adult (IQA)

Definition of Spouse/Civil Partner/Cohabitant

a) Married couples – the term ‘spouse’ refers to each person of a married couple

b) Civil partners - A ‘civil partner’ is defined as “each person of a couple who are civil partners within the meaning of section 3 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010”. The term ‘civil partner’ only applies to a person who has registered their civil partnership.

c) ‘Cohabitants’ refers to couples who are living together (both the same or opposite sex). The term ‘cohabitant’ is defined in the Social Welfare code in accordance with Section 172 (1) of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act, 2010, which states that “... a cohabitant is one of two adults (whether of the same or the opposite sex) who live together as a couple in an intimate and committed relationship and who are not related to each other within the prohibited degrees of relationship or married to each other or civil partners of each other”.

Payment of IQA in respect of spouse/civil partner/cohabitant resident in another EU State

A person in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit may qualify for an Increase for a Qualified Adult where the qualified adult is resident in another EU member State. The IQA is determined in the same way as if resident in this State. EU form U005 should issue to the relevant State to request information in respect of the spouse, civil partner, cohabitant.

Payment of IQA in respect of a spouse/civil partner who is Non-EEA National

Entitlement to payment of an Increase for a Qualfied Adult (IQA) in respect of a Non-EEA spouse or civil partner of an Irish or other EEA National should be determined in exactly the same way as if the spouse or civil partner was an EEA national.

Payment of IQA in respect of a cohabitant who is a Non-EEA national (Cohabitation Case)

Where the cohabitant is an asylum seeker:

An Increase for a Qualified Adult is payable provided that the normal conditions for the increase are satisfied. The claim should be kept under review to examine the outcome of the application for asylum.

Where the cohabitant's asylum application has been rejected:

i) An adverse decision on an application for asylum may be appealed.

ii) If an appeal fails, a Deportation Order is issued.

iii) The applicant may then apply for a Judicial Review.

The IQA remains payable during the period of the Judicial Review provided all other conditions for payment of an IQA continue to be satisfied. The claim should be kept under review to examine the outcome of the application for Judicial Review.

Where a cohabitant has a restricted Visa:

Where a Non-EEA national enters the country for a specific period of time and for specific purposes they are obliged to show, before they are allowed to enter the State, that they have sufficient funds to support themselves for the duration of the stay.

In a cohabitation case, an application for an IQA in respect of a person with a restricted visa should be referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) to establish the details of the cohabitant’s income. When it is established that the normal statutory conditions for payment of IQA are satisfied, IQA may be paid.

The Department of Justice should be notified of the award of an Increase for a Qualified Adult in this type of case. In addition, the IQA entitlement should be kept under review.

Rental Disregard for Qualified Adults

A statutory rental disregard of up to €269.23 per week (€14,000 per year) applies where an Increase for a Qualified Adult is paid, in respect of rental income from renting out a room(s) in your home to someone who is not an employee or an immediate family member.

See Increase for a Qualified Adult Guidelines for more details.

Payment of SWA pending determination of entitlement

A person whose means are insufficient to meet their needs, or the needs of dependants, may to apply for payment under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. Substitute or interim payments are not paid automatically. Such payments are only awarded where a person has no means to meet their immediate needs, pending payment from another source, for example, where they are awaiting a decision on an application for a Jobseeker’s Benefit payment. Any interim payment, which is awarded pending a decision on an application for Jobseeker’s Benefit is fully recoverable from the arrears when the Jobseeker’s Benefit is awarded.

Disqualifications

A person may be disqualified from receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit in certain circumstances. Any period during which a person is disqualified is counted as part of the continuous period of unemployment.

A person who would otherwise be entitled to payment may be disqualified from receiving Jobseeker’s Benefit for such a period as may be determined by a Deciding Officer, up to a maximum of 9 weeks, for any of the following reasons:

refusal of an offer of suitable employment
reducing hours or days of employment voluntarily without just cause
refusal or failure to engage with Employment Support Services measures where penalty rates applied
If under the age of 55 and made redundant, the person has received a lump-sum redundancy payment in excess of a specified amount.

Refusal of offer of suitable employment

A disqualification of up to 9 weeks may be imposed if the Deciding Officer is satisfied that customer refused an offer of suitable employment. Each case is examined with regard to the particular circumstances that apply to it.

Voluntarily reduced hours or days of employment

A person may be disqualified for receiving Jobseeker’s Benefit for up to 9 weeks from the date of reducing their hours or days of employment voluntarily without just cause.

'Good cause' is not defined it is for the Deciding Officer to apply a common sense meaning to the expression in considering the case. Factors that may be taken into account could include the circumstances surrounding any changes in working conditions, the financial situation of the firm; whether leaving the employment amounted to constructive dismissal (i.e. the person left the employment following harassment/abuse from the employer).

Refusal or Failure to Engage with Employment Support Services Measures where a penalty rate is applied

A 9-week Disqualification of Jobseeker’s Allowance or Benefit may be imposed in circumstances where a person who has already had their rate reduced (Penalty Rate) for a period of not less than 21 calendar days (3 weeks) and continues to refuse or fail, without good cause, to engage in Group Engagement, one to one meetings, suitable education, training or development opportunities or specified employment programmes and schemes.

Receipt of Redundancy Lump Sum

Section 68(6)(e), Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005.

There is no disqualification from receiving Jobseeker’s Benefit irrespective of the amount of the redundancy payment for person’s aged 55 years or over.

A person, who has been made redundant, shall be disqualified from receiving Jobseekr’s Benefit for a period of up to 9 weeks from the last date of employment where:

- person is under age 55, AND

- has received or is entitled to a payment in excess of a prescribed amount, (currently €50,000.00) under the Redundancy Payments Acts or under an agreement with their employer. This amount includes the gross amount of all payments in respect of the redundancy, e.g. statutory redundancy, top-up or ex-gratia payments related to weeks of service, early encashment of pension entitlements (if from employer's funds), and any other money received under an agreement with the employer.

