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Illness Benefit is a scheme to support you if you cannot work in the short term if you are ill.
Your illness must be certified by a doctor.
Illness Benefit is not linked to your employer’s policy on pay for sick leave.
Illness Benefit is paid weekly. It does not have a set payment day and can be paid Monday to Saturday depending on when the claim is registered and the first day of your illness.
Whether your employer pays you or not while you are out sick from work, you should claim Illness Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming ill.
If your income is too low to meet your needs while you are waiting for a decision on your claim for Illness Benefit, you may be entitled to basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
This is a weekly payment for people who do not have enough income to meet their basic needs and the needs of their partner or children.
To qualify for Illness Benefit, you must meet conditions related to:
You must be under pensionable age which is currently 66.
You must have at least 104 class A, E, H or P social insurance (PRSI) contributions paid since first starting work.
You must also meet either Condition 1 or Condition 2 below:
You must have 39 weeks of PRSI contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year, of which 13 must be paid contributions.
If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year, then 13 paid contributions in one of the following tax years can be used instead:
OR
You must have 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the relevant tax year, and 26 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.
The relevant tax year is the second-last complete tax year before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins.
Example 1: If you make a claim in 2021, the relevant tax year is 2019.
Example 2: If you make a claim in 2022, the relevant tax year is 2020.
You must also:
You have to notify the department when you are fit to return to work.
Your doctor needs to mark your last Certificate of Incapacity for Work as final before you go back to work.
If you cannot get the certificate marked, you should notify the department at:
If you need to close your claim earlier than expected you can contact the department by email or phone using the details below.
Illness Benefit rates are paid at four different rates. The department works out which rate you are paid based on your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year.
The rates are as follows:
| Average weekly earnings | Your personal rate | Extra for dependent adult | Combined rate (if you have adult dependent) | |
| €300 or more | €208.00 | €138.00 | €346 | |
| €220 - €299.99 | €162.90 | €89.30 | €252.20 | |
| €150 - €219.99 | €134.20 | €89.30 | €223.50 | |
| less than €150 | € 93.30 | €89.30 | €182.60 |
If you have dependent children and are receiving Illness Benefit you may be entitled to an increase in your payment.
The department works out your average weekly earnings by dividing your total earnings (before tax and some other deductions) in the relevant tax year by the actual number of weeks you have worked.
| Earnings taken into account in relevant tax year | €16,800 |
| Number of weeks work | 35 |
| Average weekly earnings | €480 (€16,800 divided by 35) |
If you have only worked one week in that year and earned €232.36 for that week, your earnings taken into account would be €232.36.
Depending on your circumstances, some or all of your Illness Benefit payment may be liable to income tax.
The department pays Illness Benefit without deducting tax. The department does, however, notify Revenue of the taxable amount of Illness Benefit to be taken into account for income tax purposes. This means you do not have to do anything for the correct tax to be paid.
If you have been receiving Illness Benefit for more than 6 months you may be entitled to apply for Partial Capacity Benefit.
You will not get Illness Benefit for the first 3 days you are off out of work sick. These are called waiting days. Sunday is not counted as a waiting day.
You can decide to have your Illness Benefit paid into your:
It can also be paid:
If you get sick pay from work, you should ask your employer whether you should nominate payment to them while you are claiming Illness Benefit.
You must get a doctor to examine you.
You may have to pay for this exam, but you can get the 'Certificate of Incapacity for Work’ for free as the department pays for it.
Your doctor will provide you with:
The Certificate of Incapacity for Work may be:
If the doctor has completed the certificate electronically, the doctor will provide you with a receipt for your own or your employer’s records.
The IB1 claim form and Certificate of Incapacity for Work, if it has not been submitted electronically by your doctor, should be sent to:
Operational guidelines describe the processes and procedures that staff in the department follow when carrying out their work.
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