There have been no changes to the cumulative lifetime participation limits on the Community Employment scheme. With effect from 3 April 2000, lifetime participation on Community Employment by an individual will be limited to:
- 3 years (156 weeks) for persons under 55 years of age.
- 6 years (312 weeks) for persons of 55 years of age up to State Pension age.
- Eligible persons in receipt of a qualifying disability-linked social welfare payment will be eligible for one additional year on CE over the standard maximum participation caps, i.e. 4 years maximum time on CE for those under 55 years of age (PTJ Option only), and 7 years maximum time for those between 55 years of age and State Pension age (PTJ Option only).
Participation on CE prior to 3 April 2000 is not counted. Offshore island residents are exempt from this participation cap, subject to the availability of places on island-based CE schemes.
The length of time a person spends on CE in any particular instance depends on their qualifying conditions. Where a person has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying payment for 12 months or more and is 25 years of age or older, they may qualify for 1 year’s participation on CE under the Part-Time Integration (PTI) Option of CE. If a person has been in continuous receipt of a qualifying payment for 3 years or more and is 35 or over, they may qualify under the Part-Time Job (PTJ) Option of CE that allows up to 3 consecutive years participation, subject to annually renewable contracts.