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JobsPlus funds firms that hire new staff

Friday, February 22 10:38:59

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, today announced details of the new JobsPlus scheme, which will incentivise businesses to hire additional employees from the Live Register.

The scheme is focused on the long-term unemployed, providing a cash-flow benefit to businesses that hire jobseekers who have been on the Live Register for 12 months or more. It is one of a series of strategic and reforming measures which the Department of Social Protection is implementing as part of the Government's Action Plan for Jobs 2013.

The scheme will provide a fixed grant payment to businesses for each new employee.

There will be two levels of incentive: In respect of recruits unemployed for between 12 and 24 months the grant is E7,500 and for recruits unemployed for more than 24 months the grant is worth E10,000.

From an employer perspective, the typical value of the incentive over a two-year period is around 23pc of the gross minimum wage cost (including employer PRSI) for a person exiting the Live Register to commence full-time employment.

It is proposed that the new incentive will be payable, on a monthly in arrears basis, over a two-year period.

Speaking at the opening of an Employment and Advice Fair in Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk, Minister Burton said: "JobsPlus will help businesses to create new jobs and reduce long-term unemployment. Since becoming Minister for Social Protection, I have radically reformed the Department's services for jobseekers, launching Intreo - a one-stop shop service which jobseekers can get their financial and employment supports in the one place for the first time. We are also implementing the Pathways to Work strategy, which aims to get 75,000 people who are currently long-term unemployed back into the workforce by 2015. JobsPlus is another valuable addition to the range of measures being undertaken by the Department to get people back to work."

It is expected that the new scheme will be launched at the end of June 2013.

In the interim, the existing employer incentive schemes will remain in place.