Rules

Conditions you must meet

To qualify for the Back to Work Allowance, you must:

• Be age 23 or over
• Have been unemployed for 2 years

And

• Have an entitlement to Jobseeker's Allowance.

You may also qualify, no matter what age you are, if you are getting one of the following payments for 15 months (or 12 months if you are aged 50 or over):

• You have been getting Farm Assist, Pre-Retirement Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment, Blind Pension, Disability Allowance, Carer's Allowance (if you are no longer a carer), Invalidity Pension, Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance, Prisoner's Wife's Allowance, Incapacity Supplement, Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Contributory) Pension or Prisoner's Wife's Allowance. You don't have to be any specific age to qualify in these cases.

Or

• You have been getting Illness Benefit for at least 3 years.

Time spent on FÁS, Failte Ireland, Teagasc, FIT, Community Employment, Job Initiative, 'second chance education courses' (i.e., Back to Education Schemes) and/or time spent in prison are accepted as periods of unemployment.

Also, time spent on Supplementary Welfare Allowance or in Direct Provision can count towards the qualifying period for Back to Work Allowance provided you are entitled to a qualifying payment before starting on the scheme.

Conditions your prospective employer must meet

Only employers who can provide suitable jobs are eligible to participate. The work being offered must:

• Be likely to develop into a lasting job
• Not displace existing employment
• Be a minimum of 20 hours per week
• Be for at least 12 months.

Short-term, seasonal or commissioned/contractual work is not acceptable as employment under the Scheme.

Spouse, civil partner or cohabitant swap

If you qualify for the Back to Work Allowance Scheme but do not wish to avail of the scheme your spouse/civil partner or cohabitant may participate instead. You must be getting an increase in your social welfare payment for your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant for a specific amount of time. It is usually the same amount of time that you would need to be claiming your payment to qualify for the scheme. For example, if you are getting:

• Jobseeker's Allowance (JA) a spouse/civil partner or cohabitant must be a qualified adult dependent for two years
• Illness Benefit a spouse/civil partner or cohabitant must be a qualified adult dependent for three years
• Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer's Allowance (on ceasing caring duties), Farm Assist, Invalidity Pension, Incapacity Supplement or Pre-Retirement Allowance a spouse/civil partner or cohabitant must be a qualified adult dependent for at least 15 months (or 12 months if aged over 50).

In the case of Jobseeker’s Allowance, when your spouse/civil partner or cohabitant starts on the scheme a separate claim will be set up in his or her name. When your spouse/civil partner or cohabitant starts on the scheme your JA payment will stop. However, your spouse/civil partner or cohabitant can now claim for you as a qualified adult. You should sign for credits at your local social welfare office. It is important to sign on for credits to protect any future pension entitlements you may have. This new arrangement should not affect the amount of social welfare payment you get as a family.

If you (the original owner of the social welfare payment) decide to claim another social welfare payment at any time while your spouse/civil partner or cohabitant is availing of this swap the payment of Back to Work Allowance will stop.