Key COVID-19 Income Supports


C19 Income Supports

At the time of writing, Ireland is in its second lockdown, and though not as severe as the first, it still had a huge impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people. The key income supports provided to people whose jobs and business have been hit by the response to the health pandemic caused by COVID-19 are the Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme. This article looks at how these supports are currently structured.

Since March, 2020 the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has gone from a flat-rate payment of €350 to a two-tiered payment at the end of June, to a three-tiered payment in mid-September, and a four-tiered payment from late October. Since the end of June, the level of the payment the individual receives depends on the level of income they received before the pandemic: based on their average gross weekly earnings.

The individual’s average gross weekly earnings are assessed during the period of January to December 2019 or January to February 2020, and whichever figure is higher, is the one that is used in calculating their PUP. For example,if their average gross weekly earnings were €250 in 2019 and €350 in 2020, the figure of €350 will be used.

When the country went into Level 5 lockdown a fourth rate of payment was announced. This change was made on October 19th, and it meant that for people who had earned €400 or over in 2019 or early 2020 they would receive a PUP of €350 from 27th October.

Given the calls to the INOU Welfare Rights Information Service on the current PUP rates, it is clear that a lot of people are not happy with how their payment has been calculated. For anyone who returned to work after the first lockdown the payment that they received then and what is on offer now could be very different. For example, if the person’s income was less than €300 but greater than €200, they would now receive a payment of €250, while during the first lockdown their PUP was €350.

Currently, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is structured as follows:

−       Earnings of €400 or over = a PUP of €350 per week

−       Earnings between €300 - €399.99 = a PUP of €300 per week

−       Earnings between €200 - €299.99 = a PUP of €250 per week

−       Earnings less than €200 = a PUP of €203 per week.

On November 3rd, Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphries, announced that regulations would be drawn up to extend the 2020 earnings reference period for employees to September 2020. So, for people who commenced employment after February 2020 but were laid-off due to COVID-19 restrictions, their PUP rate could be set based on their earnings in the period March to September 2020. The Minister also noted that people who may have been in employment before February 2020 but whose earnings have since been reduced, could have their PUP rate based on their earlier higher earnings.

Self-employed

In the case of self-employed people, their earnings are assessed based on the 2019 and 2018 earnings returns to Revenue, with the higher figure being used to determine their Pandemic Unemployment Payment rate. Any earnings a person may have received as an employee during 2019 will also be considered and added to their self-employment earnings for the purpose of setting the appropriate PUP payment rate.

In Budget 2021, the Government announced that self-employed workers will be able to earn up to €480 a month gross and keep their Pandemic Unemployment Payment. They also announced the introduction of the COVID-19 Part Time Job Incentive for the Self-Employed which will be available to self-employed people who are in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment or a Jobseeker’s payment and are resuming self-employment part time. According to the Department of Social Protection’s Budget 2021 Fact Sheet people “who intend to resume their business but can only do so intermittently or on a limited/reduced basis when they leave the PUP.”

On September 1st, 2020 the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme replaced the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Initially the rates payable under this new scheme, which were to apply up until March 31st 2021, were as follows:  

−       Earnings = €0 – €151.50 = €0 EWSS payable

−       Between €151.50 and €202.99 = €151.50 EWSS payable

−       Between €203.00 and €1,462 = €203 EWSS payable

−       Earnings = €1,462.01 or more = €0 EWSS payable

Then after the Budget, it was announced that the country was moving to Level 5 lockdown, and the rates payable under this scheme were changed. On October 19th 2020 it was announced that the EWSS would be structured as follows:

−       Earnings = €0 – €151 = €0 EWSS payable

−       Between €151.01 and €203 = €203 EWSS payable

−       Between €203.01 and €300 = €250 EWSS payable

−       Between €300.01 and €400 = €300 EWSS payable

−       Between €400.01 and €1,462 = €350 EWSS payable

−       Earnings = €1,462.01 or more = €0 EWSS payable

 

Further information on the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme is available at https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/ewss/index.aspx