Note the following are not included:

- Encashment of pension entitlements with an independent insurance company if the person has paid into an insurance fund on a voluntary basis (i.e. independently of the employer).

- Payments made under legislation governing Local Government, Civil Service, or State superannuation schemes.

- Compensation awards under terms of Minimum Notice legislation (money paid in lieu of notice, or accrued holiday entitlements).

Where a person applying for Jobseeker’s Benefit may have an entitlement to a redundancy settlement which is not yet negotiated, the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim may be awarded (if all other conditions are satisfied) pending receipt of the redundancy settlement. When the details of the redundancy payments become available, the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim should be reviewed. Where necessary a revised decision should be made and a period of disqualification as appropriate applied, i.e. the period for which a disqualification would have applied if the details of the redundancy payments had been available at the start of the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim.

It is important in all such cases that the customer is advised of the possibility of the imposition of a revised decision.

The period of disqualification should date, in all cases, from the date on which the person became redundant. However, as the disqualification is being applied after the date of the claim, the decision will be retrospective and an overpayment should be assessed where appropriate.

Where a redundancy payment is made in instalments, the person should be informed that the period of disqualification may be revised upwards on receipt of further/final instalments of Ex-Gratia payments.

Period of Disqualification - Redundancy

It should be noted that, while the imposition of a disqualification is mandatory, the duration of the disqualification is discretionary and may range from one day up to the maximum period of 9 weeks.

As the disqualification relates to persons under a certain age (55 years) who receive payments in excess of a certain amount (currently €50,000), it is reasonable for Deciding Officers to have regard to both of these factors when making a determination as to the appropriate period of disqualification.

Amount of redundancy received

In order to facilitate a degree of consistency with regard to the application of the legislation, the following schedule may be used as a guide to what might be considered to be an appropriate period of disqualification, having regard to the gross amount of redundancy received:

The disregard that applies to Jobseeker's Benefit recipients is as follows:

Amount of Redundancy Payment Period of Disqualification

New Banding

€50,000.00 - €55,000	1 Week
€55,000.01 - €60,000	2 Weeks
€60,000.01 - €65,000	3 Weeks
€65,000.01 - €70,000	4 Weeks
€70,000.01 - €75,000	5 Weeks
€75,000.01 - €80,000	6 Weeks
€80,000.01 - €85,000	7 Weeks
€85,000.01 - €90,000	8 Weeks
€90,000.01 and over	9 Weeks

In cases where the person intends to use some of the redundancy payment to clear or reduce debts which have accrued, it is reasonable for Deciding Officers to offset these debts against the amount received before determining an appropriate period of disqualification, e.g. arrears of mortgage or rent, arrears of telephone/electricity/gas bills and particularly debts to moneylenders. Regard may similarly be had to costs related to any exceptional needs, e.g. the cost of converting the person’s home to facilitate wheelchair access by a family member. Deciding Officers should verify that such liabilities have been cleared (i.e. the amounts actually paid) before offsetting them against the redundancy payment received.

It is also reasonable for a Deciding Officer to have regard to the age of the person in circumstances where they will reach the prescribed age (currently 55 years) during the period of the proposed disqualification. In such cases, the disqualification should cease to apply from the person's 55th birthday.

Example: A person receives a redundancy payment of €60,200. In the above schedule, the final €200.00 received increases the potential disqualification from 2 weeks to 3 weeks. If their weekly Jobseeker’s Benefit is €321.10 (Personal rate and IQA) and a 3 week disqualification is imposed, the person would stand to lose a payment of €321.10, an amount in excess of the €200 which put them into the €60,000.01 - €65,000.00 bracket. In this case, the person should be disqualified for 2 weeks only, thus bringing them into the €55,000.01 - €60,000.00 bracket.

NOTE: In all cases, the amount of Jobseeker’s Benefit withheld as a result of the imposition of this disqualification should not exceed that portion of the redundancy payment which brings the person on to the appropriate point in the schedule.

Cumulative total of days paid

In all the above circumstances, the period of disqualification is treated as if Jobseeker’s Benefit was paid throughout and the cumulative total of days of Jobseeker’s Benefit paid is continued for the duration of the disqualification. This means in effect that the maximum duration of Jobseeker’s Benefit entitlement for a person who has been disqualified for a period is 234/156 days less the period of the disqualification i.e. Disqualified for 3 weeks = 18 days, payment starts on day 19.

Credits

Credited Contributions are awarded for the duration of the above disqualifications, subject to the conditions of being available for, capable of and genuinely seeking work being fulfilled.

Other Disqualifications

A person who would otherwise be entitled to payment may be disqualified for the full period in the following circumstances:

employment on a Community Employment Scheme
imprisonment
absent from the State
involvement in a trade dispute

Employment on a Community Employment Scheme

A persons employed on a Community Employment Scheme is disqualified from Jobseeker’s Benefit while on the scheme.

Imprisonment

A person is ineligible for Jobseeker’s Benefit while they are undergoing penal servitude, imprisonment or detention in legal custody as they do not meet the conditions of the scheme.

Absence from the State

A person shall be disqualified from receiving Jobseeeker’s Benefit, including an Increase for a Qualified Adult or Child Support Payment for any qualified children, while they are absent from the State.

There are two exceptions to this disqualification:

Under 65 Years of age and between 66 and 70 years of age

A person may receive Jobseeker’s Benefit for 2 weeks in any calendar year while absent from the state.

A person is required to inform their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office two weeks in advance of their departure, and this can be done online through their verified MyWelfare.ie account. Alternatively, they can contact their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office to complete the JPRB30 Absence from the State form.

