Factsheet for measure
IE-2020-11/782
–
Updated
– measures in Ireland
COVID-19 pandemic unemployment payment introduced
Background information
The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is an emergency payment of €350 per week introduced by the Irish government for a 12 week period and intended to compensate those workers whose employers cannot retain them on their payroll. The payment will also be made to people who are self-employed but whose trade has temporarily ceased.
Workers are eligible to apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment if they were in employment or self-employment immediately before Friday 13 March, and have been temporarily laid-off from work or asked to stay at home from work where their employer is not in a position to retain them on their payroll.
Content of measure
In addition, regulation Nr. S.I. No. 95/2020, amendment 3, temporarily suspend the rule in section 62(4) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 which provides that Jobseeker’s Benefit is paid only from the fourth day of unemployment. The measure is being introduced to mitigate the impact on employers and employees arising from COVID-19 and will apply from the 19 March 2020 until 10 August 2020 inclusive. For that period, Jobseeker’s Benefit will be paid from the first day of unemployment.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a payment of €350 per week available to employees and the self-employed who have lost their job on (or after) March 13 due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
The payment was originally set at a rate of €203 but it was increased to €350 by the government on 24 March.
Since 29 June, there is an additional lower rate of €203 per week, for those whose prior earnings were below €200 per week.
Also, by 13 July, recipients had to confirm their continued eligibility for the payment.
Eligible workers should not be in receipt of any employment income and be between 18 and 66 years of age.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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08 April 2022
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According to figures from the Central Statistics Office, reported in the Irish Times, a total of 465,634 people were on the Live Register (the number of people registering for Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance or for various other statutory entitlements) or were benefiting from the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) or Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in February 2022.
The adjusted Live Register total for March was 181,900 – which was an increase of 17,000 people from February, reflecting the end of the PUP scheme.
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08 February 2022
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The PUP closed for new applications on 22 January 2022 and the payment ended on 25 February 2022 with the last payment on Tuesday 1 March 2022. With effect from 8 March 2022, a person who is still in receipt of the PUP will move to a weekly rate of €208.
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07 December 2021
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The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was reopened from 7th December 2021 for those workers who lost employment as a direct result of the introduction of the restrictions in early December. There are five rates of PUP payable, determined by the person’s weekly earnings as follows:
Weekly Earnings (Gross) Rate from 7 December 2021
€400+ €350
€300-€399 €300
€200-€299 €250
€151.50- €200 €203
Less than €151.50 €150
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11 July 2021
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PUP closed to new applicants from 8 July 2021.
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11 July 2021
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There will be a gradual reduction in rates starting on 7 September 2021 depending on prior earnings. From 8 February 2022 all remaining recipients of PUP will move to standard jobseekers payments.
Final payment of PUP will issue to students on 7 September 2021.
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23 February 2021
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The Government announced it would be extending the PUP until 30th June 2021.
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10 December 2020
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In December, the Government announced that for self-employed persons, they may earn up to €960 gross through self-employment over an eight week period and retain the full COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The €960 limit is based on gross income (before tax and PRSI) minus expenses.
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16 October 2020
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From 16 October 2020, people who were earning €400 per week or more will get a PUP rate of €350 per week.
This was enacted as a result of Ireland moving to Level 5 of the Government’s Living with COVID framework on 21 October 2020. This is the most restrictive level and resulted in the closure of many non-essential businesses.
With effect from 16th October the PUP is paid as follows:
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those with prior gross weekly earnings below €200 will continue to receive a rate of €203 per week.
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those with prior gross weekly earnings of €200 to €299.99 will continue to receive €250 per week.
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those with prior gross weekly earnings of €300 to €399.99 will continue to receive €300 per week.
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those with prior gross weekly earnings of €400 or more will receive a rate of €350 per week.
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29 June 2020
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On 29 June, the rate of payment from the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment changed.
From that date there are two rates of payment. These are based on what a person earned from previous employment:
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if they earned less than €200 a week, the payment will change to €203 per week. This is the rate of payment of Jobseeker's Benefit.
if they earned €200 or more a week, the payment won’t change and they will continue to receive €350 per week.
To continue receiving this payment, a claimant needs to confirm eligibility by 13 July.
Explaining the change, the Government stated:
“When the Pandemic Unemployment Payment was launched in March 2020, it was paid at a flat rate. This meant that everyone who received the payment was getting the same amount of weekly income support. The rate of payment was not based on previous income or the number of hours worked. This meant that everyone who needed income support was able to get it quickly. As a result, some recipients, mainly working a lower number of hours, received a higher amount of income support than from their previous employment. It is important that the social welfare system is fair - that is why changes have been made to the rate of payment. If you receive a lower rate of Pandemic Unemployment Payment, it will still be greater than the amount you previously earned from your employer.”
