Full time workers who become unemployed will be discriminated against by Pay Related Jobseekers Benefit

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S class

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Article in Sunday Times 24 August 2025.

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No reason has been given in the article.

However

Jobseekers Benefit rules now state that since 31/03/2025 it no longer applies to full time employees.

The new Pay Related Jobseekers Benefit Prsi scheme rules state

"You must have paid at least 26 PRSI insurable employment contributions at Class A or H in the 52 weeks prior to your first day of unemployment."


This means that a full time worker who has become unemployed after 31/03/2025 and has worked less than 26 weeks in the previous 52 weeks gets nothing.

In the Jobseekers Benefit scheme all workers with a minimum of 39 Prsi contributions in the governing year for 2025 received Jobseekers Benefit if they worked for a minimum of 13 weeks ending before 31/03/2025.

Now full time workers are not covered by the Jobseekers Benefit scheme.

Part time workers are covered by the Jobseekers Benefit scheme and the Pay Related Jobseekers Benefit scheme.

This means that a part time worker who has become unemployed after 31/03/2025 and has worked at least 13 weeks since their last period of unemployment can receive Jobseekers Benefit.

Full time workers are being discriminated against, compared to part time workers.

Here is one very angry worker who has lost out.

Post in thread 'Class S PRSI from ARF for JSB'

Class S PRSI from ARF for JSB

I will appeal that decision tomorrow, but bearing in mind it took over 3 weeks for them to reply to my first request for the decision to be reconsidered, it may be a little while before I hear anything. However, again, sincere thanks for the advice and assistance
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
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Because part time workers continue to have access to both schemes they are further advantaged.

Jobseekers Benefit allows for an increase for a qualified adult and children.

Pay related jobseekers benefit does not allow either of these two increases.

Therefore an unemployed part time worker with a qualified adult increase could get €406 euro per week for 9 months. This would be further increased if that person also has qualified children.

An unemployed full time worker will be limited to payments of €450, €375 and €300 (each amount paid for 3 months) regardless of whether they have a dependent spouse and children.

The part time worker over age 62 also enjoys the comfort of having their payments made to their bank account.

The full time worker over age 62 is required to collect their payments from a post office.

More discrimination against full time workers who become unemployed.
 
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To be fair to Heather Humphreys she was the first Minister to bring back Pay Related Social Insurance since it was done away with in 1985/86,

I really think if she was still a Minister she would have sorted this out before now,

Before Heather Humphreys became minister People seen close to 20% taken in payroll PRSI and transferred to the PRSI Fund only to find out they would receive the same as someone who never worked a day in there life when the lost there job,
 
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Something else that a lot of people might be unaware of is, if you are married and qualify for this pay related jobseekers allowance you cannot claim any extra for your dependents (wife and children) on this. So basically you will have €450 per week for yourself, your wife and how many children to live on per week for the first 13 weeks, while your single work mate has a similar €450 to themselves per week. Now this seems to be discriminating against married people. On less I've picked this up wrongly however I am speaking from personal experience.
 
I think Jobseekers Benefit may not be means tested at least I hope not but I stand to be corrected,
 
Means testing will never apply in the PRJB scheme, because as @Donnie1960 has correctly stated, paymemts for qualified spouse and children are not allowed.

This is the scheme introduced by HH.

Part time workers have not been deprived of means tested increases for qualified dependants.
 
This definitely smells like an attempt to stop full-time workers from resigning before age 66 for the purposes of retiring early and claiming JBPR. It seems like the new system is geared specifically towards workers who lose their job involuntarily and who want to work again.

Anyone who is retiring early
- would not be available for work or actively seeking work.
- would not want to engage with activation programs
Under the old JB system, this would be possible for anyone over 62.

Now, full-time workers who resign at any age under 66 will have to engage with DSP activation, and collect payment from a post-office weekly, and be required to prove they are seeking work.

As part-time workers seem to be treated better by having the old JB rules available, anyone seeking to retire early should probably switch to part-time work first for at least 13 weeks (if possible) then resign.
 
I wonder what would count as part time work.

For instance working full weeks for part of the year but say taking 2 months off unpaid, is that full or part time?
 
The details for part time working are here.

Rights of part-time workers

Find out about part-time workers' rights under the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001.
www.citizensinformation.ie www.citizensinformation.ie

If a full time worker was planning on early retirement it might be a good plan to arrange with their employer to cease their employment and then immediately re-employ them as a part time worker for a certain period.

If the period was 13 weeks they could meet qualification Prsi rules for both schemes.

I wonder would they be forced into the higher paying one.

A reduction of 1 hour in comparison to similar employes in the company would be part time employment.
 
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S class could I pick your brain again. Im planning to finish work at 60ish and claim PRJB for 9 months and also planning to draw down my pension at 61.I then plan to work part time (38 euro a week) for 13 weeks in my 62nd, 63rd or 64th to be eligible for 65 payment. Would I go on JSB after the 13 weeks part time work, if so Im thinking it might be best for me to work this in my 64th year and then go on JSB which would lead me into the BP65 payment. Does this make sense?
Thanks again for your help as always
 
@PhiliH

With the new rules part time workers have the best of both schemes.

Make sure to continue to sign on for Jobseekers credits.

Say you ceased work in 2026.
Claim PRJB for 9 months.
Work 13 weeks part time in 2027.
Claim JB in 2027.
Your governing year is 2025. You will receive JB based on your earnings for 2025. This could allow you to get the full rate of JB for this claim. In this example if your 62nd birthday fell in 2027, the 13 weeks of employment in 2027 would meet one of the BP65 rules.

If your 62nd birthday is later than 2027 you will need another 13 week period of part time employment to meet the BP65 rule

There is no particular advantage in waiting until your 64th birthday year to do this 13 weeks of employment.

You will have minimal or zero earnings in the governing year of this JB claim so you will only get the lowest weekly JB payment

You have the choice of multiple 13 week part time employment and JB claims up to age 65 and maximising your JB payments.

Or you could choose to just work for 13 weeks in any one of the listed years that suits you, in order to qualify 9 months of JB and BP 65.

Just make sure to sign on again for credits after each employment period.
 
isn't this a fundamental feature of PRSI, that's it's based on weeks? AIUI you can work 3 hours a week and your PRSI record is the same as someone working 40 hours a week. Also if you're a voluntary contributor you can get 52 weeks stamps for €500 minimum payment.
 
But with many employers struggling for workers, it might be hard for them to entertain the idea that you just want 13 weeks part time work in order to qualify for job seekers. They might say i need you full time or a full time contract or not at all. Especially if this gets widely known and loads of people just looking for part time jobs to qualify for jobseeker payments only. Are employers going to go through the bureaucracy of employing someone for this?
 
joe sod said:
But with many employers struggling for workers, it might be hard for them to entertain the idea that you just want 13 weeks part time work in order to qualify for job seekers. They might say i need you full time or a full time contract or not at all. Especially if this gets widely known and loads of people just looking for part time jobs to qualify for jobseeker payments only. Are employers going to go through the bureaucracy of employing someone for this?
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What I come across more and more since I retired, is once people reach there 60s most have an underline health problem which they can use to go on sick benefit first and then use unemployment benefit to take them up to pension age, I Don't agree or like it but this is what happens when someone Works and never take time off over there working life and find the scale is loaded against them at the end of there working life,
 
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joe sod said:
But with many employers struggling for workers, it might be hard for them to entertain the idea that you just want 13 weeks part time work in order to qualify for job seekers.
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This might suit some employers but not suit others.

There is always the opportunity for a family member or friend registering as an employer and employing you for some childminding, housework or gardening assistance etc, for a few hours per week.
 
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