All payments should be made retrospectively. It is not necessary for a person to present themselves at the office after their return in order for normal payments to resume and arrears due to issue. If a person is absent from the state for longer than two weeks, they may be paid in respect of the first two weeks, but should be disqualified for any period abroad in excess of this.

Persons who have been approved for unpaid absence from the state outside of the standard periods i.e. are away for longer than two weeks, should be asked to attend the office upon their return. It should also be noted that offices retain the discretion to invite any person to return to the office after being absent from the state where it is considered that there is a valid reason for doing so.

It is not necessary for a UP30b to be completed in respect of a Qualified Adult who is absent from the State.

Between 65 and 66 years of age

People aged between 65 and 66 years and in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit may be temporarily absent from the State for longer than two weeks in a calendar year.

There is no time limit prescribed for those aged between 65 and 66 years. However, the absence must be temporary, and a person must not engage in gainful employment or self-employment while absent from the State.

Legislation does not define the length of time a temporary absence from the State is deemed to be “temporary”. However, it is up to the Deciding Officer to decide if an absence can be considered temporary having considered the particular facts of the case, including the reason for the absence and the person’s intention to return to the State.

A person aged between 65 and 66 years, including their qualified adult, can be absent from the State on a temporary basis for any duration during the lifetime of their claim. A person is still required to inform the Department of their intention to leave the State and must give an approximate return date. The UP30b Absent from the State form, must be completed but payment may continue to issue to the person for the duration of their absence.

Representing Ireland at an International Sporting Event

The disqualification shall not apply in respect of any period during which a person is representing Ireland at an international sporting event in an amateur capacity. There is no limit on the amount of time that a person may spend abroad engaged in such a sporting activity, but only periods of actual competition are covered. Training abroad is not covered, except in respect of final preparation and acclimatisation immediately preceding the competition.

An international event in this context means a competition such as the Olympics, Special Olympics, Para-Olympics, World or European competitions where the participants are formally representing their countries. The mere presence of athletes from various countries does not make it an international event.

Form UP30 must be completed two weeks in advance.

Involvement in a Trade Dispute

A person is disqualified for receiving Jobseeker’s Benefit if they have lost employment due to their direct interest or involvement in a trade dispute at their place of employment. The disqualification applies as long as the stoppage of work continues, except in a case where the person has, during the stoppage of work, become bona fide employed elsewhere.

This provision does not apply to a person who is not participating in or directly interested in the trade dispute which caused the stoppage of work.

Where separate departments exist or where branches of work are commonly carried on

as separate businesses in separate premises, or
at separate places

each of those departments are treated as a separate factory, workshop, farm or separate premises or place.

In these cases, if a lay-off occurs in one department of a company due to a stoppage of work in another department, persons who are employed in the department where the lay-offs occur but who are not participating in or directly involved in a trade dispute are not disqualified from receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit.

Procedure

In order to maintain a degree of consistency and because a strike in one place of employment may result in claims at several Intreo Centres or Social Welfare Branch Offices, when a person has lost work due to a trade dispute the claim should be notified to NPT Schemes Policy Section, even if that person is not directly involved in the dispute. When a number of similar claims are notified, a test case will be taken. However, each individual has the right to have their case examined and a separate decision made.

If a claim is made, the following information should be obtained for the benefit of NPT Schemes Policy Section:

1. Name of the Personnel Manager dealing with the dispute for the employer

2. Name and contact details of the Trade Union official dealing with the dispute for the employees

3. Any information available regarding which Trade Unions are involved, and which are not participating.

If a disqualification is applied, this decision remains for the duration of the dispute or until the person's situation changes.

Before a decision can be made on a claim, the Deciding Officer in NPT Schemes Policy Section contacts the employer and the union to obtain a background to the dispute and to establish all the facts of the case. The Deciding Officer will notify the Intreo Centres and Social Welfare Branch Offices of the decision on the claim submitted.

Where this disqualification is imposed, the period of disqualification is NOT treated as a period where Jobseeker’s Benefit was paid.

Strike Credits - Trade Dispute

Credited contributions are awarded to the person for the entire duration of the dispute.

Social Welfare Tribunal

The purpose of the Tribunal is to deal with cases where entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit or Allowance is refused by a Deciding Officer due to an involvement in a trade dispute. A person may apply to the Tribunal for adjudication on their claim.

In cases where a disqualification on the grounds of involvement in a trade dispute is applied, the person may appeal such a decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office or they may take their case directly to the Social Welfare Tribunal. See separate guidelines on Social Welfare Tribunal.

Where an applicant for Jobseeker's Benefit is disqualified, they are notified of the decision. It is very important that Deciding Officers give full details of the grounds (lost work through own misconduct etc.), the reason(s) for their decisions and that the evidence relied on is listed. Also, officers should be careful to distinguish between the grounds for the decision (lost work through own misconduct etc.) and the reason(s) for the decision.

Jobseeker’s Benefit Disqualification - course of study

Legislation provides that a person shall be disqualified from receipt of Jobseeker's Benefit while attending a course of study, including school or college holiday periods, and for the 3 month period after completing the Leaving Certificate or leaving second level education, except in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

pThe exceptions to this disqualification are:

persons aged between 18 and 20 years inclusive in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit for at least 6 months and are participating in approved courses of education, training or development AND

have not been enrolled in or attending an institute of education, for the purposes of completing a course of education or a course of instruction, within the 2 years immediately preceding the commencement of the course of study

Youthreach participants who complete their Junior Certificate or Leaving Certificate or who leave 2nd level education early
mature students - persons over 23 years of age on or before 1st January in the year in which the course of study commences are exempt from the student disqualification for the period in between academic years only. The student disqualification applies during the academic year

Deciding Officers should note that the disqualification for attending a course of study is completely separate to the availability condition. As mature students are exempted from this disqualification in between academic years only, they may be entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit during the summer holiday periods if they satisfy the availability condition in the normal way.

