Client living in Co. Fermanagh was concerned that he had been made redundant from his job in Sligo as he had been notified by his employer that, as a result of a division of the business closing due to loss of business, he was being laid off. He queried his benefit entitlement with the local Community Advice office as he was unsure where he should make a claim.

Upon checking the client’s correspondence from his employer, it was noted that the wording referred to him being subject to a “temporary lay off”, rather than being made completely redundant, and that in turn altered the information and advice provided.

The employer was undertaking a restructuring of the business following a fall in business and notified all relevant employees in advance that there would be a temporary lack of work for them but that it was expected that the situation would be resolved with 4 weeks. Indications were that the client would be back to work imminently and whilst he was still an employee of the company, he would not be paid for the time he was not working, a fact expressly confirmed in his contract of employment.

As the client was a frontier worker (living North and working South) he was entitled to make a claim for Irish Jobseekers Benefit on the basis that he was partially, or intermittently unemployed.

He successfully made a claim and was able to return to paid employment after 3 weeks when his employer’s business fully resumed.

Had he been made completely redundant, as he first thought, the client would have had to claim New Style Jobseekers Allowance in Northern Ireland, this being his place of residence.

See also:

• Border People FAQs – Unemployment and redundancy
• Border People – Redundancy in Ireland
• Border People – Redundancy in Northern Ireland
• Citizens Information Lay-off, short-time working and redundancy