Re-qualifying for Jobseeker's Benefit
You can re-qualify for JB if:
- You have used up your full JB entitlement (either 9 or 6 months)
and
- You have paid 13 PRSI contributions at Class A for at least 13 weeks (these contributions can be counted only after you have claimed at least 156 days (6 months) of JB)
However, if you are working and claiming JB (systematic short-time workers and part-time workers) you can't continue your JB claim when it is used up since you must have suffered a substantial loss of employment to re-qualify for JB, (unless you are a casual worker).
If you have lost your job you will have suffered a substantial loss of employment. If you are a part-time or systematic short-time worker, the DSP will look at your pattern of employment over the last 13 weeks or another representative period to find out whether you have suffered a substantial loss of employment.
For example, if you are getting JB and working 3 days a week as a systematic short-time worker or a part-time worker, and your employment pattern has not changed during your JB claim, you will not have suffered a substantial loss of employment and will not re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit when you exhaust your claim. However, if your JB claim ends and your 3-day working week is then reduced to a 2-day week, you will have suffered a substantial loss of employment and may re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit.
Linking claims
If you claim Jobseeker's Benefit (JB) for a period, sign off and then claim JB again within 26 weeks, your claim may be linked to the earlier claim. This means that your claim is not treated as a new claim and:
- You do not have to wait for 3 days before getting your payment
- The cumulative total of days from the previous claim is continued (so, for example, if you have used up 100 days of your total JB entitlement of 234 days you have 134 days remaining on your claim)
- The rate of JB is the same rate payable as on the previous claim, unless there has been a budget increase or change in family circumstances (such as a new child dependant).
If you transfer from Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) to Jobseeker's Benefit because you started part-time work, your claims will be linked. The income used to determine your JPRB rate will be used to determine your rate of Jobseeker’s Benefit.
If your JB claim does not link to a previous JPRB or JB claim, it is treated as a new claim. You must wait for 3 days before getting a payment and your cumulative total of days starts from the first day of payment.
You can read more about
linking claims including information on linking to a different scheme (such as Illness Benefit) and linking to an earlier JB claim through a different scheme or period spent in training or on an employment scheme.