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Use of measure
A paper by the Department of Social Protection found: "The early waves of those seeking PUP payments were more likely to be women, aligning with the high share of women employed in Accommodation and Food Services and in Wholesale and Retail. Indeed, 54% of those employed in Accommodation and Food Services in Q4 2019 were women, whilst 56% were under 35 years of age. This is higher than the average for those working in the four sectors collectively designated above as ‘severely impacted’. Later waves, however, saw an increase in the share of men claiming the payment as well as those aged 35 to 54 years as operations in the construction industry ceased on March 27th."
On 14 April the Irish Times reported that there were 533,000 people receiving the Government’s special COVID-19 unemployment payment of €350 a week. This was in addition to the 210,000 on the 'live register' of social welfare claimants.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office show the following numbers of people were claiming the PUP each month:
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March 2020 - 283,139
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April 2020 - 602,107
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May 2020 - 543,164
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June 2020 - 438,933
According to the Central Statistics Office, at the end of June 2020, the majority of those whose income from employment has been affected due to COVID-19 were still being facilitated through the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (438,933 people).
On 5 November, 329,991 people were in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), an increase of 34,131 on the previous week. The Department of Social Protection issued payments valued at €95.5 million, up from €85.6 million the previous week.
According to figures published by Government, the sector with the highest number of people receiving a PUP payment was Accommodation and Food Service Activities (98,233), then Wholesale and Retail Trade (51,921) and Other Sectors, e.g., hairdressers and beauty salons (28,799).
Following Ireland's return to strict level 5 restrictions at the end of December 2020 - with closure of non-essential retail, hospitality and most of construction from early January 2021 - the number of people claiming the PUP has increased. As of the week of 5 January 2021, 335,600 people received the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, valued at €99.06 million. The number of people receiving a PUP payment represents an increase of 57,928 on the 277,671 people paid on Tuesday, 22nd December. The sector with the highest number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is Accommodation and Food Service Activities (97,798) followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (46,853) and Other Sectors e.g. hairdressing and beauty salons (30,221).
According to the Department of Social Protection, over €5 billion in total has been paid out in PUP between March 2020 and January 2021.
At the end of February 2021, the Minister for Social Protection announced: “We have now paid over €6 billion through the PUP since the introduction of this emergency support last March.”
Figures released in mid-March 2021, while the country was in level 5, showed almost 465,000 receive the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Dublin was the county with the highest number of people receiving PUP at 146,547, followed by Cork (47,011) and Galway (24,934). The sector with the highest number of people receiving PUP was Accommodation and Food Service activities (109,754), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (74,153) and Construction (58,864).
Figures published by the Department of Social Protection show that numbers claiming the PUP fell to 101,470 in early October 2021. In addition, the number of PUP recipients aged under 25 was one in ten in October 2021 compared one in four in May 2021.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social insurance
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Consulted
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Consulted
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Form
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Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies
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Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Social partners jointly
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Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level
Involvement
They were consulted.
Views and reactions
The €350 a week COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment can also be claimed by self-employed people affected by the crisis and this was welcomed by the Small Firms Association director Sven Spollen-Behrens who said this was important as self-employed people were “experiencing a significant loss of income”.
Sources
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24 March 2020: Covid-19 financial measures will help economy bounce back says Ibec
(www.irishtimes.com)
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03 April 2020: S.I. No. 95/2020 Amemdment 3
(www.irishstatutebook.ie)
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14 April 2020: Irish Times - Some 533,000 receiving Covid-19 unemployment payment
(www.irishtimes.com)
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25 April 2020: Gov.ie
(www.gov.ie)
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05 May 2020: The Initial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Ireland’s Labour Market
(www.gov.ie)
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02 July 2020: CSO statistical release - COVID-19 crisis continues to impact labour market in June 2020
(www.cso.ie)
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07 July 2020: 110,000 people see cut in PUP from €350 to €203 a week
(www.rte.ie)
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09 July 2020: Information on the change in the rate of payment from the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
(www.gov.ie)
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05 January 2021: Update on Payments Awarded for Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit
(www.gov.ie)
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23 February 2021: Pandemic Unemployment Payment & Enhanced Illness Benefit to continue until end June – Minister Humphreys
(www.gov.ie)
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23 February 2021: Update on payments awarded for COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit
(www.gov.ie)
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10 March 2021: Update on payments awarded for COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit
(www.gov.ie)
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08 July 2021: COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates
(www.gov.ie)
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11 July 2021: COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
(www.citizensinformation.ie)
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06 October 2021: Update on Payments Awarded for Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit
(www.gov.ie)
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06 December 2021: Minister Humphreys announces details on the reopening of PUP to workers impacted by the latest restrictions
(www.gov.ie)
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08 February 2022: Update on payments awarded for COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit - 8 February 2022
(www.gov.ie)
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08 April 2022: More than 35,000 people came off income supports in February
(www.irishtimes.com)
