Pandemic payment scheme set up for workers left jobless by COVID-19 closures

WITH thousands of businesses having closed their doors across the country, tens of thousands of workers left without an income have been urged to apply for the newly introduced COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

This week the Government requested that employers, if possible, continue paying workers the minimum jobseekers rate of €203 per week, redeemable under a refund scheme set to come into operation over the coming weeks.

However, recognising that this will present a problem to many employers, The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has put in place the ‘pandemic payment’, for people whose employer is not in a position to pay them.

Under the initiative both employees and the self-employed who have lost jobs to due to the pandemic can claim a weekly social welfare payment of €203 for a period of up to six weeks.

The payment is intended to temporarily allow continuity of income for people until such a time as it can be determined which type of benefit they should be in receipt of.

In order to speed up the payments process ,the department has instigated an online application process, which is also aimed at both adhering to social distancing rules and preventing long queues forming outside of local Intreo centres and social welfare offices.

The one-page application and detailed instructions on how to fill it in are available at www.gov.ie/jobseekers. Once filled in it can be returned by Freepost.

People with a Public Services Card can apply online through the www.mywelfare.ie portal, although it is not necessary to have a card in order to apply for the payment by post.

Those applying for the emergency payment are also required to apply for the standard jobseekers payments within six-weeks to ensure continuity of income once the emergency payments scheme has been terminated.

“Once this normal jobseekers claim has been received, the department will process these claims and reconcile payments at that time. This will involve backdating increased payments for certain customers,” said a department spokesperson.