With the cost of living crisis hitting everyone, people should be aware that there are supports for those who need them.
One particular payment is available to workers worth up to €220 per week in social welfare payments if you find yourselves unable to work for a period of time.
Illness Benefit is a weekly payment that you may be eligible for if you cannot work because you are sick or ill, RSVP Live reports.
READ MORE: Social welfare Ireland: All the people who qualify for next Cost of Living Bonus coming next month
To receive this payment, you must be under 66 and meet the social insurance (PRSI) conditions.
It’s recommended that you always apply for Illness Benefit if you are medically certified as unfit for work. Even in cases where you don’t qualify for the weekly payment, you may get PRSI credited contributions which can help you qualify for future social welfare payments.
Regardless of whether your employer pays you, or not, while you are out sick from work, you should apply for Illness Benefit as it is not linked to your employer's policy on pay for sick leave.
However, if you get sick pay from work and Illness Benefit, you should ask your employer about any arrangements in place for this.
How to qualify for Illness Benefit
To qualify for Illness Benefit, you must:
- Be aged under 66
- Be medically certified as unfit for work by a medical doctor (GP).
- Have enough social insurance (PRSI) contributions
- Apply within 6 weeks of becoming ill.
There is no payment for the first 3 days of illness. These are known as ‘waiting days’ (Sunday is not counted as a waiting day.) There are no waiting days if you were getting certain other social welfare payments within 3 days of the start of your illness.
How many social insurance (PRSI) contributions do I need?
To qualify for Illness Benefit you must meet 2 social insurance (PRSI) conditions:
- You must have at least 104 weeks of PRSI contributions paid since you first started work
and
- 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; Either of the 2 tax years before the relevant tax year, The last complete tax year (before the year in which your claim for Illness Benefit begins), The current tax year.
or
- 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.
How much Illness Benefit will I get?
Your weekly rate of Illness Benefit (IB) will depend on your average weekly earnings in the relevant tax year.
Average weekly earnings are your gross earnings (without deductions) in the relevant tax year divided by the actual number of weeks you worked in that year.
You can find out more about this payment here.
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