New Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment rates are coming into effect today – moving from two payment bands to three.
The payment remains open to new applicants until the end of 2020, but any worker joining the scheme from Thursday will no longer be entitled to the original top rate of €350
The rate a recipient will receive going forward will depend on the amount they previously earned:
- If they earned over €300 per week – they will now receive €300 per week.
- if they earned between €200 and €300 per week – the rate of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will now be €250 per week; and
- If they earned less than €200 per week – the rate of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be €203 per week (there is no change to this rate).
Recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will see the impact of these changes in their bank accounts on Tuesday, September 22nd.
Over 6,000 people in Donegal are currently on the PUP scheme as the pup sector and a number of other industries remain temporarily closed.
Individuals do not need to contact the Department about their earnings. The Department has access to this information from the Revenue Commissioners and will be contacting PUP recipients in advance of these changes informing them of their new rate of payment.