Family Income Supplement for Self-employed ?

Is there any help from the welfare system for a couple who earn total household income of 22k a year net, from the mans Self-employment ? They have 2 young kids , large mortgage ,etc.

Lets say their net income was 22k, and obtained from a PAYE job as opposed to self-employment, would they be entitled to a Family Income Supplement payment of 107.40 ? 602 - 423 = 179 x 60% = 107.40

Is there any safety net for the family with low income from self-employment ?
and if not ,what is the thinking behind this policy .

thanks.

The only thing I can think of is the other partner applying for JSA and claiming for the partner and 2 kids as dependants. There may be about €40 per week after means have been taken into account.

Is there any way the self-employed person could take up some paye work? I think some of the 19hrs work per week can be from self employment and some from paye work.

The wife was previously self-employed and applied for Job seekers benefit when her business went belly up, she was assessed as entitled to nothing, she was told she would get nothing on Job seekers allowance due to her husband earning more than (398) If I recall correct.
They also said they are not entitled to F.I.S as their income is derived from self-employment.
I'm not to up on the welfare system ,so if anyone has any suggestions to pass on it would be appreciated as I know This family is really struggling.

GDUFFY said:

The wife was previously self-employed and applied for Job seekers benefit when her business went belly up, she was assessed as entitled to nothing, she was told she would get nothing on Job seekers allowance due to her husband earning more than (398) If I recall correct.
They also said they are not entitled to F.I.S as their income is derived from self-employment.
I'm not to up on the welfare system ,so if anyone has any suggestions to pass on it would be appreciated as I know This family is really struggling.

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This sounds wrong for JSA, its €372 before means for 2 adults and 2 kids, they must be allowing for assets or something.

She should have claimed for herself and the two kids and her partner as a dependent and then let them take away his means. They wont tell you to do this! Usually they only do this is the partner is earning less than €340 but as the earnings are variable, they should.

They could be taking the husbands accounts from 2011 as the earnings, it may have been higher then.

It looks like they are assessing her based on a weekly wage of higher than €502, below that she should get a payment if there are two small kids.
(this is based on my siltation, our payment was €23 per week!).


Keep reapplying for JSA, she has nothing to lose. As soon as they accept €372 as his earnings weekly she will get a payment.

Also every time she applys she should get the result of means letter, showing their calculations. This will give her a better idea what figures they are using, she may have been cents away from a payment last time.

Thanks for that info , I've passed it on , I think they are just new to the whole social welfare system and are afraid to question any decisions. Told them to look for a review. I'll let you know the outcome.