Decisions

Notification of Award

Decisions regarding a person's entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit are in all cases made by a Deciding Officer. Where benefit is awarded, full details of the award are notified to the person on form UP2.

Notification of Disqualification

Notification of disqualification is conveyed to the person in writing. With regard to an application for Jobseeker's Benefit, the principles of Natural Justice require that a person must be informed of any statement or allegation affecting the claim of which they were not aware and upon which a suspension of payment or unfavourable decision may be based. This provides the person with an opportunity to refute or comment before the case is referred for formal decision. A person is entitled to know the source of any evidence adverse to their case. The Natural Justice provisions pertain to fresh and repeat claims as well as to claim reviews. Each decision by a Deciding Officer is made on the particular merits of the case, having regard to its individual circumstances. A Deciding Officer exercises discretion and applies flexibility where provided for and appropriate.

A Deciding Officer may, at any time revise any decision of a Deciding Officer or an Appeals Officer if it appears to them that there has been any relevant change of circumstances or of new facts which has been brought to notice since the original decision was made.

Notification of Disallowance

Where a claim for Jobseeker's Benefit is disallowed, the person is notified of the decision in writing. It is very important that Deciding Officers give full details of the grounds and the reasons for their decisions and that the evidence relied on is listed. Also, officers should be careful to distinguish between the grounds for the decision and the reasons for the decision.

Natural Justice

Natural Justice requires that the person understands the procedure that is taking place, that their entitlement is under review, the evidence on which the revised decision is based, given the opportunity to comment on any evidence not personally supplied and have their reply recorded.

Concurrent Working and Signing Cases (CW&S)

Reports of CW&S whether received at Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office level or directly by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) are checked to confirm that the subject of complaint is or was claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit during the relevant period of unemployment.

Following the investigation by a Social Welfare Inspector, a report detailing the investigation is returned to the Intreo Centre specifying the days on which the person allegedly worked and in respect of which they should be disallowed. The report will also contain the employer's response and record of days worked. The person has the right to appeal their case to an Appeals Officer, following receipt of notification of a disallowance on Jobseeker's Benefit.

Recommendations as to whether a person should be prosecuted are made by a Social Welfare Inspector or Area Manager. Where a Deciding Officer imposes a disallowance in a fraud case which contains a recommendation for prosecution, the file is referred to the Central Prosecutions Section

Right of the person to a review by a Deciding Officer of an adverse Deciding Officer decision

The person has a right to a review of a Deciding Officer's decision if they supply new facts or fresh evidence. It is the policy of the Department to ensure that any person who is dissatisfied with the decisions made on their social welfare entitlements is provided with the means to have such decisions reviewed. The Department wish to encourage those who are dissatisfied with a decision to try to resolve the matter, if possible, with the Deciding Officer.

Those whose claims are disallowed or disqualified or awarded at a reduced rate are informed that if they have any new facts or evidence that has a bearing on their case, they may submit such evidence in the first instance to a Deciding Officer for re-examination and, if appropriate, for revision of the decision.

The notification of decision informs the person of their right to seek a review of the decision by a Deciding Officer. The person still has a right of appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office and may simultaneously seek a review by the Deciding Officer and lodge an appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

Appeals

If a person is dissatisfied with any decision made by a Deciding Officer with regard to their entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit, they may appeal the decision to an Appeals Officer. Appeals should be made within 21 days of the decision.

A person can appeal a decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office online through their verified MyWelfare.ie account.

The person must have a Public Services Card, a verified mobile phone number and an email address in order to get a verified MyGovID account.

Alternatively, a person can complete the SWAO1 paper application form and send it to the Appeals Office or to their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

The legislation governing the procedures to be followed in processing an appeal made to the Social Welfare Appeals Office requires a Deciding Officer or someone acting on their behalf to provide a statement to the Chief Appeals Officer showing the extent to which the facts and contentions advanced by the appellant are admitted or disputed.

Deciding Officer reviews following an Appeals Officer’s decision

Where following the Appeals Officer's decision, there are relevant new facts, which relate to a period other than that covered by the Appeals Officer's decision, the Deciding Officer may give a fresh decision. This decision must be substantiated by fresh evidence

Where, following the Appeals Officer's decision, the claimant submits new facts or fresh evidence, that relates to the period covered by the appeal, the case should be referred back to the Appeals Officer to consider revising the decision. If in doubt as to whether a letter from an appellant contains new facts or evidence the file papers should be referred back to the Appeals Officer for consideration.

Waiting Days and Claim Linking

Period of Interruption of Employment (PIE)

Definition of a PIE

A day of interruption of employment means a day of either unemployment or incapacity for work. Days for which: Jobseeker's Benefit, Illness Benefit, Occupational Injury Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Health & Safety Benefit or Invalidity Pension are paid are therefore days of interruption of employment. Days for which unemployment or disability credits are awarded are also days of interruption of employment.

Any four such days including Sunday in a period of seven consecutive days form a period of interruption of employment (PIE). This is known as the 4 in 7 rule.

Linking of Jobseeker’s Benefit claims

Claims for periods treated as one PIE under this rule are called linked claims.

Where a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim does not link to a previous claim:

waiting days are served
payment commences on the fourth day of the new PIE
the CT (cumulative total) of days commences on the first day of payment

Where a claim links back to a previous Jobseeker’s Benefit claim

no waiting days are served on the linked claim
the Cumulative Total number of days (CT) from the previous claim is continued
the rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit is the same rate payable as on the previous claim, subject to any budgetary increases, or changes in family circumstances

Where the claim links back to a different Social Welfare claim, excluding Jobseeker’s Benefit

Where the person was paid Illness Benefit, Occupational Injury Benefit, Maternity Benefit, Health and Safety Benefit or Invalidity Pension, or was awarded an unemployment/disability credited contribution in the 26 week period immediately preceding the date of the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim:

no waiting days are served
the CT of days commences from the first day of the claim
the rate of payment is based on the current GCY

Jobseeker’s Benefit linking to another Jobseeker’s Benefit through another DSP Scheme

Jobseeker’s Benefit may link to an earlier Jobseeker’s Benefit claim through another Social Protection scheme. This may happen as long as there is not 26 weeks or more where the person was not in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit or one of the following schemes AND there is not more than 2 years separating the two Jobseeker’s Benefit claims.

