Corona virus and social protection

Segundo Volanante

12th payment received last week#

So what happens now? I was sure it was only 12 payments? Do we need to reapply or has it been extended?

Dempo1

It's been extended, have you seen any news? Basically extended till April 2021 but payments reducing from mid September, go on gov.ie to see how payment will reduce, also new rule, "must be look for work" if fully unemployed, as in no chance of returning to your job etc

Segundo Volanante

Dempo1 wrote: »

It's been extended, have you seen any news? Basically extended till April 2021 but payments reducing from mid September, go on gov.ie to see how payment will reduce, also new rule, "must be look for work" if fully unemployed, as in no chance of returning to your job etc

Thanks for that

It's not my claim, it's my mams, was her 12th payment last week, she had it cut from 350 to 204 a month ago

She works in a primary school

So her normal 204 will be there this week?

Dempo1

Segundo Volanante wrote: »

Thanks for that

It's not my claim, it's my mams, was her 12th payment last week, she had it cut from 350 to 204 a month ago

She works in a primary school

So her normal 204 will be there this week?

A, I see, yes it will, does your mum have access to her mywelfare account, it's easy enough to set up, email address and phone number, good way to keep a track on it. Her €204 won't reduce as part of proposed reductions as that's the minimum, hopefully her school reopening soon, good luck

Segundo Volanante

Dempo1 wrote: »

A, I see, yes it will, does your mum have access to her mywelfare account, it's easy enough to set up, email address and phone number, good way to keep a track on it. Her €204 won't reduce as part of proposed reductions as that's the minimum, hopefully her school reopening soon, good luck

Thanks, really appreciate the info

edwardkiley

Hi everyone.
Just wondering has anyone applied just recently for the first time for PUP and how long it took for your application to be processed and payments to come in?

yoshiktk

Did anyone had problem with GP's refusing to give cert for Covid19 - self isolation? I just came back from Poland, went there due family reasons. But my GP and few others refused to give me cert as for them I was there on holiday, even thou I did send them a death cert of my father. Any idea what to do now? The company im working wont let me in before the 14 day period and they cant pay me for the quarantine.
Thanks

Dempo1

yoshiktk wrote: »

Did anyone had problem with GP's refusing to give cert for Covid19 - self isolation? I just came back from Poland, went there due family reasons. But my GP and few others refused to give me cert as for them I was there on holiday, even thou I did send them a death cert of my father. Any idea what to do now? The company im working wont let me in before the 14 day period and they cant pay me for the quarantine.
Thanks

That's extremely harsh and sorry for your loss. My opinion (and I could be wrong) self isolating) is not the same as medically advised/recommended isolating, this is why the GP is refusing. The government guidelines seem to suggest you must self isolate but I can't see anything whereby you could sign on for PUP for example. Not sure if will help but contact social welfare and explain the situation, you have the death cert as evidence etc, there is a free phone 1800 number, your circumstances are specific and they might be reasonable, Might!!!

yoshiktk

Dempo1 wrote: »

That's extremely harsh and sorry for your loss. My opinion (and I could be wrong) self isolating) is not the same as medically advised/recommended isolating, this is why the GP is refusing. The government guidelines seem to suggest you must self isolate but I can't see anything whereby you could sign on for PUP for example. Not sure if will help but contact social welfare and explain the situation, you have the death cert as evidence etc, there is a free phone 1800 number, your circumstances are specific and they might be reasonable, Might!!!

As far I could find, it should be covered under the Illness benefit. For my company the gov guideline is a "golden rule", they wont let me or my wife back. I've tried the one of Social nr for payments, cant find which one now. Got response that without the cert they cant do anything. Gosh the world is crazy thanks to corona. Will try to get something out from Intreo tomorrow.

Dempo1

yoshiktk wrote: »

As far I could find, it should be covered under the Illness benefit. For my company the gov guideline is a "golden rule", they wont let me or my wife back. I've tried the one of Social nr for payments, cant find which one now. Got response that without the cert they cant do anything. Gosh the world is crazy thanks to corona. Will try to get something out from Intreo tomorrow.

I've checked and unfortunately it's not covered under enhanced illness benifit as a specific six cert is required to confirm a covid related illness.

It's just a thought but if you've been temporarily laid off, and you technically have been, would it be worth claiming for PUP, I'm just not sure as even that is related to being laid off temporarily, fully or loss of earnings re self employment as a result of Covid-19. Claiming for PUP just requires your details, employer details and simplest way is through the mywelfre portal

yoshiktk

Dempo1 wrote: »

I've checked and unfortunately it's not covered under enhanced illness benifit as a specific six cert is required to confirm a covid related illness.

It's just a thought but if you've been temporarily laid off, and you technically have been, would it be worth claiming for PUP, I'm just not sure as even that is related to being laid off temporarily, fully or loss of earnings re self employment as a result of Covid-19. Claiming for PUP just requires your details, employer details and simplest way is through the mywelfre portal

I was looking at this paragraph:

If you are returning from travel abroad and following HSE self-isolation advice, and are not being paid by your employer, you will require your GP to complete a Certificate of Incapacity for Work on your behalf.

