Sickness Benefits – Competent State
Social security coordination rules protect the rights of citizens should they move between the jurisdictions for work.
The jurisdiction responsible for a person, often called the Competent State, is usually the place where they are employed or self-employed. As workers they will pay social insurance contributions (e.g. PRSI or National Insurance Contributions) in the Competent State, and that jurisdiction is then responsible for payment of relevant social security benefits.
The rules state that citizens are only liable to pay social insurance contributions to one jurisdiction at a time, and that they can only claim a particular category of benefit from one jurisdiction at time.
For example the following cross-border worker cannot claim sickness benefits at home and at work.
A worker resident in NI, is employed in ROI but is too ill to go to work. Under the coordination rules ROI is deemed the Competent State for their sickness payments:
- Irish Illness Benefit is categorised as an ‘cash sickness benefit’
- UK Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Daily Living Component is also categorised as a ‘cash sickness benefit’
As a result, they cannot claim UK PIP Daily Living Component (or any other UK sickness benefit), but are entitled to claim Irish Illness Benefit, which is time limited.
Workers who exhaust their Irish Illness Benefit entitlement may then qualify for Irish Invalidity Pension, a weekly payment to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability and who are covered by social insurance (PRSI) in ROI.
Change of category!
Invalidity Pension is categorised as Invalidity benefit, not a Sickness Benefit under the coordination rules.
Recent case
On 27th September 2023 an NI Commissioner ruled that the UK is the competent state for paying PIP Daily Living Component despite the claimant receiving exportable Invalidity Pension from ROI. See: SP v Department for Communities (PIP) [2023] NICom 23 C9/23-24 (PIP)
This is relevant to people who bypass Illness Benefit altogether and qualify immediately for Invalidity Pension. It also relevant for those who had not been entitled to the PIP Daily Living Component by virtue of an Illness Benefit award, but who then go on to claim Invalidity Pension.
Specialist advice is recommended as this is a complex and evolving area of law! (Citizens advisors with a Rightsnet.org.uk subscription can read more here.)
Brexit
It’s also worth noting that under the (post-Brexit) UK/Ireland Social Security Convention rules Irish Illness Benefit and UK PIP DLC are listed in separate categories, so entitlement for both could potentially be explored in each individual case.
The UK / Ireland convention applies to workers who become employed across the border from 1st January 2021 onwards.
See also
- Border People – Invalidity Pension
- Border People – Illness Benefit in Ireland
- Border People – Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Northern Ireland
- Border People – Comparable UK and Irish benefits in cash (pdf)
Page last checked: 15 December 2023
