Work Family Dividend II

SWCA 2005

Part 7A

Back to work family dividend (ss. 238A-238F)

238A.

Definitions

In this Part –

“employment” means insurable employment but does not include participation in a qualifying scheme;

“qualifying payment” means an allowance payable to a person participating in a qualifying scheme where, immediately before such participation commenced, the person was in receipt of –
(a)jobseeker’s benefit,
(aa)jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed), or
(b)jobseeker’s allowance, other than jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A;

“qualifying scheme” means –
(a)a scheme administered by the Minister and known as –
(i)Community Employment,
(ii)Tús,
(iii)Rural Social Scheme,
(iv)Gateway, or
(v)the national internship scheme,
(b)an approved course of training, or
(c)any other prescribed –
(i)scheme or programme of employment or work experience, or
(ii)course of education, training or development;

“relevant payment” means an allowance payable to a person participating in a qualifying scheme where, immediately before such participation commenced, the person was in receipt of –
(a)one-parent family payment, or
(b)jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A;

“self-employment” means insurable self-employment.

238B.

Entitlement to dividend

(1)Subject to this Act, a person shall be entitled to a dividend (in this Act referred to as ‘back to work family dividend’) where –

(a)on or after 5 January 2015, the person ceases to claim or ceases to be entitled to –

(i)jobseeker’s benefit, jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed), jobseeker’s allowance, a qualifying payment or a relevant payment, by reason of that person or, where appropriate, that person’s spouse, civil partner or cohabitant –

(I)being in employment or self-employment, or

(II)commencing employment or self-employment within 4 weeks of the date on which that person ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to the benefit, allowance or payment concerned,

or

(ii)one-parent family payment by reason of –

(I)that person being in employment or self-employment,

(II)that person commencing employment or self-employment within 4 weeks of the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to that payment,

(III)the youngest child having attained the age specified in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘relevant age’ in section 172(1) and that person being in employment or self-employment at the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to that payment, or

(IV)section 178B, 178C or 178D no longer applying to that person and that person being in employment or self-employment on the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to that payment,

(b)immediately before the date on which the person ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to a benefit, allowance or payment specified in paragraph (a), the person was in receipt of –

(i)an increase in jobseeker’s benefit, jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed), jobseeker’s allowance or oneparent family payment in respect of at least one qualified child who normally resides with that person, or

(ii)an increase in a qualifying payment or a relevant payment in respect of a child which corresponds to an increase referred to in subparagraph (i),

(c)in the case of –

(i)jobseeker’s benefit,

(ia)jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed),

(ii)jobseeker’s allowance, other than jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A, or

(iii)a qualifying payment,

the person has, immediately before the date on which he or she ceased to claim or ceased to be entitled to the benefit, allowance or payment concerned, in any continuous period of unemployment been in receipt of such benefit, allowance or payment in respect of-

(i)not less than 312 days of unemployment, of which not less than 156 days of unemployment have occurred in the 12 month period commencing immediately before that date, or

(ii)a number of days such that when combined with days spent in receipt of the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment the total shall not be less than 312 days, of which not less than 156 days of unemployment have occurred in the 12 month period commencing immediately before that date, and

(d)he or she –

(i)is under pensionable age, or

(ii)is a person born on or after 1 January 1958 who has attained pensionable age but has neither attained the age of 70 years nor been awarded a State pension (contributory).

(2)Not more than one back to work family dividend shall be paid in respect of a couple.

(3)Subject to subsection (4), a person shall not be entitled to back to work family dividend where that person or, where appropriate, that person’s spouse, civil partner or cohabitant –

(a)is in receipt of –

(i)any benefit specified in paragraphs (a) to (k) of section 39(1), other than maternity benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 9 of Part 2, health and safety benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 10 of Part 2, adoptive benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 11 of Part 2, paternity benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 11A of Part 2, parent’s benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 11B of Part 2 disablement benefit payable in accordance with section 75 and death benefit by way of a grant in respect of funeral expenses payable in accordance with section 84,

(ii)any assistance specified in section 139(1), other than guardian’s payment (non-contributory) payable in accordance with section 168, widowed or surviving civil partner grant, domiciliary care allowance, a weekly or monthly payment payable in accordance with section 198 and supplementary welfare allowance in so far as it relates to the payment of that allowance in accordance with section 200, 201, 202 or 206, or

(iii)a continued payment for qualified children payable in accordance with Part 7,

(b)participates in a qualifying scheme, or

(c)ceases to be employed or self-employed.