The schemes covered by this provision are;

Illness Benefit
Occupational Injury Benefit
Maternity Benefit
Health and Safety Benefit
Invalidity Pension
Jobseeker’s Credits
Incapacity Credits

Where two Jobseeker’s Benefit claims link in this way:

no waiting days are served
the CT continues from the earlier claim
the rate of payment is based on the GCY for the first Jobseeker’s Benefit claim

Periods disregarded for Linking Purposes

Periods on any of the following activities for up to 1 year are disregarded when determining the break between 2 Jobseeker’s Benefit claims. A person may have consecutive periods on different activities disregarded, once they do not spend more than one year on any one activity:

SOLAS training,
Community Employment
Part-time Job Incentive Scheme
European Voluntary Service Initiative

Periods of up to 2 years are disregarded when determining the break between 2 Jobseeker’s Benefit claims where the person was on VTOS.

Ineffective Days

Sundays are treated as any other day in the week, as a day of employment or unemployment as appropriate, previously Sunday was excluded.

The Jobseeker’s Benefit week runs from Thursday to Wednesday. The following is an example of a person’s signing pattern over a consecutive 4 week period. This person will not receive payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit as the days of unemployment are ineffective days, they do not satisfy the 4 in 7 rule.

Example (Sunday included)

	T	F	S	S	M	T	W
Week 1	O	O	O	X	X	O	O
Week 2	O	X	O	X	O	O	X
Week 3	O	O	O	X	X	O	O
Week 4	O	O	X	X	O	O	O

X= day of unemployment

O= day of employment

Optional Jobseeker's Allowance

Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is not available to those between 66 and 70 years of age.

Option of claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) instead of Jobseeker's Benefit (JB)

Where a person is entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit, they may choose to claim Jobseeker's Allowance instead provided they satisfy the Jobseeker’s Allowance means test. This is referred to as Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance.

The decision to avail of this provision should be made by the person. All relevant facts should be considered, including a possible entitlement to a higher rate of payment where the customer is entitled to Graduated Rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit and entitlement to Secondary Benefits.

There is no limit to the number of times a person may choose to opt for Jobseeker’s Allowance during the course of a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim.

Legislation provides that any day in respect of which a person receives Jobseeker’s Allowance, while having an entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit, shall be treated as though it were a day in respect of which Jobseeker’s Benefit was paid. Thus, each day on which a person receives Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is counted as part of their Jobseeker’s Benefit entitlement. These people, with the exception of those aged 65, will require 13 contributions paid after 156 CT days to re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Where a person opts for payment of Jobseeker’s Allowance in lieu of Jobseeker’s Benefit, the following procedures should be applied:

the person should be asked to complete Part 1 of [form UP23] while availing of the option and Part 2 when reverting to Jobseeker’s Benefit
the decision to opt for Jobseeker’s Allowance and the date from which it is payable should be entered on the UP5
when the Jobseeker’s Allowance claim is decided, payment may be authorised from the date of application
in cases where Jobseeker’s Benefit has been paid pending Jobseeker’s Allowance decision, payment should be adjusted to offset the amount of Jobseeker’s Benefit paid on account of Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance
the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim should also be authorised. The cumulative total of days in respect of which Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is paid is counted for Jobseeker’s Benefit purposes, as Jobseeker’s Allowance is paid on account of Jobseeker’s Benefit
the person may revert to Jobseeker’s Benefit at any time during the optional period until the 234 or 156 days are exhausted. This is not a new Jobseeker’s Benefit claim - it is a continuation of the original claim
when the person has been paid a total of 234 days or 156 days of Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance, entitlement to Jobeeker’s Benefit expires. In this scenario, the person must requalify for Jobseeker’s Benefit in the normal way.

Break in Claim

Where Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is in payment, care should be taken with repeat claims to ensure that entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit still exists. The linking period for Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is the same as for Jobseeker’s Benefit - 26 weeks.

Jobseeker’s Benefit pending Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance

Jobseeker’s Benefit may be paid while awaiting a decision on Jobseeker’s Allowance entitlement. When the Jobseeker’s Allowance claim is decided, payment may be authorised from the date of application. Payment should be adjusted to offset the amount of Jobseeker’s Benefit paid on account of the Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Cumulative Total of days claimed

Any day in respect of which a person receives Jobseeker’s Allowance while entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit shall be treated as though it were a day in respect of which Jobseeker’s Benefit was paid. This means that each day in respect of which Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance is paid counts as a day towards a person’s entitlement to 234 or 156 days of Jobseeker’s Benefit. Jobseeker’s Benefit entitlement is thus exhausted when the person has been paid Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance for 234 or 156 days.

To re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit, a person will require 13 paid contributions from the 156th day of the Jobseeker’s Benefit claim.

Reverting back to Jobseekere's Benefit

The person may revert back to Jobseeker’s Benefit at any time during the optional period until 234 or 156 days are exhausted. There is no limit on the number of times a person may avail of this option during the course of a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim.

Carer's allowance

A person who is claiming a Social Welfare Payment, other than Carer's Allowance or Carer's Benefit or being claimed for as a Qualified Adult and who is providing full-time care to another person may now apply for Carer's Allowance and retain their current payment in full. If they satisfy the conditions for Carer's Allowance, it will be awarded at 50% of the personal rate they would qualify for if they were not in receipt of any other payment. They will also be eligible for a Free Travel Pass and may qualify for the Household Benefits.

