Re-Qualifying for Jobseekers Benefit

[July2000]

My wife recently finished her one year on JB and was asked by Social Welfare to apply for Jobseekers Allowance. My salary of €40,000 approx means she won't get anything, and she had a fairly horrendous experience in the SW office in an interview where she was bombarded by questions.
Anyway, she has secured some part time work approx 3 days per week for the next 4 four months or so.
My question is, will she be able to re-qualify for JB if her hours are reduced (they will as the work won't be there) or will she have to go through a means tested interview etc. Because of my salary, which isn't high, I feel that on a means tested basis, she will get nothing.

Thanks in advance

 

[gipimann]

Here's the information on requalifying for Jobseeker's Benefit from www.welfare.ie

Re-qualifying for Jobseeker's Benefit

If you have used up your entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit (JB), you may re-qualify by working and paying the appropriate PRSI contributions for at least 13 weeks. If you are working and getting JB, as in the case of systematic short-time workers and some part-time workers, the 13 weeks paid contributions can begin once you have claimed JB for 156 days.

You must have suffered a substantial loss of employment to re-qualify for JB, unless you are a casual worker. If you have lost your job you will have suffered a substantial loss of employment. If you are a part-time or systematic short-time worker DSP will look at your pattern of employment over the last 13 weeks or another representative period to find out whether you have suffered a substantial loss of employment.

For example, if you are getting JB and working 3 days each week as a systematic short-time worker or a part-time worker and your employment pattern has not changed during the course of your JB claim, you will not have suffered a substantial loss of employment and will not re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit. However, if your JB claim ends and your 3 day week working week is then reduced to a 2 day week, you will have suffered a substantial loss of employment and may re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Your wife will have to work for 13 weeks (and pay 13 PRSI contributions) in order to re-qualify. Her entitlement at that point will depend on whether she has lost any working days compared with the days she was working over those 13 weeks.

 

[sonandheir]

She will have to wait now for 13 weeks to show a pattern of employment. During this 13 weeks she will have to have suffered a substantial loss of employment i.e. go from 3 days to 2 days roughly around week 6.

My OH had to go through a lot of loops to get re-qualified for Jobseekers benefit. During her first year on JB she got a part time job for 2 days so signed on as a casual worker (this employment could go from 3 days to 0 days depending on the week). 90% of the time it was a 2 day a week job, but it is important to be classed as a casual worker because if you say you've taken a part time job they may claim you're no longer looking for full time employment.

When she applied to re-qualify for JB they claimed she hadn't suffered a substantial loss of employment as she went up and down in the previous 13 weeks. She then waited 10 weeks re applied after ensuring the previous 13 weeks were 6 weeks=2days 7weeks=1day.

It took 7 months of waiting and refiling various forms but she finally got it with back pay.

Another tip if you're finding it hard to get through to the person in your local office you've been dealing with, ring 5 of the surrounding social welfare offices and ask to speak to a deciding officer as you can not get through to the one in your local office. I did this and reckon a few of them must have rang my local officer to get a move on and it was sorted within 2 weeks.