# Illness benefit, employer & taxation



## Knead (9 Aug 2014)

Hi all
Just looking to clarify something. My husband has claimed for occupational injury benefit for this period of absence from work, currently 16 weeks (injury at work over 2 years ago). I'm on unpaid maternity leave at the moment so for the period of my leave the payment has increased from €188 per week to €432 per week, to include a qualified adult dependent and four children.
My question is, his employer has continued to pay him, although this had to be fought for but they seem to have been applying a tax adjustment of €250 per week while we awaited the sw. Are we now obliged to hand over the lot, including additional payments? Should his employer benefit from me being on unpaid leave as opposed to him being a single man with no kids?
Any advice appreciated! His employer is in no way helpful or approachable at the moment.


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## Branz (9 Aug 2014)

Don't know the correct answer but maybe you can get some help from the following two links
http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/345_Illness-Benefit.aspx
and from that one you get
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e...conditions/leave_and_holidays/sick_leave.html


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## Black Sheep (9 Aug 2014)

What payment are you on at the moment?. 
Not sure why OH's employer is making a €250 adjustment. Perhaps he is allowing €188 for himself plus 4 children @ 1/2 rate per child (€15 each)

As regards handing over money to employer, there is usually a sick policy in his contract of employment which specifies how this situation is applied


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## Knead (9 Aug 2014)

He's just started illness benefit in the last couple of weeks. The increase just came into effect this week as it clashes with my unpaid maternity leave period.
According to citizens information website the qualifying adult payment is taxable but the qualifying children are not. 
Sick pay policy says all employees will be paid while on leave and the illness benefit owing to them should be claimed and submitted to the company. My query basically then comes from the fact that additional payments for me and the children are paid from the dept to us therefore should not be handed to the employer, am I wrong??


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## Branz (9 Aug 2014)

The additional payments are paid to him as a result of him having you and the kids as dependants: they are not paid to you.
You said in the first post that he was absent for 16 weeks and in this post you say that the IB only started in the last couple of weeks so how come IB was not claimed from the start after the 6 days waiting period.
When did the 250 change occur?
Was he paid his wages in full from the first day.
Maybe the 250 is a clawback for SW not handed over?
What does his contarct say re _One of the terms referred to in this Act on which the employer must provide information is the terms or conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury._ as in the second link?


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## Knead (10 Aug 2014)

Ircoha I understand that the amount is paid to him, but paid because of us as dependents, not as a boost to the company? Where I'm coming from on this is the instability of the situation with his employer at the moment as his injury is work related and they have previously stopped pay, with held pay etc, it's a long story.
The 16 weeks has been drawn out, although he got all his sw certs from day one his employer was to sign part of the forms before submission. These were held into for weeks before they eventually sent them back to him unsigned. After speaking to sw they said to send them in anyway and his claim has just been processed in the last week.
We have requested an explanation for the €250 ie was it a clawback figure or an estimated amount based on their knowledge of our family size, we still have not received an answer, so again we are back to square on on the helpfulness coming from the employer!!
As I said in my last reply, the company sick pay policy says they will pay the employee and the onus is on the employee to claim sw to pay back to the company. Previously their details have gone on the forms so the amount got paid to them -€188 a week as I was working at the time. Now I'm on maternity leave the payments has increased hence the original query!


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## Branz (10 Aug 2014)

Thanks for this: as the employer is being difficult I don't know what else I can add at this point that wouldn't up the ante in what seems to be a precarious enough situation.
What I was trying to get at was see if the employer policy of paying only clicked in say after Y weeks or what ever and would stop after X period.
I would suggest paying only the 188.
The 250 deduction will all wash out once you do your tax return for 2014, I know its a cash flow issue now but it will wash out.

ps are they still getting the 188 directly from SW or is that from previous times before this current happening?


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## Knead (10 Aug 2014)

I get you. Well the employer pays from day 1 of absense to a maximum of 6 months in a rolling 12 month period (based on length of service). Previous to this all amounts were paid directly to them but on this occasion it's going to come to my husbands account and he is to reimburse his employer, hence my query on whether we are obliged to hand over the whole €432 per week or continue to give them €188? I know it all sounds so complicated at this stage


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## Branz (10 Aug 2014)

Thinking about this again: I suppose a basic tenant of the deal is, if the employer is paying him full wages while out sick, that you should not be better off than if your husband was working.
If you just give back 188, then you are better off by receiving the QA and QC payments but still getting the full wage from employer.
I will explore the matter off line next week as I have some contacts in the SW.
Once I get an answer I will come back here but it could take a week or so as they are on hols now.
In the meantime someone else here might know more.


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## Black Sheep (10 Aug 2014)

Me too. I'd be going with €188

On the other hand if the original sick policy arrangement still stood the SW payment would be going directly to the employer


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## Knead (10 Aug 2014)

ircoha said:


> Thinking about this again: I suppose a basic tenant of the deal is, if the employer is paying him full wages while out sick, that you should not be better off than if your husband was working.
> If you just give back 188, then you are better off by receiving the QA and QC payments but still getting the full wage from employer.
> I will explore the matter off line next week as I have some contacts in the SW.
> Once I get an answer I will come back here but it could take a week or so as they are on hols now.
> In the meantime someone else here might know more.




That was my initial thought but then technically we won't actually be better off only that it's clashing with my unpaid maternity leave ie I'm not getting my pay but if I was then the claim would be €188 per week! So my thoughts on it would be that the additional amounts are being paid because of that drop in income within the household. However I am open to correction on it and really appreciate any advice you can get elsewhere for me. I know if I were to ask the employer they will say it's all theirs whether that be the case or not - I'd rather have some knowledge on it beforehand!


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## Knead (10 Aug 2014)

Black Sheep said:


> Me too. I'd be going with €188
> 
> On the other hand if the original sick policy arrangement still stood the SW payment would be going directly to the employer



And we would probably be none the wiser as to what they were getting however their refusal to sign the forms meant we had to submit them with our details and now this additional amount comes to light - hence the query. In honesty I'd rather give it back to sw than give it to the employer based on their treatment of him so far but that's another issue!!


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## Samantha (31 Aug 2014)

"If you are entitled to sick pay, your employer will probably require you to sign over any Illness Benefit payment from the Department of Social Protection to your employer for as long as the sick pay continues".

The above paragraph is an extract from citizen advise, your employer is entitled to the full amount of illness benefit received.


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