Update on payments awarded for COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit

342,500 receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week

€99 million is paid out in PUP payments

Overall total paid in PUP reaches €4 billion

Quickest and easiest way to apply for PUP is online at MyWelfare.ie

Earnings Reference Period for employees extended to September 2020

This week, the Department of Social Protection has issued payments valued at €99 million, up from €95.5 million last week, to 342,505 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). The total paid in PUP to date, including this week’s payments, is €4 billion.

The number of people receiving a PUP payment this week represents an increase of just over 12,500 on the 330,000 people paid last week.

The sector with the highest number of people receiving a PUP payment this week is Accommodation and Food Service Activities (100,994), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (55,516) and Other Sectors, for example, hairdressers and beauty salons (30,141).

This week’s figures are in addition to the 203,172 people who were reported on the Live Register as of the end of October. All COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments issued will be in recipients’ bank accounts or at their local post office tomorrow, Tuesday 10 November.

Commenting on this week’s figures, Minister Humphreys said:

The Minister continued:

PUP Payment Rates

PUP is paid at four rates. With effect from 16 October:

• those with prior gross weekly earnings below €200 will continue to receive a rate of €203 per week
• those with prior gross weekly earnings of €200 to €299.99 will continue to receive €250 per week
• those with prior gross weekly earnings of €300 to €399.99 will continue to receive €300 per week
• those with prior gross weekly earnings of €400 or more will receive a rate of €350 per week

PUP is paid weekly in arrears with applications received up to close of business on Thursday in any week being processed for payment on the following Tuesday. Applications received after Thursday each week, are processed as part of the following week’s claims and paid in the next week after that.

Currently prior weekly earnings have been assessed in the case of employees, based on Revenue earnings data for 2019 and for January and February 2020. The average weekly pay for 2019 is calculated and the same is done for January and February 2020. The department then uses the calculation which gives the person the highest weekly rate of income from these reference periods as the basis for calculating their PUP entitlement.

In the case of self-employed people, earnings have been assessed based on the 2019 and 2018 earnings returns to Revenue with the higher figure being used to determine the payment rate.

Any person, including any self-employed person, who believes that their new payment rate does not accurately reflect their prior earnings can contact the department to request a review of earnings and forward all supporting documents, which will be matched with Revenue records. They can contact the department by:

• emailing PUPRerate@welfare.ie
• writing to Pandemic Unemployment Rerate Requests, DSP, Intreo Centre, Cork Road, Waterford
• calling the Helpline at 1890 800 024 which is open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday

Extended Reference Period

Regulations are currently being finalised that will extend the 2020 earnings reference period for employees to September 2020.

This will mean that people who only commenced employment after February 2020 but have now been laid-off due to increased restrictions can have their payment rate fixed by reference to their earnings in the period March to September 2020.

The regulations will also provide that people who may have been in employment before February 2020 but whose earnings have reduced in the period since February can still have their PUP payment rate set by reference to their earlier, higher, earnings.

As self-employment earnings are filed with Revenue on an annual basis the assessment of self-employed earnings will continue as before to be based on the best of a person’s 2018 or 2019 earnings. Any earnings a person may have received as an employee during 2019 will also be considered and added to their self-employment earnings for the purpose of setting the appropriate PUP payment rate.

Self-employed people can also continue to earn up to €480 (net) per month while in receipt of PUP, take up the Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme or avail of standard jobseeker payments.

People returning to work

In the past seven days, some 3,700 people closed their PUP, 2,319 of whom stated that they were doing so because they are returning to work.

The department continues to remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly.

The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via MyWelfare.ie. Any worker returning to work with an enquiry about closing their claim, can contact the department’s dedicated income support helpline at 1890 800 024 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

The largest cohort of people who closed their claims to return to work is in the 25-34 age group (620), followed by those aged 35-44 (534). Full details are available at Appendix 8.

Employment supports available for when people return to work

There are a range of supports for the self-employed who are receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and who are looking to restart their business. In order to reduce the risk of moving from the certainty of the PUP payment to the uncertainty of trading income, self-employed people on PUP, including those who work in the arts/entertainment industry, taxi drivers and others, can now earn up to €480 per month, while retaining their full PUP entitlement.