A person may not receive Jobseeker's Benefit and half-rate Carer's Allowance but they may be a qualified adult on this payment and receive half-rate Carer's Allowance.

See "Carer's Allowance" guideline for more information.

Overlapping provisions

Neither personal rate Jobseeker’s Benefit nor an Increase for Qualified Adult is payable to (or in respect of) a person at the same time as most other social welfare payments.

A person who is in receipt of Working Family Payment (WFP) may not be claimed as a Qualified Adult for their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant’s Jobseeker’s Benefit claim.

Exceptions to the Overlapping Rules

There are exceptions to the overlapping provisions in relation to Jobseeker’s Benefit:

Blind Pension

Jobseeker’s Benefit may be paid to a person who is also in receipt of a Blind Pension.

Disablement Benefit/Pension

Jobseeker’s Benefit may be paid to a person or in respect of a person who is in receipt of Disablement Benefit/Pension at the same time, but:

where an increase in respect of unemployability is paid with the Disablement Benefit Pension, Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable
where an increase in respect of a constant attendance allowance is paid with the Disablement Benefit Pension, Jobseeker’s Benefit is not payable
If there are any increases in respect of a qualified adult or Child Support Payment in respect of any qualified children payable on Disablement Benefit/Pension, Jobseeker’s Benefit may not be paid to or in receipt of that qualified adult or any qualified children

Guardian's Payment

Jobseeker’s Benefit may be paid to or in respect of a person in receipt of a Guardian's Payment Contributory or Non-Contributory, including Death Benefit by way of Guardian's Payment, except where the person who is in receipt of the Guardian's Payment is, at the same time, also in receipt of either–

Blind Pension
Death Benefit by way of Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension
Survivor's Pension
Deserted Wife's Benefit
Widow's (non-contributory) Pension
One-Parent Family Payment.

Child Support Payment is not payable on any social welfare payment, in respect of a child for whom Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) or (Non-Contributory) is in payment. Where a customer in receipt of Guardians Payment has an additional child(ren) in respect of whom they are not in receipt of Guardians Payment, an Child Support Payment may be payable in respect of that child(ren) so long as the Child Support Payment conditions are satisfied.

See Operational Guidelines: Child Support Payment for further details.

Jobseeker’s Benefit Top-Up

Where a person is in receipt of a reduced rate Widow/er’s Pension, Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension or One-Parent Family Payment due to means or reduced contributions, Jobseeker’s Benefit may be payable.

The Jobseeker’s Benefit payment, combined with the other payment, must not exceed the maximum rate payable on Jobseeker’s Benefit for the family circumstances of the person.

Credits

A person who does not qualify for payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit should be advised to sign for Jobseeker’s Credits provided that they satisfy the normal conditions

Jobseeker’s Credits are not available to those between 66 and 70 years of age.

EU Regulations

The EU Regulations apply to the following European countries:

Austria	Liechtenstein
Belgium	Lithuania
Bulgaria	Luxembourg
Croatia	Malta
Cyprus	Norway
Czech Republic	Poland
Denmark	Portugal
Estonia	Romania
Finland	Slovakia
France	Slovenia
Germany	Spain
Greece	Sweden
Hungary	Switzerland
Iceland	The Netherlands
Ireland	United Kingdom
Italy	Latvia

The EU regulations that apply to the countries listed above are 883/2004 & 987/2009.

Aggregation of Social Insurance Records - Article 6 of EU Regulation 883/2004

This article allows for a period of social insurance in one member state to be credited to a worker in another member state so as to allow that worker to qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit in that second country.

Overlapping Benefits - Article 10

This regulation deals with the possibility of a person qualifying for benefit in more than one European country based on the same period of social insurance because of article 6.

Transfer of Benefit - Article 64

Under this Article, a person who is fully unemployed and has been in receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit in one of the European countries for at least 4 weeks, may transfer this benefit to one of the other European countries for 13 weeks or 78 days, provided the person is seeking employment in that country. The person registers as unemployed in the country to which they travel and the competent institution pays the benefit to the person while they are seeking employment in that country.

Outgoing cases from Ireland

A person in receipt of Irish Jobseeker’s Benefit may transfer their claim to one of the European countries for up to 13 weeks or 78 days. The form U2 is completed in the Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office with details of transfer dates etc. and given to the person transferring their benefit. The person takes this form to the social services office of the country to which they are travelling to.

Incoming cases from another European country

Nationals of other European countries may transfer their benefit into Ireland. The rate payable to such persons is the rate that they are entitled to in their home country converted into Euro. These persons should provide a copy of the form U2 from their home country and this form should be sent to EU Records section for conversion/translation, where necessary.

Special Case – Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) Pending Action Under Article 6 or 64

If there is likely to be an undue delay in the processing of incoming article 6 or 64 cases, the person should be advised to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance in the interim. This Jobseeker’s Allowance claim is subject to all the normal conditions for receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance.

When the person’s Jobseeker’s Benefit entitlement is subsequently established, any Jobseeker’s Allowance paid should be threated as paid on account on Jobseeker’s Benefit.

If the person's entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit is lower than the Jobseeker’s Allownance entitlement, they may continue to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance in lieu of Jobseeker’s Benefit. In such cases, the Jobseeker’s Allowance is treated as paid on account of Jobseeker’s Benefit, and that Jobseeker’s Benefit is recovered from the person's home country.

Transfer from another EU country

Where a person qualifies for Jobseeker’s Benefit due to an aggregation of two social insurance records, and had been paid a foreign Jobseeker’s Benefit within 26 weeks of becoming entitled to Irish Jobseeker’s Benefit, the period paid on the foreign should be deducted from their 234 days or 156 days on Irish Jobseeker’s Benefit as the foreign Jobseeker’s Benefit links to the Irish Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Frontier Workers - Article 65 Cases

Article 65 of the regulations refers to a separate class of workers called `frontier workers'. Article 1(f) defines a frontier worker as any employed or self-employed person who works in the territory of a Member State and lives in the territory of another Member State to which the person returns as a rule daily or at least once a week.

