Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2012
412 Deputy Willie O’Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if the employer job, PRSI, incentive scheme which exempts employers from liability to pay their share of PRSI for certain employees has been simplified and extended per item 1.13 of the action plan for jobs; if not, when it will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20034/12]
View answerThe Employer (Job) PRSI Incentive scheme has been simplified and extended as part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2012. These changes have been implemented in full by the Department.
Under the scheme, if an employer takes on an additional member of staff in 2012 , who has been unemployed and in receipt of an eligible payment for 6 months or more, they will be exempt from paying employers' PRSI for 18 months. The job must be new and additional, be for at least 30 hours a week and last for at least six months. The exemption is available for new and additional employees up to 5% of employers existing workforce or, for smaller companies, a maximum of 5 new jobs.
Eligibility criteria for the scheme have been amended to allow:
time spent on the Work Placement Programme and JobBridge count towards the qualifying period for the scheme.
time spent on short training programmes through SOLAS count towards the qualifying period for the scheme.
time spent in casual employment count towards the qualifying period for the scheme, where a person is progressing to a new full-time job offered by a different employer.
linking periods for illness payments provided the proposed employee is on a qualifying payment immediately prior to commencement of employment.
These amendments will enhance the scheme and its aim of supporting job creation and counter the drift of people into long-term unemployment and welfare dependency.
