Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit (JPRB)
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Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit
Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit (JPRB): Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is a weekly payment made by the Department of Social Protection for people whose first day of unemployment is on or after 31 March 2025 and who have paid enough pay-related social insurance (PRSI) contributions. This means that your last day of employment was on or after Friday 28 March 2025.
Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit means that the income support you may get if you become unemployed will be directly linked to your previous earnings. This will be paid up to a maximum payment amount. You should apply for Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit within 6 weeks of losing your job or this could impact your entitlement.
Fully Unemployed: You must be fully unemployed to qualify for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit. If you engage in any employment you must transfer to Jobseekers Benefit. Time spent on Jobseeker's Benefit, having moved from Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit, will use up any underlying time on Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit.
Payment: You can receive a payment for yourself based on your previous earnngs - see Rates of Payment below. You do not recieve any payment for your spouse / partner or any dependant children (Qualified Child) on JPRB.
Means Testing: Your payment is not means tested. Any income that your spouse or partner has from means, employment or self-employment will not affect the rate of JPRB that you qualify for.
Self-Employment: You cannot engage in self-employment while in reciept of Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit, unless that self-employment is classified as Subsiduary Employment.
Breaks in a Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit Claim: A person may break their Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit claim for up to 13 weeks and resume where they left off from the previous claim. Breaks greater than 13 weeks will result in the claim being closed and a person will be required to re-qualify and satisfy the conditions of the scheme. The rate of payment will be re-calculated based on recent earnings as part of the re-application process.
Redundancy: A person who has received a redundancy payment shall not be disqualified from receiving Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit.
How to Qualify for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit
In order to qualify for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit payment you must satisfy the following conditions:
- be fully unemployed on or after 31 March 2025 (this means that your last day of employment was on or after Friday 28 March 2025)
- be under 66 years of age or
- under 70 years if you were born after 1 January 1958 and you decide not to draw down your State Pension (Contributory)
- be capable of work and be available for full-time work
- be seeking work
- have enough paid PRSI contributions at class A, H or P
If you get Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit you will be required to engage with the Intreo Employment Services which will:
- help you to connect with employers who are looking to hire people
- offer you supports and services to help you upskill or retrain
- support you with CV preparation or interview training
Find out more about the range of employment supports and services available at your local Intreo centre or Branch office.
Duration of Payment / Rates of Payment
Duration of Payment
Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit is payable for up to a maximum of 26 or 39 weeks duration depending on your PRSI contributions.
Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit is normally paid for a maximum of 9 months. If you have less than 260 PRSI contributions paid since first entering employment Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit t will only be paid for 6 months instead of the full 9 months. When your JPRB is exhausted you may apply for the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance payment. Jobseeker's Allowance is a means tested payment, which will take into consideration any savings (over €20,000), investments, property other than your own home and any income from employment or self-employment that either you or your spouse / partner have.:
| PRSI Contributions (Class A or H) | Maximum Payment Duration | |
| 5+ years (260+ contributions) | Up to 39 weeks | |
| 2–5 years (104–259 contributions) | Up to 26 weeks |
Time spent on a previous Jobseekers payment that was awarded after 31 March 2025 may affect how long you can claim. This could include Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed) or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Rates of Payment
| PRSI Contributions | Payment Rate | Maximum Weekly Payment | Duration |
| 5+ years | 60% of gross earnings | Up to €450 | First 13 weeks |
| 55% of gross earnings | Up to €375 | Following 13 weeks | |
| 50% of gross earnings | Up to €300 | Final 13 weeks | |
| 2–5 years | 50% of gross earnings | Up to €300 | 26 weeks |
| Minimum rate | fixed amount | €125 |
You can apply for the means-tested Jobseeker’s Allowance instead of Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit if you think that it may be more financially beneficial for you. Find out more information on Jobseeker’s Allowance
PRSI Contributions
To qualify for JB your PRSI record must include:
At least 104 paid contributions (class A, H or P PRSI) since you first started work, and
- Have 39 paid or credited contributions in the relevant tax year (of which at least 13 must be paid)
or
- Have 26 paid contributions in the relevant tax year and 26 paid contributions in the year immediately preceding it.
*If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant tax year the following years can be used to meet the condition: The two tax years before the relevant tax year; the last complete tax year; the current tax year.
