Information
The Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme exempts employers from liability to
pay their share of PRSI for certain employees. The scheme is open to employers
who create new and additional jobs.
If you qualify for the scheme you will be exempt from employer's PRSI
for a maximum of 18 months from the date you were approved for the scheme (for
jobs created after 1 January 2012). The purpose of the scheme is to support job
creation and counter the drift of people into long-term unemployment and
welfare dependency.
Rules
To qualify for the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme both the job you
create and the person you employ must meet certain criteria. While you are
waiting to be approved for the scheme, you should operate the standard employee
and employer PRSI.
The person you employ must have been getting one of the
following social welfare payments for a period of at least 6 months (156
days):
Time spent on JobBridge
or the Work
Placement Programme is also reckonable for eligibility purposes. You can
employ an eligible person directly from either of these schemes once the
required 156 days criteria has been satisfied.
The job must:
- Be a new and additional post/job – employers are not allowed to
substitute existing employees to avail of the scheme
- Be for at least 30 hours per week
- Last for at least 6 months. If the employment ends within 6 months of
getting the exemption, you may be liable to pay the employer’s PRSI
contributions for that employee.
Maximum participation rate
You can only get an exemption from employer’s PRSI for a limited number of
employees. This limit is 5% of your existing workforce or, for smaller
companies, a maximum of 5 new jobs.
How to apply
If you have a new employee and are eligible for the scheme, you should fill
in a PRSI 20 form
(pdf).
Send the PRSI 20 form with a current tax clearance certificate to the
Department of Social Protection – see ‘Where to apply’ below.
Where to apply
Your application for the Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme should be sent
to:
Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive Scheme
Department of Social Protection
Floor 2
Shannon Lodge
Carrick-on-Shannon
Leitrim
Ireland
Locall:1890 927 999
Homepage: http://www.welfare.ie