As part of its measures to reduce unemployment, the Department of Social Protection offers a number of employment supports to employers. These include the following.
JobsPlus
If you employ a person on a full-time basis who has been unemployed for 12 – 24 months, you may be eligible to receive a payment of €7,500 from the Department. This amount would be paid to you monthly in arrears over a two-year period provided you continue to employ the person. This financial incentive is increased to €10,000 if you employ a person who has been unemployed for more than 24 months.
The employment you provide must be for at least 30 hours per week and must span a minimum of 4 days in each week. More details are on www.jobsplus.ie
Free advertising of job vacancies
You can advertise a job vacancy to highly skilled and motivated jobseekers by getting in touch with our National Contact Centre at Freephone 1800 611116. Alternatively, you can upload the vacancy yourself to the Jobs Ireland website (www.jobsireland.ie) by using this link: www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Register-a-vacancy_holder.aspx
Other employment supports from the Department of Social Protection
Employer Information Pack
- Available at www.welfare.ie. This provides full details of the supports which are available to employers to recruit staff from the Live Register.
Part Time Job Incentive Scheme
- Allows a person who is getting Jobseeker’s Allowance for at least 15 months to take-up part-time employment of less than 24 hours per week and receive a special weekly income supplement of €119 or €193.90 from the Department in addition to their wages.
Family Income Supplement
- A weekly tax-free payment available to low paid employees with dependent child/ren.
Employee Retention Grant Scheme
- Funding of up to €2,500 to prepare a ‘Retention Strategy’ where an employee acquires an illness or impairment which could affect their continued employability. A further grant of up to €12,500 is available to implement the Retention Strategy.
Wage Subsidy Scheme
- Provides financial support of up to €10,748 to employers who employ certain people with disabilities for 21 – 39 hours per week.
Workplace/Equipment Adaptation Grant
- A grant towards the cost of adapting premises or buying equipment to accommodate an employee with a disability.
Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme
- A training grant of up to €20,000 is available to a company to ensure that its staff provide best service to customers with disabilities and that managers and other staff maximise their working relationships with colleagues with disabilities.
Personal Reader Grant
- A grant to employ a Personal Reader for a blind or visually impaired employee who needs help with job-related reading.
Job interview adaptation grant.
- Funding for an employee or jobseeker who is deaf, hard of hearing or has a speech impairment for a sign language or other interpreter to attend an interview with the employee or jobseeker.
