Social Welfare Act, 1983

Pay-related benefit (additional waiting days for certain benefits).

8.—(1) Section 72 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution for subsection (1) (as amended by the Social Welfare (Amendment) Act, 1981 ) of the following subsection:

“(1) Subject to this Chapter, a person who had reckonable earnings in the relevant income tax year shall be entitled to pay-related benefit in respect of any day which—

(a) is a day of incapacity for work which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to disability benefit or maternity allowance or in respect of which the person would be entitled to benefit of either of those descriptions but for the fact that injury benefit is payable to the person under Chapter 5 in respect of that day, or

(b) is a day of unemployment which forms part of a period of interruption of employment and in respect of which the person is entitled to unemployment benefit,

and which is not earlier than the 19th day of incapacity for work in a period of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4)) or which is not earlier than the 19th day of unemployment, as the case may be, in the period of interruption of employment: provided that, where a period of incapacity for work is not separated by more than 3 days from a preceding day of unemployment in respect of which pay-related benefit was payable, that benefit shall be payable from the 19th day of incapacity for work in the period of interruption of employment or from the first day of that period of incapacity for work, whichever is the later.”.

(2) This section shall apply to—

(a) periods of incapacity for work (within the meaning of section 18 (4) of the Principal Act), and

(b) periods of interruption of employment,

which commence on or after the 4th day of April, 1983.