Plus the link to HSE page states, that people traveling from abroad have to self-isolate. It's sucha a mess. Ill try Intreo tomorrow, depending from their asnwer Ill maybe try the PUP.

Dempo1

yoshiktk wrote: »

I was looking at this paragraph:

Plus the link to HSE page states, that people traveling from abroad have to self-isolate. It's sucha a mess. Ill try Intreo tomorrow, depending from their asnwer Ill maybe try the PUP.

Agreed its a mess but GP's caught in the middle, they can't issue a medical cert saying people are incapacitated when they are technically not, this said and given your family bereavement, it's a little surprising the GP didn't show some flexibility and compassion . Good luck with whatever you decide

Mogfather

Hi all, for some reason I can't start a new thread.
I'm returning to college in September. I'm still unemployed and receiving the pandemic unemployment payment.
Will this be ceased when I go back to college? I am not eligible for SUSI.
Thank you!

Dempo1

Mogfather wrote: »

Hi all, for some reason I can't start a new thread.
I'm returning to college in September. I'm still unemployed and receiving the pandemic unemployment payment.
Will this be ceased when I go back to college? I am not eligible for SUSI.
Thank you!

It's a good question and I'm sure many in your situation will be asking about this. Technically if your a full time student your limited in any SW entitlements. The PUP was brought in as an emergency payment covering a wide variety of scenarios including yours. SW have however been working on addressing entitlement criteria, especially "you must be looking for work", and it's this particular rule that may exclude you if you return to full time college.

amd1982

Has anybody recieved a positive reply to their appeal against payment reduction ?? Still no reply here was told yesterday there are only 8 People working on rerate claims

Dempo1

amd1982 wrote: »

Has anybody recieved a positive reply to their appeal against payment reduction ?? Still no reply here was told yesterday there are only 8 People working on rerate claims

Employee or Self Employed? I ask because I've see as many successful appeals as declines on another self employed thread, I can say the process from what I've seen is torturous and long, re self employed, they are now permitting 2019 earning figures as an option if they are better than 2018 which was the initial year they were working off, of course this penalised anyone say starting up in that year or anyone just developing their business as figures would have been low.

Employed should be more straight forward as that information is to hand albeit I've seen people say who have 2 jobs and only having one of those jobs count for purposes of checking earnings, not sure if this helps but it's a very protracted process and there's still a serious issue with back pay owed, those who got caught at the start of the payment seem to be still waiting for arrears, 5 months into this. Finally, anyone I've seen succeed have not apparently been paid arrears, basically they seem not to have a mechanism to fix this problem, for example, if your payment was reduced for 4 weeks, you prove you were entitled, they seem to be just reinstating payment but not the €150 pw lost over those 4 weeks, I wonder has anyone seen this??? or is it just some affected?

edwardkiley

Does anyone know if social welfare monitor peoples bank accounts for people on the covid payment?

Dempo1

edwardkiley wrote: »

Does anyone know if social welfare monitor peoples bank accounts for people on the covid payment?

SW have no access to your account, the only situation whereby they request access is if there is a fraud investigation, even that requires a strict process and permissions by way of a formal request on foot of an investigation.

Other than that, if your on a standard SW payment that is means tested, you have to furnish a recent bank statement and this can be requested any amount of times

Irishphotodesk

edwardkiley wrote: »

Does anyone know if social welfare monitor peoples bank accounts for people on the covid payment?

They might not but revenue will have access and might flag it for investigation.

madmax72

I wonder can someone answer this question for me.I am currently out of work getting the pup payment.I am hoping to start back working next week.As i understand it the pup system closes for new applicants on the 17 Sept.
My question is would i be a new or old applicant if i lost my job after 17th Sept .If i am an old applicant i can claim the pup (which will be €300 then) again but if not i can only claim jobseekers(only €203).Hopefully my job survives but in these times who knows

Dempo1

madmax72 wrote: »

I wonder can someone answer this question for me.I am currently out of work getting the pup payment.I am hoping to start back working next week.As i understand it the pup system closes for new applicants on the 17 Sept.
My question is would i be a new or old applicant if i lost my job after 17th Sept .If i am an old applicant i can claim the pup (which will be €300 then) again but if not i can only claim jobseekers(only €203).Hopefully my job survives but in these times who knows

There will be no new PUP payments or claims processed after the 17th September. As of now, it' seems the government intention is to only offer JSA/JSB benefits to new claims after the 17th September if you loose your job having returned. That may changed with the various flip flops but its doubtful.

Wanderer78

Dempo1 wrote:

There will be no new PUP payments or claims processed after the 17th September. As of now, it' seems the government intention is to only offer JSA/JSB benefits to new claims after the 17th September if you loose your job having returned. That may changed with the various flip flops but its doubtful.

Jesus, this could be a disaster, if we find out how bad things are upon reopening

Dempo1

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Jesus, this could be a disaster, if we find out how bad things are upon reopening

I know, so many have returned only to be let go again, its going to be a challenging few months ahead.

