Emergency Covid-19 payment for laid-off staff

With over 50,000 bar staff and up to 25,000 childcare workers laid off this week as a consequence of the coronavirus outbreak,and more job losses on the way, the Government has introduced a simplified system of obtaining unemployment payments.

The new system, which came into operation on Monday of this week, includes a new emergency payment, the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, which is specifically designed to get thousands of unemployed people into payment as quickly as possible.

Describing the current situation as “a national emergency” Social Protection Minister, Regina Doherty, has this week urged employers, if at all possible, to continue to pay their laid-off employees at the jobseeker rate of €203 per week.

The Minister said employers who do this will be able to claim refunds from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection “in a matter of weeks” and she added that a temporary refund scheme is being established for this purpose.

However, full details of the new regime were still being worked on at the time of going to press yesterday morning (Tuesday) at a full Cabinet meeting in Government Buildings where Ministers were due to be briefed on how employers could apply for reimbursement.

In the event of employers being unable to pay their employees, a new emergency payment, the Covid Pandemic Unemployment Payment, is being made available to anyone who has lost their job due to the outbreak. The payment is worth €203 a week and can be applied for online at MyGov.ie for those who have a Public Services Card (PSC).

Workers who do not have a PSC can download a simplified one-page application form but must have access to a printer. They must fill out the form with their employer’s details, their last day of employment and bank account details. A stamp is not needed to send it to: Freepost, PO Box 12896, Dublin 1 and once applications have been received, Minister Doherty has pledged that they will be processed “within 48 hours.”

Applicants are asked to note that emergency payments will only last for six weeks, during which time they should apply for the most suitable long-term payment. In the majority of cases this will be Jobseekers Benefit or Allowance.

Further information can be obtained from the Department on Covid-19 payments via the lo-call number: 1890 800024, and a frequently asked questions page is also available on the Department's website.

The Minister for Social Protection has strongly advised people to apply for all social welfare payment online and to avoid going to their local Intreo Centre where they may have to wait for very long periods of time before being seen.

Instead, applicants should taking the following steps: