I am aware of the suggestions from the Civil and Public Services Union in this regard. It is clear that working patterns can have an impact on the liability for PRSI contributions and the award of contributions and this applies particularly to work sharing arrangements.
Work sharing arrangements are agreed between an employer and an employee and examples can include a four day week, a three day week, a week on/week off, mornings only and so forth. In many cases, the attendance pattern will overlap with the pattern of PRSI contribution weeks and work sharers will receive contributions in respect of 52 weeks provided their weekly earnings exceed €38, as is the case with full time workers. However in some circumstances and depending on the alignment of the working week with the contribution week, work sharers may be awarded 26 or 39 contributions in a given year rather than the 52 weeks of PRSI contributions. In such circumstances employees may decide to change their work sharing patterns so as to increase the number of contributions to 52. However, they are not obliged to change their attendance patterns in these circumstances.
The link between working patterns, contribution record and entitlement to benefits is complex and my Department recently published an information booklet which specifically deals with these work sharing issues. It is acknowledged that there may be work sharing patterns where, in some years, the employee may be awarded only 26 weeks contributions or 39 weeks contributions. The attendance patterns and the years when this might occur are clearly identified in the booklet. Central to this issue from the perspective of the employee is the question of whether a smaller number of contributions might affect entitlement to benefit at some future date.
In the case of short-term benefits, such as unemployment and disability benefits, relatively recent changes in the qualifying conditions mean that an employee with 26 weeks of contributions in the governing qualification year and 26 contributions in the previous year is fully covered for short-term social welfare benefits. For longer term benefits, the potential impact on qualification for benefit is quite limited, although my Department will keep the position under review. It is important to acknowledge that if a work sharer is allocated 26 contributions in a year because their working week coincides with the contribution week, this simply reflects the fact that the contributory principle in social insurance, in general, seeks to link the number of contributions awarded with the level of contribution. Work sharers are generally awarded the same number of contributions as full-time workers despite the fact that they and their employers pay a considerably smaller amount in PRSI contributions.
The issue of the interaction between the social insurance system and work sharing patterns is one of a number being examined by a social partnership working group with a view to developing a fully inclusive social insurance model that facilitates combining work and family responsibilities. While the considerations of the working group are not yet complete, I understand it has acknowledged that any change in the present PRSI contribution arrangements, which is based on weeks of insurable employment, would have major implications for different groups of workers and alternative models could adversely affect the position of certain categories of employees. I will consider the scope for change in the present arrangements in the light of the working group's report.
