September 16, 2010
Listener's questions answered - September 16, 2010
Midland Radio 3
Citizens Information slot
Thursday 16th September 2010
Question 1
Martina has been let go from her job and she signed for her stamps and all she is getting is 88 euro, is there anything else she would be entitled to?
Answer 1
Job seeker’s Benefit rates are graduated according to earnings in the relevant tax year, which for anyone claiming benefit in 2010 is 2008. Therefore if Martina was earning less than €150 per week in 2008, this would explain why she is getting just €88. In order to get the full payment of €196 she would have to have earned over €300 in 2008. It might improve her situation if she were to claim Jobseekers Allowance instead of benefit, especially if she is over 24. If she is under 20 the maximum payment she would receive would be €100, but she would still be better off by €12 per week.
Question 2
Sharon works 20 hours or less a week and she is a single parent with two children and is on family income supplement, would she be entitled to anything else?
Answer 2
Sharon may be entitled to some or all of the following:
- School Books Scheme
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance - Medical card
- Rent or mortgage supplement
- Fuel Allowance
- One parent family tax credits
- Exceptional needs payments or urgent needs payments
Question 3
How much tax can you claim back on redundancy if you paid eleven thousand euro at 11%?
Answer 3
This is a difficult question to answer as I don’t really know what your listener is referring to.
You pay no income tax on statutory redundancy. You only pay on amounts over the statutory limit. If he means he paid €11,000 on his redundancy payment, which I think could be the case, it is quite a complex calculation as to how this may be arrived at and there are different methods of arriving at the final figure. Without all the facts I wouldn’t be able to go into it here, but we could refer him if he wishes to our tax expert if he to contact us.
The Revenue Commissioners usually inform the employer about the correct amount to be treated as tax free and the rate of tax to be applied to the rest. If this does not happen, or if it is incorrect and you have paid too much tax, you should contact your regional Revenue office to claim a refund.
Question 4
If you have an employee that was caught stealing from the company is it a sackable offence?
Answer 4
It will depend on what are in the company policies as to how you would deal with this.
For any employer it is important that their decision to dismiss an employee is fair.
In order to justify the dismissal your employer:
- Must show that your dismissal was connected with one or more of the potentially fair grounds set out in the legislation
- Must show that fair procedures were followed and must have acted fairly
As a ground for fair dismissal the term conduct covers a very large area of behaviour. There is a need to distinguish between gross misconduct and ordinary instances of misconduct.
Gross misconduct may give rise to instant (summary) dismissal without notice or pay in lieu of notice. Examples of gross misconduct include assault, drunkenness, stealing, bullying or serious breach of your employer's policies and practices. Contracts of employment may contain further information concerning gross misconduct.
Question 5
Kathleen is wondering how many sick days can you have in a year without a doctors note?
Answer 5
In general an employee has no right under employment law in Ireland to be paid while on sick leave. Consequently, it is at the discretion of the employer to decide his/her own policy on sick pay and sick leave, subject to the employee’s contract or terms of employment. Under Section 3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and 2001 an employer must provide an employee with a written statement of terms of employment within two months of the commencement of the employment. One of the terms referred to in this Act on which the employer must provide information is the terms or conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury.
Question 6
Paul’s wife is going into hospital for a major operation and he is wondering would he be entitled to paid time off or will he have to use his holidays?
Answer 6
Paul can claim illness benefit from the Dept. of Social Protection for the time he is unfit for work. He should send a copy of his certificate to his employer also. He will not have to take annual leave for the time he is not working, but his employer does not have to pay him for the time he is off sick although some employers do pay a certain amount of sick pay and Paul should consult his contract of employment or his Terms and Conditions of employment.
It is important the Paul would keep his employer informed about how long he may be off sick and when he hopes to return to work.
Question 7
If you are getting full time carer’s for looking after your mother can you claim carer’s for an uncle who needs help a few hours a day?
Answer 7
It is possible to claim carer’s allowance for 2 people. You could get €119.50 extra each week for the extra person.
The conditions for qualifying would be the same as for his mother.
Question 8
Jackie is 30 and is single and working part time and she is wondering would she be entitled to a medical card?
Answer 8
It will depend on her personal circumstances, for example how much she is earning and whether she lives alone and if she is paying rent or a mortgage. But the basic guideline is if her weekly nett income is over:
|
Single person living alone |
€184 |
|
Single person living with family |
€164 |
Any travel costs she has for going to work or her housing costs will also be taken into account.
She could qualify for a GP visit card, if she is turned down for the full medical card.
Question 9
Ann in Westmeath is pregnant and she has very high blood pressure and she is wondering if she takes early maternity leave will she still be able to take unpaid maternity leave after her paid leave is up? And how much time can she have off altogether?
Answer 9
Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks. At least 2 weeks and not more than 16 weeks leave must be taken before the end of the week in which your baby is due.
You can take a further 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave. This period is not covered by Maternity Benefit but you will be entitled to a credited social insurance contribution for each week of unpaid leave you take (up to the maximum of 16).
She has probably got 2 options, she can take sick leave now or Health and Safety leave and then take her maternity leave at the time she originally intended.
Health and Safety Benefit is a weekly payment for employed women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, and who are granted Health and Safety Leave by their employer.
The right to health and safety leave from employment in Ireland is set out under Section 18 of the Maternity Protection Act 1994. A woman is granted health and safety leave from employment in Ireland if her employer cannot remove a risk to her health while she is pregnant or breastfeeding, or assigns her alternative "risk-free" duties.
To qualify for Health and Safety Benefit, you must meet certain criteria and social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. Your employer will pay the first 21 days of your health and safety leave, and the Department of Social Protection will pay the remainder.
During health and safety leave from employment, you are still considered to be in employment
But either way it won’t effect her entitlement to unpaid maternity leave at the end of her paid maternity leave.
Question 10
Anthony’s son is 19 and is just back from Australia after being over there for a year is he entitled to the dole?
Answer 10
If he worked prior to going to Australia he may have PRSI paid in 2008 and might qualify for Jobseeker’s benefit. If not he can claim for jobseeker’s allowance but if he is living at home some of his parents income will be taken into account as means. The maximum he would received on JA is €100 as he is under 20.
Question 11
Mary in Mullingar says her husband is working 30 hours a week and is wondering if they would be entitled to anything else?
Answer 11
It depends on how much he earns and if he is working every day or part of every day. In order to qualify for a jobseekers payment he must be unemployed for 3 out of 6 days.
However if they have children they could qualify for a Family Income supplement. They should also look about medical card and back to school clothing allowance.