If you are unsure about your PRSI record, you can use MyWelfare.ie to request a copy of your PRSI record. You can also contact the PRSI Section at the Department of Social Protection for more information: 01 - 704 3000 or 01 - 679 7777. Please be aware that department officials may not be able to give out certain information about your Social Welfare/PRSI record under Data Protection legislation.
Benefit Year
This is the calendar year in which you are making your claim for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit. It starts on the first Monday in January, and runs from January to December.
Requalifying for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit
A person may requalify for Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit if:
- 1 full year (12 months) has lapsed since their last Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit claim
they satisfy all the contribution conditions - if a person was paid Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit within the previous 12 months of their new claim, any time spent on the scheme within the current and previous calendar year will be counted on their new claim for Jobseeker’s Pay Related Benefit, any time spent on Jobseeker’s Benefit within the previous 6 months will also be counted. If they were last paid outside this 12-month period – there is no impact on entitlement
- if a person was paid another Jobseeker’s payment that was awarded after 31 March 2025 within the previous 6 months of their new Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit claim, the time on the Jobseekers claim will be counted. This could include Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed) or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Time spent on your previous Jobseeker’s payment may impact on the duration of your new Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit claim. Depending on your circumstances this may include a previous Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-Employed) or Jobseeker’s Allowance payment which was awarded after 31 March 2025.
Social Insurance and Work in the European Union
Your social insurance record from another EU country may help you qualify for a Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit payment in Ireland. However, in order to use your record from abroad you must have paid at least one reckonable (class A, H or P) PRSI contribution in Ireland since your return to Ireland.
Claiming JPRB in another EU country
A person in receipt of Irish Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit may transfer their claim to one of the following European countries for up to 13 weeks (78 days). The form U2 is completed in the Intreo Centre or Branch Office with details of transfer dates etc. and given to the person transferring their benefit. The person takes this form to the social services office of the country to which they are travelling. You must have been getting JB here for at least 4 weeks before you go. Ask your local Social Welfare Office about transferring JB at least a month before you intend travelling.
How to Apply for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit
Intreo Service
If you are making a new claim for Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit you will be referred to the Intreo service at the Department of Social Protection. The Intreo service will seek to help you with your employment and income support services needs.
Intreo will provide a personal service, based on your individual needs, including: advice on education, training and personal development opportunities; job search assistance; and information on and access to a range of income supports.You will find a list of Intreo Centres here
You can also use the MyWelfare.ie website to apply for and manage your Jobseeker's Pay Related Benefit claim. You will need a verified MyGovID account to apply. If you don't have a verified MyGovID account, you can create one here.
Return to Work Supports
The Department of Social Protection operate a number of schemes to support Jobseekers to Return to Work, these include:
Self-Employment Options
The Department of Social Protection operate a number of schemes to support Jobseekers in exploring Self-Employment opportunities, these include:
Education and Training Options
There a number of Education and Training options available to people in reciept of Jobseeker's Benefit payments, these include:
- Back to Education Allowance - Second-level option
- Back to Education Allowance - Third-level option
- Part-time Education Option
Intreo - Employment and Income Supports
Intreo is a service from the Department of Social Protection to help with your employment and income support services needs.
Intreo will provide a personalised service, based on your individual needs including; advice on education, training and personal development opportunities, job search assistance as well as information on and access to a range of income supports , including Jobseeker's Benefit payments
Intreo can provide the following services and supports to Jobseekers:
- Employment services and income supports available in one place.
- Expert assistance and advice on employment, training and personal development opportunities.
- A focus on your individual needs to assist you entering the workforce.
- Self-service facilities to provide you with information and guidance on employment and training opportunities.
- Access to information on job vacancies through www.jobsireland.ie
- Information on the full range of income supports provided by the Department of Social Protection, for example, jobseeker’s payments, back to work and back to education payments, one-parent family payments, pensions and others. Also, any queries in relation to your jobseekers or one-parent family payment will continue to be dealt with by the team in your Intreo Centre .
For more information on Intreo visit the Intreo section of Department of Social Protection website.
Contact Us
Telephone
You can speak, in complete confidence, to an Information Officer in the Information and Advocacy section directly at 01 - 856 0088 , Monday - Thursday 9.30 am to 5.00 pm and Friday 9.30am to 4.00pm.
Online
Use the online Contact Us forms on the INOU website
Updated: 07/05/2025
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