On top of this, I see more spin coming from SW yesterday with a bizzare claim 29,000 pup recepients have not confirmed their eligibility and may loose payment next week. I seriously doubt these figures, it's also interesting they are giving these people until Friday next to confirm but have actually neglected to tell the media that SW have now closed the confirm eligibility feature on my welfare and even have a customer notice to that affect. Its hard to be anything coming out of this department I'm afraid.

Wanderer78

Dempo1 wrote:

On top of this, I see more spin coming from SW yesterday with a bizzare claim 29,000 pup recepients have not confirmed their eligibility and may loose payment next week. I seriously doubt these figures, it's also interesting they are giving these people until Friday next to confirm but have actually neglected to tell the media that SW have now closed the confirm eligibility feature on my welfare and even have a customer notice to that affect. Its hard to be anything coming out of this department I'm afraid.

This could be an absolute disaster, covid payments should remain, even if people don't truly meet the criteria, the economy needs money, covid is providing it, our politicians and their advisers have to stop with this crappy economically conservative thinking, it's bloody dangerous, particularly right now

Dempo1

Wanderer78 wrote: »

This could be an absolute disaster, covid payments should remain, even if people don't truly meet the criteria, the economy needs money, covid is providing it, our politicians and their advisers have to stop with this crappy economically conservative thinking, it's bloody dangerous, particularly right now

Unfortunately it's been evident this government is intent on reducing the cost and the amount of people on this particular payment. I'm in the affected areas locked down again and have lost count of the amount of people I know let go again and having to sign back onto PUP, if further lockdowns occur they'll have to come up with some measures, can you imagine if Dublin locked down and there was no PUP, doesn't bare thinking about with its population.

Wanderer78

Dempo1 wrote:

Unfortunately it's been evident this government is intent on reducing the cost and the amount of people on this particular payment. I'm in the affected areas locked down again and have lost count of the amount of people I know let go again and having to sign back onto PUP, if further lockdowns occur they'll have to come up with some measures, can you imagine if Dublin locked down and there was no PUP, doesn't bare thinking about with its population.

Again, I think they ll be forced to rethink this very soon, as more cluster closures start occuring, they reacted quickly the first time with pup, with the increase, if the economy continues to slide, which I expect it to, this will probably force a rethink quite quickly, it's very interesting to see them spin on their naturally economically conservative default

Dempo1

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Again, I think they ll be forced to rethink this very soon, as more cluster closures start occuring, they reacted quickly the first time with pup, with the increase, if the economy continues to slide, which I expect it to, this will probably force a rethink quite quickly, it's very interesting to see them spin on their naturally economically conservative default

Agreed in one sense but the very people who brought in PUP and are now try to dismantle it are all FG ministers

Dempo1

Irishphotodesk wrote: »

They might not but revenue will have access and might flag it for investigation.

Could you expand on this comment, why do you assume revenue have access to any bank account? Again, whilst any state agency can apply for an order on foot of an investigation to access someone's bank account, to suggest revenue will have access as a blanket assumption is not quite factual. There are quite complex conditions attached in any request to access someone's bank account and it must be justified. One area for example is Revenue do have access to interest paid on savings etc and this can be crossed referenced against a claimant on a means tested SW benefit, but that only commences the process of investigation.

timetogo1

Dempo1 wrote: »

I know, so many have returned only to be let go again, its going to be a challenging few months ahead.

On top of this, I see more spin coming from SW yesterday with a bizzare claim 29,000 pup recepients have not confirmed their eligibility and may loose payment next week. I seriously doubt these figures, it's also interesting they are giving these people until Friday next to confirm but have actually neglected to tell the media that SW have now closed the confirm eligibility feature on my welfare and even have a customer notice to that affect. Its hard to be anything coming out of this department I'm afraid.

My missus didn't confirm her eligibility and lost it. They were sending notifications through the Welfare page. So if you don't log on and check it you won't see them. When she rang to see why it was stopped the lady couldn't say and said she'd ring back. A couple of days later she chased up and the guy on the phone said she should have filled in more forms on the Welfare page.
He said she should have been texted or emailed. She wasn't. So she's reapplied last week. No update on it yet.

Dempo1

timetogo1 wrote: »

My missus didn't confirm her eligibility and lost it. They were sending notifications through the Welfare page. So if you don't log on and check it you won't see them. When she rang to see why it was stopped the lady couldn't say and said she'd ring back. A couple of days later she chased up and the guy on the phone said she should have filled in more forms on the Welfare page.
He said she should have been texted or emailed. She wasn't. So she's reapplied last week. No update on it yet.

Sorry to hear this, however notifications whilst sent to my welfare account also generates a text message and or email. Also the department stated yesterday that it's next week payments being stopped, they made no mention that anyone has had payment stopped yet because of this eligibility confirmation, I wonder has anyone else been affected by this? this said its hard to believe much coming out of the department at this stage, so many mixed messages, rule changes etc. I'm sure her appeal will be successful.