Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Jan 2002

Vol. 547 No. 1

Written Answers. - Job Sharing.

Brian Hayes

Ceist:

819 Mr. B. Hayes asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the level of protection or benefits provided under the social insurance scheme to persons who are involved in job sharing; if the normal benefits, such as dental, eye, maternity and superannuation benefits apply to persons in this category; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1266/02]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

Job sharers are liable to pay PRSI, subject to the normal thresholds etc, and receive the relevant benefits under the same terms and conditions that apply to PRSI contributors generally. Because PRSI is charged on a weekly basis, some job sharers may find that, because of their particular work pattern, they do not work for 52 PRSI weeks and therefore have less than 52 contributions in a year. This can, in certain circumstances, effect their entitlement to benefits. However, in many cases, jobsharers may be in the situation where they can change their work pattern to ensure that they work in each PRSI week, and therefore get the full 52 contributions. The main effects of having less than 52 contributions or credits in a year are set out as follows, but in view of the range of job sharing options available, it is difficult to deal with all possibilities in a single statement. Individual job sharers who are unsure of their entitlements should contact my Department's information section for fuller details of the implications for their case.

In relation to old age and retirement pension, these pensions are based on the person's contribution over their full working life, and not the pattern in any particular year. Since job sharing is usually availed of for a few years, rather than over a person's full working life, most people would find they have sufficient contributions for a pension, even if they have been job sharing for some years of their working life. Short-term benefits, such as unemployment and sickness benefits require that a certain number of contributions be paid or credited in the "governing contribution year", which is currently the second last tax year before the calendar year in which one claims benefits.

Until last year, to qualify for these benefits, 39 contributions had to be paid or credited in the governing contribution year. The difficulty which this presented for job sharers was brought to my attention, and as a result, I added an alternative contribution test for these benefits last year: a person who does not have 39 contributions in the governing contribution year, but who has 26 contributions paid in both the governing contribution year and the previous year, can now qualify for unemployment benefit, disability benefit, and carers benefit. In general, jobsharers whose working pattern means that they only have 26 contributions in a year can now qualify for these benefits under this new test. A small number of people, e.g. those who were job sharing, but not for the full year might still not have 26 contributions paid, but in a contributory system it is necessary to strike a balance between a reasonable number of contributions and entitlement to benefits. Treatment benefits, i.e. dental and optical benefits, generally require the customer to have 39 PRSI contributions either paid or credited in the governing contribution year. Some job sharers may find that they do not have the required number of contributions, and therefore fail to qualify for these benefits.

In view of the complexity of these arrangements, my Department is in the process of preparing an information leaflet for jobsharers and potential jobsharers, in order that they will be able to assess the implications of different jobsharing options. In the meantime, individuals can contact my Department to establish their own situation. In the medium term, there is a commitment in the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to set up a working group to produce proposals for the development of a fully inclusive social insurance model which would facilitate combining work and family responsibilities. It is intended to establish this group later this year, and I would expect that its work would include making proposals for any further measures needed to address the situation of job sharers.