Reduced Hours and Short-time Working

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  • If the number of days you work is reduced by your employer, you will get Jobseekers Benefit. If  the number of hours each day is reduced, you will not get Jobseekers Benefit. So if you have a choice, reduce the number of days, rather than the number of hours.
  • To get Jobseekers Benefit, you must be unemployed for at least two working days each week. So if your your working week is reduced to a 4 day week, you won't qualify for Jobseekers Benefit.
  • A higher rate of Jobseekers Benefit is payable to those on temporary short-time working arrangement than to those on a permanent short-time working arrangement.
  • Jobseekers Benefit for short-term working is not taxable. However, Jobseekers Benefit for lay-off is taxable. So it is better to work week/on week off, than month on/month off.
  • If your employer cannot guarantee you a full-time job, you can demand to be made redundant.

Definitions:

Redundancy

Permanent loss of one's job

Lay-off

Temporary loss of one's job

Short-time

Various arrangements such as 3 day week and week-on/week-off

Reduced hours

Works every day but for fewer hours

Job sharing

An existing arrangement, entered into voluntarily

Part-time

An existing arrangement entered into voluntarily

Check out this article for the qualifying conditions and rates of payment for Jobseekers Benefit.

If your days at work are reduced temporarily, you will get one fifth of the weekly rate of Jobseekers Benefit for each day that you are unemployed. So if you are entitled to the personal rate of €204.30 and your working week is reduced to a three day week, you will get €40.86 per day or €81.72 for the two days.

You do not get any payment for the first three days of any Jobseekers Benefit claim, so if you are on a three day week, you will get no payment for the first week and you will get only one day the following week. After that, you will get two days per week.

If you are unemployed for only one day per week, you are not entitled to Jobseekers Benefit. I have heard that, in practice, people are paid for this, but I have been unable to verify it.

If your days at work are reduced permanently, you will get one sixth of the weekly rate of Jobseekers Benefit. So if you are entitled to the personal rate of €204.30 and your working week is reduced to a three day week, you will get €34.05 per day or €68.10 for the two days.

If you work week-on/week-off or month-on/month-off, you will get the Jobseekers Benefit for that full week or month.

If you normally work an 8 hour day, but reduce it to a 6 hour days, you will not be entitled to any Jobseekers Benefit. You get Jobseekers Benefit only for days on which you do no work.

If you voluntarily agree with a colleague to job share, you are not entitled to Jobseekers Benefit. So it's important to get a letter from your employer to say that the short-time working is not voluntary.

How to Claim Jobseekers Benefit

Download UP 1  claim form

Bring the completed form to your local Social Welfare Office - you don't need an appointment.

Bring the following with you

Two forms of ID e.g. passport, drivers license, long form of your birth certificate

Proof of address e.g. a utility bill

A letter from your employer saying that your hours were reduced against your will

Proof of income e.g. a recent payslip

The taxation of Jobseekers Benefit

From the Revenue Guide  Taxation of Jobseekers Benefit

If you are participating in a short-time working arrangement Jobseekers Benefit payable is not taxable.

Short-time employment means employment in which the employees have been transferred from a normal working week to a short-time working arrangement each week (e.g. 3 days on / 2 days off) or within a period of four consecutive weeks (e.g. 1 week on /1 week off; 2 weeks on /2 weeks off; 3 weeks on /1 week off).

This is important. The Revenue's definition of "short-time" working is different from the definition used by Social Welfare. So if you have a choice of week on/week off or month on/month off, you should opt for week on/week off.

I don't want to work short-time anymore, can I claim redundancy?

Under the Redundancy Payments Acts, short-time working is defined as "where an employee's working week decreases to less than half of his normal weekly hours or his pay is less than half of his normal take home pay and the situation is not considered to be permanent"

If you have been kept on short-time for 4 consecutive weeks or for 6 weeks over a 13 week period, you can claim redundancy. If your employer can guarantee you work for 13 consecutive weeks, then they do not need to make you redundant. If they do make you redundant, you will get statutory redundancy, but not payment in lieu of notice as you will be terminating the contract voluntarily.

Lay-off

Your employer has no right in law to lay you off. However, most employees accept it voluntarily as an alternative to being made redundant. If it suits you, you can demand to be made redundant.

How does short-time working affect my Jobseekers Benefit if I am made redundant later?

Your rate of Jobseekers Benefit is calculated on the date of your first claim.

Can I go on holidays during my week off?

Yes, but you must notify the Social Welfare office in advance.