With a large number of internships offered under the Government’s JobBridge scheme introduced last year, now finished or coming to an end. Employers may be unaware of an additional incentive to take on an additional employee. The JobBridge scheme aims to boost jobseekers prospects by offering them experience of working within an established company for a period of either 6 or 9 months. During this time they will also receive an additional allowance on top of their current social welfare payments of €50. The minister for Social Protection has recently announced an increase in available internships to 6000; such is the demand for this scheme.

The employers PRSI exemption scheme is an incentive introduced whereby an employer who takes on an additional employee in 2012, who has been on a Jobbridge internship or who has been unemployed for the previous 6 months or more, would be exempted from paying the employers’ PRSI on that employee for 18 months. For example if you’re paying your new employee €390 per week, it will result in an employers’ PRSI saving of roughly €3270 over the 18 months.

To qualify for this scheme both the job created and the person who is going to fill the position must meet certain criteria. As stated above the person you employ must have been receiving social welfare payments such as, Jobseekers Benefit, Jobseekers Allowance, One-Parent Family Payment or Disability Allowance for a period of 6 months or 156 days.

The job you propose to create must be created after 1st January 2012 and be a new or additional post, you are not allowed substitute existing employees to avail of this scheme. The role must also be for at least 30 hours per week and last for at least 6 months; however, if the role should end within the 6 months of getting the exemption, you may be liable to pay the employers’ PRSI contributions for that employee.

There is a limit of the amount of new employees you may claim the exemption for which is based on 5% of your existing workforce or, for smaller organisations, a maximum of 5 jobs.

If you have an employee you would like to take on under this scheme and need help filling out the necessary form or just simply require additional information, contact us today and we will be glad to help you.