In addition, the Part-Time Job Incentive scheme is available to self-employed people who come off PUP or a jobseeker’s payment. This scheme, which allows a person to receive a partial jobseeker’s payment, while retaining employment income, may be particularly suited in circumstances where a self-employed person’s income exceeds the €480 per month income threshold on PUP.

Employees who satisfy the relevant criteria, may claim casual (that is, part-time) jobseeker’s payments or Short-Time Work Support payments for days of unemployment, even where their employer is claiming the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme for days of employment. The normal scheme rules and application processes for casual jobseeker payments and Short-Time Work Support apply, including completion of the relevant forms by the employer to certify days of employment and unemployment.

Applying for PUP

To apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the easiest and quickest way is to do so online at MyWelfare.ie. When applying, people should provide the name of their employer and details of their last day of employment.

In the interests of the public health advice and observing social distancing people are asked, if possible, not to attend their local Intreo Centre. Instead, they should avail of the online services available through MyWelfare.ie.

COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit Payment

Since March, a cumulative total of 84,803 people under the age of 66 have been medically certified for receipt of the COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit.

Today, some 3,032 people are currently in receipt of an Enhanced Illness Benefit payment.

The number of people medically certified to receive the Enhanced Illness Benefit has increased in every county again this week, the greatest number being in Dublin (23,495), followed by Cork (9,220), Galway (5,197), Kildare (4,173) and Meath (3,386).

There has also been an increase in every sector affected by the COVID-19 virus again this week. The sectors with the greatest number of people medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 Illness Benefit payment are Wholesale and Retail Trade (18,178) and Human Health and Social Work (15,772), followed by Manufacturing (11,707). Full details are at Appendices 9, 10 and 11.

ENDS

• Appendix 1 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments by County
• Appendix 2 - Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Sector
• Appendix 3 - Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Age Profile
• Appendix 4 - Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates by gender
• Appendix 5 - Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates by age
• Appendix 6 - Analysis of People who Closed their PUP Claim to Return to Work
• Appendix 7 - Analysis of Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Sector
• Appendix 8 - Analysis of Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments Age Profile
• Appendix 9 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments by County
• Appendix 10 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments by Sector
• Appendix 11 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments Age Profile

Appendix 1 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments

There are 342,505 people in receipt a Pandemic Unemployment Payment of which 172,923 are female and 169,582 are male.

County Breakdown

Appendix 2 – Pandemic Unemployment Payments - Sector Breakdown

The sector with the highest number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is Accommodation and Food Service Activities (100,994) followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (55,516) and Other Sectors, for example, hairdressers and beauty salons (30,141).

Sector Breakdown

Appendix 3 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment - Age Profile

Appendix 4 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates breakdown by gender

Appendix 5 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates breakdown by age

Appendix 6 – Analysis of Closed PUP payments to return to Work

Around 2,319 people who have closed their account for return to work since 1 November will receive a Pandemic Unemployment Payment tomorrow, 10 November. Of these 1,291 are male and 1,028 are female.

County Breakdown

Appendix 7 – Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments - Sector Breakdown

The top three sectors from which employees closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment in the week ending 10 November to return to work are Accommodation and Food Service Activities (405), Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles (359) and Manufacturing (242).

Appendix 8 – Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments to return to work – Age Profile

Appendix 9 - Analysis of COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit

To date, 84,803 people have been medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 related Illness Benefit payment, of whom 46,667 are female and 38,136 are male.

Some 3,032 people are currently in receipt of an Enhanced Illness Benefit payment.

County Breakdown (based on the county recorded on the Illness Benefit certificate)

Appendix 10 – COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit - Sector Breakdown

The two sectors with the highest number of people who have been medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 Illness Benefit payment to date are Wholesale and Retail Trade (18,178) and Human Health and Social Work (15,772), followed by Manufacturing (11,707).

Sector Breakdown

Appendix 11 – Enhanced Illness Benefit - Age Profile