Referendum pay rates

Yes, I was checking with others here to see their experience since not everyone is working for the same area.

I said that because the post I was replying to said that it's not been 11 days it's only 6 days, the point being they wanted to only count work days.

That's right, about 1 in 3 are paid monthly. Most are not. And 6 weeks (put forward by you) is longer than a month. 👍🏻

Nice one mate.

If you don't mind me asking,

1. Which County are you based in?

2. Who do you Bank with?

3. Did you receive an email with the Payslip on the same day?

The reason I ask is because as someone already said, the County you're in might make a difference in when you're paid

As would who you Bank with. Sometimes it may take a few days longer for certain Banks.

And lastly, regarding the Payslip. They usually send it with a breakdown of Tax/USC paid. And if you are a Student or currently not working, you can claim back the Tax at the start of next year. Just go onto the MyGov.org or what ever its called & go to the Revenue section.

If you haven't exceeded your annual Tax threshold then you just click for an Audit & they'll send you back the Tax you paid directly into your Bank Account within a few weeks.

They are amazingly fast at returning it nowadays actually.

But be warned. If you claim Social Welfare, then the Revenue will notify the Social that you are working. And they do it pretty sharpish, like within a couple of weeks.

You can just tell the Social that your name is on the list, but you only find out if you're working on the week of the Election.

They will make you pay back that entire weeks money, but you can pay it back for as little as 15% per week if need be. It's the paperwork that's the hassle.

It says you are an ongoing employee of the Returning Office, or that you worked a full week as opposed to one day. So you have to go to their head office & get a letter saying you were only working one day & are not in full-time employment. The Social give you 21 days in total to sort it out. But tbh it's a pain in the arse getting it done.

But when it comes to claiming the Tax back then there's no need to mention it. Revenue don't inform them of that.

I was eager to get paid myself. I've been doing it for about a decade. I was a Poll Clerk for years. Then promoted to Presiding Officer, which tbh isn't worth the stress for the extra few quid.

But this year I was a Supervisor, & changed to a completely different Constituency only a few days before Election Day.

So I'm worried that they won't pay the full amount correctly in one payment.

I'd taken a few months off work coz I was doing a Course & had Exams coming up. Plus I had a few other things going on. So I was relying on Social Welfare at the time.

So if they don't pay it all at once, it will show up as two separate payments, meaning it could end up costing me two weeks of Social Welfare. And also look like I'm working under the table.

But tbh I've never hidden the fact I work the Elections. After a decade or so it's on their Records that I work every Election & do the required paperwork afterwards. So I could do without the hassle of a payment been messed up.

In Dublin they are usually pretty quick at paying. Think the first one I worked they didn't pay for months.

But since then it's been pretty consistent that they pay within a couple of weeks.

Same with the Tax Rebate. It's usually in your account within a week or two.

So the fact that I'm relying on the cash this time, & also in fear there may be a clerical error, is an overall head melter.

Anyway, if you get a chance then let us know.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers mate

It goes up around €10-20 quid each Election. Think it was up to €389 Gross for the last one. So should be around €400 mark.

But as I said earlier, depending on your work situation you can claim the Tax back.

Also just got an email from the Dublin Office that says payment will be made on the 4th April. So at least that saves checking my account every day.

Could've done with it before the long weekend tbh. But at least we have a date now.

Don't think it works like that. Not sure exactly how the increase works tbh.

It was €369 for a few Elections before going up to about €389.

Think it's been increased within the same year before as well.

I will say it's never less than the previous amount, so it doesn't go down, & you can never determine the exact payday in advance.

And always take the Tax into account. At the bottom of the Payslips it says something about deducting 40% if you work full-time. So chances are unless you're on the higher Tax bracket then you'll be entitled to the Tax back.

So Students, people working part-time, or anyone on Social Welfare will get most, if not all the Tax back.

I did the South Dublin By-Election during COVID, so nobody was working. It worked out I paid less than €2 in Tax. It was great.

The Presiding Officer is a few quid more. But it's a lot of stress at the at the end for not much more cash.

If it's your first time then you always have older people telling you you're doing the final count wrong. And they really get into your head & cause stress.

But they never read the Rule Book for changes. So most of the time it's actually them just stuck in their ways, working on Rules for 20 years ago.

Most are just being helpful. But a lot of ex-teachers, Retirees, etc will argue black is white rather than admit they're wrong. So just make sure you actually check the rulebook yourself & listen in the Training Class.

Btw you get paid for going to the Training. Think it's about €25 per hour & lasts between 1-2 hours

There was an article about some guy on the Northside that was a recent Irish Citizen, had an Irish Passport, & his name was on the list. But a Clerk wouldn't let him vote because "he didn't look Irish". It eventually got sorted, but it caused a lot of hassle.

So imagine being the Presiding Officer working with that Clerk. A total head melter.

Exactly this.

It's always worth checking for Rebates. You never know when you've overpaid unless you check.

Plus there's lots of little things you can write off. Medical Bills throughout the year, Work expenses like Mileage, etc.

Years ago you used to be able to pay off Clothes like new Suits, once they were for work. It was ridiculous the amount of stuff you could claim that they don't tell you.

Yep & getting impatient now.

I need to know they haven't messed up payment as I'm off work for Course & Exams. I need it paid in one go or it will start costing me money.

And could genuinely use the cash right now as was expecting it to be paid weeks ago.

Its a decent few quid more tbh.

If they pay for the Training too then it will work out a few hundred more than Presiding Officer.