Article 65 provides that where such a worker becomes partially unemployed (e.g. part-time workers), the state in which that person is normally employed is responsible for paying Jobseeker's Benefit. However, where a frontier worker becomes fully unemployed, the state in which they are resident will be responsible for paying the benefit.

A frontier worker who resides in Ireland does not require any Irish contribution to qualify under Irish legislation if they becomes fully unemployed.

Enquiries regarding the identification and processing of claims from frontier workers should be directed to EU Records.

Cross Border Workers

Under EU regulations, a cross border worker is a person who works in one State but resides in another but does not return daily or at least once a week, they return returns less frequently.

Cross border workers who are fully unemployed have a choice regarding the country in which they make an application for Jobseeker’s Benefit. They can claim in:

The State of Residence, or,
The State of their last employment

Seamen

A seaman is employed under the legislation of the country whose flag the ship is flying. An EU National working on a ship of another EU country is therefore treated as a frontier worker. An EU National, not resident in Ireland, and is not working on an Irish ship, who becomes fully uenployed and decided to settle in Ireland would be treated as a migrant worker transferring to Ireland.

Airline Workers

Airline crew are insured in the country in which they have their designated “home base”.

Procedures Following Award

Methods of Payment

Jobseeker’s Benefit is paid weekly in arrears.

If a person works on a part-time, casual or short-time basis and are over 62 years, your payment will be made into a financial institution or by cheque for administrative reasons.

If a person is temporarily laid-off, an educational sector worker, a retained fire-fighter or a seasonal worker, payment will made to their local post office.

Maintenance

Stop dates are inserted for appropriate dates a person reaches pension age, or a dependent child reaches 18 years of age.

If a cheque payment is lost or is not received by a person, they are required to complete a statement to that effect. A replacement payment will follow on foot of this. An agreement is also signed by the person in these cases that, should an overpayment of Jobseeker’s Benefit occur as a result of two payment instruments being cashed by them in respect of the same period, the overpayment will be recovered at the earliest possible opportunity.

Signing Arrangements

The Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office decides how often the person must sign a declaration of unemployment, where and at what times. A person may be disallowed for failure to sign on.

Text message reminders of their signing day are issued to persons who have disclosed their up to date mobile number to the department.

Where a person fails to sign on their signing day and has still failed to sign by the next payment run date, payment is suspended.

If the person contacts the Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office, they are asked to explain the reasons that they did not attend on the appointed day.

Where a Deciding Officer is satisfied that the person still satisfies the statutory conditions for Jobseeker's Benefit, the payment suspension is removed and payment will issue. If there is any change in the payment amount, the unemployment pattern is amended before the payment issues.

Regular failure to attend on the appointed signing day may result in loss of payment.

Proving unemployment in the prescribed manner

It is a requirement that a person proves unemployment by attending their Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office, or another designated place, on a day and at a time that an officer of the Minister may direct for the purpose of making a written declaration that they have been continuously unemployed since last signing on or that they expect to be unemployed for a future period.

See paragraph above on "Signing Arrangements".

Certification

Evidence of efforts to find work must be submitted by the person to the Deciding Officer when requested on a periodic basis. Such evidence would include responses to job applications, results of interviews, and list of employers that have been contacted regarding employment.

A person who is working part of the week and claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit for the days that they are unemployed are required to submit online declarations through Mywelfare.ie. Alternatively, a person can submit weekly dockets certified by their employer stating the days that they were employed in a specified 7 day period to their local Intreo Office or Social Welfare Branch Office.

Review

A person's entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit is reviewed on a continuing basis to ensure that they continue to satisfy the conditions of entitlement.

A review may be carried out where doubt arises about fulfilment of any of the scheme conditions.

Suspension of payment

Where it appears that a question has arisen or may arise as to whether the conditions for receipt of Jobseeker’s Benefit are or were fulfilled, or whether a decision should be revised, payment of Jobseeker’s Benefit may be suspended in whole or in part until the question has been decided.

Credits

Credited Contributions are not available to those between 66 and 70 years of age.

What are credits?

A credit is awarded for every 6 days of declared unemployment in a contribution year, whether these day are consecutive or not. However, days of unemployment in a contribution week in which a PRSI contribution is paid cannot be used for this purpose.

Credited Contributions are awarded for the duration of disqualifications, subject to the conditions of being available for, capable of and genuinely seeking work, being fulfilled.

Credited contributions may be awarded under a number of conditions to persons who have entered insurance. These credits may be used to satisfy the second contribution condition for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

In order to be awarded Jobseeker’s Benefit credits, a person must:

Have 1 PRSI contribution paid at the appropriate class.
Have a paid or credits contrbituion in the last 2 complete contribution years. If not, a further 26 PRSI contributions are required.

Credits are awarded for;

periods of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed), Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds, Illness Benefit, Invalidity Pension, Occupational Injury Benefit & Maternity Benefit
periods of registered unemployment where a person is signing for Jobseeker’s Credits only and are available for full-time work and are capable genuinely seeking work
periods of registered incapacity of work where a person is in receipt of Illness Benefit Credit only

Calculating Credits

The number of contributions to be credited to a person in any contribution year is one sixth of the total number of days of incapacity or of proved unemployment, or of both, as the case may be, in the Governing Contribution Year. However, days of unemployment in a contribution week in which a PRSI contribution is paid cannot be used for this purpose.

(See also separate guideline on Credits Awarded)

Strike Credits

Credited contributions are awarded to the person for the entire duration of the dispute.

Overlaps of Weeks of Insurable Employment and Credits

There are cases where the number of credits which are recorded from weeks of unemployment exceed 52. This will indicate that the person was concurrently working and signing. These cases are referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for investigation.

