Workers can now claim tax-free cash bumps of almost €2,300 if they were made redundant during Covid-19.
The new Government scheme has been opened by Social Protection Minister, Heather Humphreys and Enterprise Minister, Leo Varadkar.
The scheme has been introduced under the Redundancy Payments Act 2022 and applications have opened this week. The period covered goes from the start of Covid, March 13 2020, to the end of January this year.
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Anybody who was made redundant during Covid and didn’t avail of redundancy payments they were entitled to can get a cash payment to make up the difference of up to €2,268.
Minister Varadkar explained how the cash boost will work and why it is being introduced.
He said: “This new law will mean that those that were made redundant to protect public health during the pandemic will not be out of pocket for the period they were laid off. The Government is providing a special payment of up to €2,268 tax-free to bridge the gap in their redundancy entitlements.
“We want to make sure workers don’t lose out on payments and on the other hand, business owners aren’t faced with a flood of additional redundancy costs, just when they’re trying to get back on their feet.
“This Act provides the best outcome for both employers and employees. Redundancy rights for people who were placed on lay-off during the pandemic is one of the five new worker rights I committed to introducing this year. The commencement of this Act fulfils this promise.”
Minister Humphreys added: “I welcome the announcement of the commencement of this new scheme, which will be administered by my Department.
“This scheme was developed in order to ensure individuals impacted by being laid off during the Pandemic will not lose out on their entitlements. The new system is employer-led.
“This means that, for the majority of eligible employees, their employer, liquidator or relevant officer will apply for this payment on their behalf. Applications can be made online via the Welfare Partners website.”
The amount an eligible worker will receive will depend on the length of time they were placed on lay-off due to COVID-19 before the date they were made redundant. The calculation for the payment is based on existing statutory redundancy rules.
The maximum to which any employee will be entitled is €2,268, if they earned €600 or more a week and were laid off due to Covid-19 restrictions for the full period from 13 March 2020 to 31 January 2022.
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