Information
You may get Illness
Benefit from the Department of Social Protection if you cannot work because
you are sick or ill. You must be under 66 years of age and covered by social
insurance (PRSI).
If you are not entitled to pay for sick leave
If you are not entitled to sick pay from work you may get Illness Benefit if
you have enough (PRSI) social insurance contributions - see 'Rules' below. If
you do not have enough social insurance contributions, you should contact the
Department of Social Protection's representative (formerly known as the Community
Welfare Officer) at your local health centre. The Department's
representative will assess your situation and may give you a Supplementary
Welfare Allowance.
Your employer can decide their own policy on sick pay and sick leave. More
information is available in our document about sick
leave and employment.
If you are entitled to pay for sick leave
If you get sick pay from work, your employer will probably require you to
sign over any Illness Benefit payment to them for as long as you get sick pay
from work. When your sick pay ends, your employer should stop getting your
Illness Benefit.
If you think you have been wrongly refused Illness Benefit you can appeal this
decision.
Changes in 2012
In Budget 2012 it was announced that Illness Benefit will be taxed from the
first day of payment; previously the first 6 weeks (36 days) were exempt from
tax. This change is effective from 1 January 2012.
Rules
You must apply for Illness Benefit within 7 days of becoming ill. No payment
is made for the first three days of illness.
Social insurance (PRSI) contributions
To get Illness Benefit you must have:
- At least 104 weeks PRSI paid since you first started work
And
- Have 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year (a minimum
of 13 weeks must be paid contributions*)
Or
- Have 26 weeks PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and 26 weeks PRSI paid
in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.
*If you do not have 13 paid contributions in the relevant
tax year, the following years can be used to meet this condition:
- The 2 tax years before the relevant tax year
- The last complete tax year,
Or
The Relevant Tax Year is the second last complete tax year before the year
in which your claim is made. So, for claims made in 2012, the Relevant Tax Year
is 2010.
How long is Illness Benefit paid?
If you have 260 weeks PRSI paid since you first began work, you may be
entitled to Illness Benefit for as long as you are unfit for work and you are
under 66. Since January 2009, if you have 260 or more PRSI
contributions you can get Illness Benefit for a maximum of 2 years. This change
does not affect people who were getting Illness Benefit before this date.
If you have between 104 and 259 weeks PRSI contributions paid, you may be
entitled to Illness Benefit for up to 52 weeks. At the end of this period, an
extra 13 PRSI contributions must be paid (or a lesser number if it brings the
total PRSI contributions paid up to 260) in order to requalify for Illness
Benefit.
Transfer from Jobseeker's Allowance or Invalidity Pension to Illness
Benefit
If you were getting Jobseeker's Allowance or Invalidity Pension immediately
before claiming Illness Benefit, you do not need to have 13 paid contributions.
However, if you do not have the required 13 paid PRSI contributions in the
Relevant Tax Year you only qualify for a reduced rate of payment.
Jobseeker's Allowance and Illness Benefit
If you are getting long-term full rate Jobseeker's Allowance (15 months) and
become ill, you can get the maximum rate of Illness Benefit. You must have at
least 260 PRSI contributions paid at any time and at least 39 credited in the
Relevant Tax Year. You do not need to have 13 PRSI contributions
recently paid. In this case, you can get Illness Benefit for as long as you are
unfit for work and under 66 years of age. Since January 2009,
if you have 260 or more PRSI contributions you can get Illness Benefit for a
maximum of 2 years. This change does not affect people who were getting Illness
Benefit before this date.
If you are getting long-term Jobseeker's Allowance (15 months) and have at
least 104 PRSI paid contributions since you first started work and at least 39
credited in the Relevant Tax Year or, you don't need to have 13 PRSI
contributions recently paid to qualify for Illness Benefit. You may not however
qualify for the maximum rate of benefit. The maximum period of time you can
claim for is 52 weeks.
Transfer from Carer's Benefit or Carer’s Allowance
If you transferred from Illness Benefit to Carer's Benefit or Carer's
Allowance and then back to Illness Benefit, you will get Illness Benefit at a
rate not lower than that you had in payment.
Work and Illness Benefit
You may be able to do part time rehabilitative work (up to a maximum of 20
hours a week) and keep your Illness Benefit. You must get written approval from
the Department of Social Protection.
Rates
No payment is made for the first three days of illness.
Illness Benefit rates are graduated according to your average weekly
earnings in the relevant tax year.
Weekly payment in 2012 for claims started in 2008 or
before:
| Average weekly earnings |
Personal rate |
Qualified adult rate |
| €150 or more |
€188 |
€124.80 |
| €125 - €149.99 |
€147.30 |
€80.90 |
| €80 - €124.99 |
€121.40 |
€80.90 |
| less than €80 |
€84.50 |
€80.90 |
Weekly payment in 2012 for claims started in 2010 or
after
| Average weekly earnings |
Personal rate |
Qualified adult
rate |
| €300 or more |
€188 |
€124.80 |
| €220 - €299.99 |
€147.30 |
€80.90 |
| €150 - €219.99 |
€121.40 |
€80.90 |
| less than €150 |
€84.50 |
€80.90 |
Payment of Illness Benefit can be made directly into your bank or building
society account.
Qualified adult
You can get an increase in your payment for an adult
dependant.
Qualified child
You may also get an increase in your payment for a child
dependant. Your average weekly earnings do not affect the rate of payment
for a child dependent.
Taxation of Illness Benefit
Illness Benefit (excluding any increases for child dependants) is considered
as income for tax purposes and it is taxed from the first day of payment.
Illness Benefit is paid directly to you without any deduction of income tax.
If you are employed, your employer will take your Illness Benefit into account
for PAYE
purposes. If you are unemployed, Revenue will take account of the amount of
Illness Benefit paid to you when they adjust your tax credits or review the tax
affairs of your spouse. Contact Revenue for more
information.
How to apply
You should apply for Illness Benefit within 7 days of becoming ill. A delay
of more than 7 days may cause you to lose some of your payment. If there is a
good reason for a delay in applying, your payment may be backdated.
You can get an application form for Illness Benefit from your family
doctor (GP) or hospital doctor. The reason you can only get this form from
a doctor is because a doctor must fill in part of the form. It is not available
online.
You must send in a medical certificate (known as MC 2) each week for as long
as you are ill, unless you are told otherwise.
You must get a final medical certificate from your doctor before you go back
to work.
If you have any difficulties completing the forms, staff in your local
social welfare office will be happy to help you. Any questions you
have about Illness Benefit should be made directly to your Social Welfare
Local Office or to Illness Benefit enquiries telephone line: (01) 704
3300.
Where to apply
Illness Benefit
Department of Social Protection
P.O. Box 1650
Dublin 1
Ireland
Tel:(01) 704 3300
Locall:1890 928 400
Homepage: http://www.welfare.ie/
You can email the Illness Benefit section using the secure Illness
Benefit enquiry form.