Natural Justice requires that the person understands the procedure that is taking place, that their entitlement is under review and in the case of a revised decision, the evidence on which the revised decision is based. They must be given the opportunity to comment on any evidence not personally supplied and have their reply recorded.

Special Award of Credits Week on / Week off

Persons who work week on/week off may receive a credit for each week of proved unemployment regardless of the contribution week. Where a person was on week on/week off during the GCY, the DO should ensure that the contribution conditions are fulfilled and the correct number of credits are awarded.

(See also separate guideline on "Credits Award")

Pre-Entry Credits (PECs)

Persons, who have paid PRSI at Class A, H or P for the first time between the start of the relevant GCY and the date of the claim, are entitled to credited contributions in order to satisfy the 2nd contribution condition for Jobseeker’s Benefit. These are called Pre-Entry Credit’s (PECs).

When it is confirmed that 104 contributions, have been paid, PEC's are awarded from the beginning of the contribution year in which the person started work up to the actual date of entry into employment together with the 2 previous contribution years.

Example:

A person starts work for the first time on the 5 September 2023, makes a Jobseeker’s Benefit claim in March 2025.

PECs can be awarded from 01 January 2023 to 04 September 2023, the 2023 contribution year, and for the 2022 and 2021 contribution years.

Year	Credits
2023	35 Pecs
2022	52 Pecs
2021	52 Pecs

Student Credits

Student credits are awarded where the person was a full-time student during the relevant GCY and had contributions paid prior to attending college or during the period spent at college. The conditions for the award of student credits are as follows:

• The person must have had a previous employment and paid a PRSI contribution at Class A.

• The course must have been full-time which commenced before the person was 23 years.

• The person must have re-entered insurable employment after the course of education ceased.

• A letter from the college must be submitted to confirm duration of the course.

Example:

A person was a student from September 2020 to 17 June 2024 and re–entered insurable employment, paying a PRSI contribution at Class A, 01 February 2025. Customer made a claim for Jobseeker’s Benefit on 01 March 2025.

Person’s record when student credits are awarded:

Year	Credits
2023	20A1 + 32 Student Credits
2024	12A1 + 40 Student Credits
2025	---- 15 Student Credits

Student credits are awarded from the beginning of the contribution year up to the date the person re-enters insurable employment, and for the previous two complete tax years. Student credits may be awarded once only.

Taxation of Jobseeker’s Benefit

A person may be liable for Income Tax on all their Jobseeker’s Benefit payment. The department will pay Jobseeker’s Benefit to a person without deducting tax.

The department will, however, notify Revenue of the weekly taxable amount of Jobseeker’s Benefit to be taken into account for income tax purposes. This means that a person does not have to do anything for the correct tax to be paid.

Revenue reduces a person’s annual tax credits and rate band on their Tax Credit Certificate to take account of any taxable DSP payments.

Revenue will also make an amended Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN) available to a person’s employer or pension provider so they can collect any tax due.

In the case of a married couple who are jointly assessed, the tax credits and rate band of the working spouse may be reduced to take account of any taxable DSP payments their spouse is in receipt of.

Information about the taxation of social protection payments is available from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and on the Jobs and Pensions page www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions.

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Operational Guidelines: Jobseeker's Benefit

BREXIT impacts

Description of the Jobseeker’s Benefit Scheme

Description of Scheme

Legislation

Administration

Qualifying Conditions

Qualifying Conditions In Detail

Unemployed

Day of Unemployment

Public Holidays and Jobseeker’s Benefit

Pay For Public Holidays for Employees

Holiday Pay/Accrued Holiday Pay

Under pensionable age

Capable of work

Available for full-time work

Special Provisions Regarding Availability

Voluntary Work

Genuinely Seeking Work

Short-Time Work Support (STWS)

Contribution Conditions

Contributions paid while working in another EU/EEA State

Claims

Late Claims

Investigations of Claims

Rates Structure

Cumulative Total and Duration of Payment

Re-qualification for Jobseeker’s Benefit

Increase for Qualified Adult (IQA)

Disqualifications

Refusal of offer of suitable employment

Voluntarily reduced hours or days of employment

Refusal or Failure to Engage with Employment Support Services Measures where a penalty rate is applied

Receipt of Redundancy Lump Sum

Cumulative total of days paid

Credits

Other Disqualifications

Employment on a Community Employment Scheme

Imprisonment

Absence from the State

Under 65 Years of age and between 66 and 70 years of age

Between 65 and 66 years of age

Representing Ireland at an International Sporting Event

Involvement in a Trade Dispute

Procedure

Strike Credits - Trade Dispute

Social Welfare Tribunal

Jobseeker’s Benefit Disqualification - course of study

Decisions

Notification of Award

Notification of Disqualification

Notification of Disallowance

Natural Justice

Concurrent Working and Signing Cases (CW&S)

Right of the person to a review by a Deciding Officer of an adverse Deciding Officer decision

Appeals

Deciding Officer reviews following an Appeals Officer’s decision

Waiting Days and Claim Linking

Period of Interruption of Employment (PIE)

Definition of a PIE

Linking of Jobseeker’s Benefit claims

Periods disregarded for Linking Purposes

Ineffective Days

Optional Jobseeker's Allowance

Option of claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) instead of Jobseeker's Benefit (JB)

Break in Claim

Jobseeker’s Benefit pending Optional Jobseeker’s Allowance

Cumulative Total of days claimed

Reverting back to Jobseekere's Benefit

Carer's allowance

Overlapping provisions

Exceptions to the Overlapping Rules

Blind Pension

Disablement Benefit/Pension

Guardian's Payment

Jobseeker’s Benefit Top-Up

Credits

EU Regulations

Aggregation of Social Insurance Records - Article 6 of EU Regulation 883/2004