JobsPlus

JobsPlus is a financial incentive to encourage employers to hire people who are unemployed. Employers use JobsPlus when filling new positions, or re-filling positions that occur from staff turnover.

Eligible employers, who employ jobseekers from the live register on a full-time basis, get regular grant payments to help balance wage costs.

This is paid monthly, in arrears, over a period of 18 months by the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

From October 2024, the payment period for new claims was reduced from 24 months to 18 months.

If the employee is under 30 years of age, the payment is co-funded by the European Commission.

JobsPlus is available to employers in the private sector, as well as the community, not-for-profit and voluntary sectors.

It is not open to public sector employers unless the employer can prove the position is not being funded by the Government.

Eligible employers must meet the following conditions:

• Be registered as a PAYE employer with Revenue
• Be compliant with Irish tax and employment laws. Employers will be asked to give permission to the DSP to check their status with Revenue by supplying a Tax Clearance Certificate access number (TCAN), using Revenue’s online service
• Offer full-time employment of at least 30 hours per week, over a minimum of 4 days. The eligible employee must be on payroll and subject to PAYE and Class A PRSI
• Give details of their workforce as part of the application. Where an employer cannot show an increase in the workforce, they will be asked to give additional information to the DSP to support the application.

Find more information in the list of frequently asked questions for JobsPlus employers.

Getting other State support for the same employee

If you are an employer getting JobsPlus, you cannot get financial aid from other State sources for the costs of the same employee.

When applying for JobsPlus, you must tell DSP if you are getting any other State funding towards the employment costs of an employee.

If approved for JobsPlus, you must also tell any State bodies from which you are getting funding (for example, Enterprise Ireland and the Community Services Programme).

Similarly, you cannot get JobsPlus for any employment positions included under other State-funded wage supports. This is to prevent double funding.

Employers can get 2 levels of payment depending on an employee’s circumstances. The levels are €7,500 or €10,000 and they depend on the age of the employee and the length of time they are getting a qualifying payment.

The rates are paid to the employer over 18 months (in monthly payments) for each eligible person they recruit and keep in the job.

There is no limit to the number of employees you can hire through JobsPlus.

Payment is made monthly in arrears by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). It is not taxable for income or corporation tax purposes.

Grants payable over 18 months

JobsPlus is not available to people on apprenticeships, work experience, or educational or training schemes. This is because they are not considered to be ‘newly created full-time jobs’.

Time spent on PUP counts towards the JobsPlus qualification period.

Time spent on some education, training, work placement and activation support schemes count towards the qualifying period (for example, the Jobseekers Allowance, Back to Education Allowance, and the CE scheme). You can check which payments and schemes count towards the qualifying period for JobsPlus.

Time spent in prison may also count towards the required qualifying period.

Jobseekers’ payments paid during periods of casual employment may count towards satisfying the qualifying period, as will breaks in jobseeker's payments as a result of periods of illness, during which Illness Benefit is paid.

The employee may need to re-establish their entitlement to one of the qualifying payments above before starting employment.

Coming from Ukraine

If an employee came to Ireland from Ukraine and spent time on the Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection weekly payment, before getting a qualifying payment, this time will count towards the JobsPlus qualification period.

If you decide to recruit a new employee, you can register as a JobsPlus employer by completing an online application form. You will be asked about the

• Name of your company
• Size of the workforce
• bank details
• Economic sector of the company

When you submit your application, the Department of Social Protection (DSP) will review it and check that your tax clearance certificate is in order. You will get an email if your application is approved.

You only have to register as a JobsPlus employer once, unless there’s a change to the company name or employer registration number.

Once your eligibility is confirmed by the DSP, you can start to recruit candidates. To do this, contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office for details of suitably experienced and qualified candidates for your vacancy.

You can also register the vacancy with Jobs Ireland.

When you have shortlisted your candidates

Once you have carried out preliminary interviews and shortlisted the candidates, you should ask these candidates to apply to JobsPlus to confirm their eligibility for the incentive.

The DSP will process their request and, if they are eligible, post a 2-part JP1 form to the candidate. Part A of the JP1 form will confirm the employee’s eligibility and rate of payment for the prospective employer. The candidate should bring the 2-part JP1 form confirming their eligibility to you for consideration.

If you choose to employ the candidate, you should complete Part B of the JP1 form, sign the declaration and return it to the DSP.

The JP1 form will be processed by the Department, and once all conditions are met, you will be told by email that you have been awarded the incentive for the employee specified on the JP1 form.

Once the candidate has been employed, they should contact the DSP to close their jobseeker’s claim. This can be done in 2 ways:

1. Online using mywelfare.ie
2. By contacting their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office.

Your payment of JobsPlus only starts when the DSP confirms the employee’s jobseeker claim is closed. The DSP will not backdate the incentive.

If you make a late application

Part B of the JP1 form should be sent to the JobsPlus within 30 days after the candidate starts work.

If you are making a late application, you need to submit evidence of the reasons for the delay to DSP for consideration.

If your application to JobsPlus is refused

If your application to JobsPlus is refused, you can request a review of the decision. The review will be carried out by a different officer in the DSP than the person who refused you.

Working Family Payment

New employees under the JobsPlus scheme may be entitled to get Working Family Payment. This is a weekly tax-free payment for employees on low pay with children.

Medical card

People who have been unemployed for at least 12 months can keep their medical card for 3 years when they take up new employment.

Rent and Mortgage Interest Supplement

You cannot get Rent and Mortgage Interest Supplement if you (the jobseeker) or your spouse are in full-time employment (30 hours or more a week).

If you are already getting Rent Supplement, you may be able to keep it, if you satisfy a means test, while you are working full time, as long as you are eligible for housing support under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).

You can read detailed information about how JobsPlus works on Gov.ie.

Employers and jobseekers can register online at jobsplus.ie.

Get more information about JobsPlus by:

• Visiting the JobsPlus website
• Emailing Jobsplusinfo@welfare.ie
• Calling 0818 927999

You can also get information from your local Social Welfare Branch Office or Intreo Centre.