Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

Chapter 12

Unemployment Benefit

Entitlement to benefit.

[1993 s42(1); 1994 s19(1)(a)]

62.—(1) Subject to this Act, a person shall be entitled to unemployment benefit in respect of any day of unemployment (in this Part referred to as “a day of unemployment”) which forms part of a period of interruption of employment, where—

(a) he or she is under pensionable age on the day for which the benefit is claimed,

(b) he or she proves unemployment in the prescribed manner,

(c) he or she satisfies the contribution conditions in section 64 , and

(d) other than in the case of a person engaged in casual employment, he or she has sustained a substantial loss of employment in any period of 6 consecutive days.

[1994 s19(1)(b)]

(2) The circumstances in which a person is to be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1), as being engaged in casual employment shall be specified in regulations.

[1993 s42(2)]

(3) The circumstances in which a person is to be regarded, for the purposes of this Chapter, as having sustained a substantial loss of employment shall be specified in regulations, and different circumstances may be specified for different provisions of this Chapter.

[1993 s42(3)]

(4) A person shall not be entitled to unemployment benefit for the first 3 days of any period of interruption of employment.

[1993 s42(4); 2003 s8]

(5) For the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to unemployment benefit—

(a) a day shall not be treated in relation to an insured person as a day of unemployment unless on that day—

(i) he or she is capable of work,

(ii) he or she is, or by reason of his or her participation in an activity prescribed for the purposes of this subsection and subject to the conditions that may be prescribed, is deemed to be, or is exempted from being required to be, available for employment, and

(iii) he or she is genuinely seeking, but is unable to obtain, employment suitable for him or her having regard to his or her age, physique, education, normal occupation, place of residence and family circumstances,

(b) “day of interruption of employment” means a day which is a day of unemployment or of incapacity for work,

(c) any 3 days of interruption of employment, whether consecutive or not, within a period of 6 consecutive days shall be treated as a period of interruption of employment and any 2 such periods not separated by a period of more than 26 weeks shall be treated as one period of interruption of employment,

(d) Sunday or such other day in each week as may be prescribed shall not be treated as a day of unemployment or of incapacity for work and shall be disregarded in computing any period of consecutive days.

[1994 s19; 1997 s30(1)(a)]

(6) Notwithstanding subsection (5)(c), where in respect of any day of unemployment (referred to in this subsection as “the relevant day of unemployment”) which forms part of a period of interruption of employment a person has not, before the relevant day of unemployment, been entitled, in that period of interruption of employment, to unemployment benefit in respect of a day of unemployment within the 2 years before the relevant day of unemployment, that day shall be treated as the first day of unemployment in a separate period of interruption of employment subject to subsection (4) not applying in relation to that separate period of interruption of employment.

[1997 s30(1)(a)]

(7) For the purposes of this Chapter and Chapter 2 of Part 3, the Minister shall make regulations specifying the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be regarded as being available for or genuinely seeking employment and these circumstances may vary in relation to—

(a) the person's previous work experience,

(b) the period for which he or she has been unemployed, and

(c) the prevailing employment conditions.

[1993 s42(5); 2005 (SW&P) s12(a)]

(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (5), any period, not exceeding 1 year in duration, of—

(a) employment under a scheme administered by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair and known as Community Employment,

(b) employment under a scheme administered under the aegis of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and known as the Rural Social Scheme,

(c) participation in a scheme administered by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair and known as the Enterprise Allowance Scheme,

(d) participation in a scheme administered by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair and known as the Alternance Scheme,

(e) attendance at a training course provided or approved of by An Foras Áiseanna Saothair,

(f) participation in a scheme administered by the Commission of the European Union and known as the European Voluntary Service Initiative,

(g) participation in a scheme administered by the Minister and known as the Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme, or

(h) participation in a scheme administered by the Minister for Education and Science and known as the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme,

shall be disregarded in treating, under subsection (5)(c), any 2 periods of interruption of employment not separated by more than 26 weeks as one period of interruption of employment.

[1993 s42(6)]

(9) Regulations may make provision (subject to subsection (5)) as to the days which are or are not to be treated for the purposes of unemployment benefit as days of unemployment or of incapacity for work.

[1993 s42(7); 2001 s37 & Sch F]

(10) The amount payable by way of benefit for any day of unemployment shall be one-sixth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent and being rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.

[1993 s42(8); 2001 s37 & Sch F]

(11) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the number of days of unemployment in respect of which a person engaged in short-time employment shall be entitled to unemployment benefit in any week shall be limited so that the total of the number of days in respect of which that benefit is paid and the number of days worked shall not exceed 5, and in that case the amount payable by way of that benefit for any day of unemployment in that week shall, notwithstanding subsection (10), be one-fifth of the appropriate weekly rate, subject to the total amount being paid at any time by virtue of this subsection being rounded up to the nearest 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent and being rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.