(4)Where, but for subsection (3), back to work family dividend would be payable to a person in a period of incapacity for work in respect of which illness benefit or injury benefit would also be payable to that person or, where appropriate, to his or her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, the dividend shall be payable to that person for that part of the period of incapacity for work which does not exceed 36 days.

(5)A person shall not be entitled to back to work family dividend under this Part unless he or she is habitually resident in the State.

(6)In this section –

‘continuous period of unemployment’ shall –

(a)in relation to jobseeker’s benefit, jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) and jobseeker’s allowance, be construed in accordance with section 141(3), and

(b)in relation to a qualifying payment, be construed in accordance with section 141(3), subject to the modification that a reference to unemployment shall be construed as a reference to participation in a qualifying scheme;

‘couple’ means –

(a)a married couple who are living together,

(b)both civil partners of the same civil partnership who are living together, or

(c)both cohabitants.

238C.

Duration of dividend

(1)Subject to this Act, back to work family dividend shall be paid for a maximum period of 104 weeks.

(2)Where back to work family dividend ceases to be paid to a person before the end of the period specified in subsection (1), the dividend may, subject to subsection (3), be paid to the person for any part of the unexpired portion of that period where –

(a)that person satisfies the conditions specified in section 238B(1), and

(b)sections 238B(3) and 238D(3) do not apply.

(3)Back to work family dividend may be paid to a person in accordance with section 238B(1) and subsection (2) in respect of separate periods, subject to –

(a)the aggregate of such periods not exceeding the period specified in subsection (1), and

(b)the dividend being paid in respect of not more than 3 such separate periods.

(4)Where a person was in receipt of back to work family dividend immediately prior to attaining pensionable age, payment of that dividend shall cease upon him or her attaining pensionable age unless he or she –

(a)was born on or after 1 January 1958, and

(b)has, in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed period, notified the Minister of his or her desire to continue receiving back to work family dividend after attaining pensionable age for any remaining period in which he or she is entitled to receive it.

238D.

Rate of dividend

(1)Subject to this Act, the weekly rate of back to work family dividend payable shall –

(a)in respect of the first 52 weeks, beginning on the date on which it is receivable in accordance with regulations made under this Act, be an amount corresponding to the amount set out –

(i)in column (4) of Part 1 of Schedule 4, opposite reference 1(a) in column (1) of that Part in respect of each child who has not attained the age of 12 years, and

(ii)in column (5) of Part 1 of Schedule 4, opposite reference 1(a) in column (1) of that Part in respect of each child who has attained the age of 12 years,

to whom section 238B(1)(b) refers, subject to the maximum weekly dividend payable corresponding to the weekly rate payable in respect of 4 such qualified children, and

(b)in respect of any week, occurring after the first 52 weeks, and not exceeding an aggregate of 104 weeks, be half the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (a), subject to the maximum weekly dividend payable corresponding to half the weekly rate payable in respect of 4 such children.

(2)The weekly rate of back to work family dividend payable shall not include an amount in respect of a child to whom section 238B(1)(b) refers for any period during which that child –

(a)is treated as a qualified child for the purposes of an increase in any benefit specified in section 39(1), an increase in any assistance specified in section 139(1) or a continued payment for qualified children payable in accordance with Part 7,

(b)is treated as a child for the purposes of an increase in any qualifying payment or any relevant payment which corresponds to an increase in benefit or assistance referred to in paragraph (a),

(c)is treated as a qualified adult for the purposes of an increase in any benefit specified in section 39(1) or an increase in any assistance specified in section 139(1),

(d)is treated as an adult for the purposes of an increase in any qualifying payment or any relevant payment which corresponds to an increase in benefit or assistance referred to in paragraph (c),

(e)is in receipt of any benefit to which section 238B(3)(a)(i) refers or any assistance to which section 238B(3)(a)(ii) refers in his or her own right, or

(f)participates in a qualifying scheme.

(3)A person shall not be entitled to back to work family dividend during any period in respect of which –

(a)subsection (2) applies, and

(b)there is no child to whom section 238B(1)(b) refers in respect of whom the dividend is payable.

238E.

Regulations

(1)The Minister may make regulations in relation to the back to work family dividend.

(2)Regulations under this section may, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) –

(a)require employers to give such information to the Minister as he or she may require for the purposes of determining entitlement to the back to work family dividend, and

(b)prescribe –

(i)schemes or programmes of employment or work experience, and

(ii)courses of education, training or development,

for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of ‘qualifying scheme’ in section 238A and different schemes, programmes or courses may be prescribed for different provisions of this Part.

238F.

Cessation of Part 7A
Deleted from 23 December 2017
This Part shall cease to have effect on 1 April 2021.