Workers made redundant who have lost reckonable service can claim up to €1,860.
Workers who lost out on reckonable service while on lay-off due to Covid-19 restrictions, and were subsequently made redundant, will be entitled to a special, tax-free payment of up to €1,860 to bridge the gap in their redundancy entitlements.
The amount an eligible worker will receive will depend on the length of time they were placed on lay-off due to Covid-19 before the date they were made redundant. The calculation for the payment is based on existing statutory redundancy provisions.
The maximum to which any employee will be entitled is €1,860 if they earned €600 or more a week and were laid off for the full emergency period.
The Department of Social Protection is working on the necessary administrative systems to provide for the application and payment processes and it's expected payments will become operational in the first half of this year.
“This Bill will make sure that people made redundant are not out of pocket because of the period during which they were placed on lay-off due to Covid-19 restrictions," Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, who published the Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Bill on Friday, said.
"The Government will step in and provide a special payment of up to a maximum of €1,860 tax-free to compensate for a person’s break in service due to necessary closures to protect public health.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have aimed to save as many jobs and businesses as possible. Part of that was suspending an employee’s right to trigger redundancy, to ensure already struggling businesses weren’t overwhelmed with costs. That provision has now been lifted, and employees can if they wish, seek redundancy if they have been laid off.
"We want to make sure workers don’t lose out on payments and on the other hand, business owners aren’t faced with a flood of additional redundancy costs, just when they’re trying to get back on their feet. This Bill provides the best outcome for both employers and their employees.”
