Arrears of Pandemic Unemployment Payment are Expected To Be Paid to Majority of Claimants in early December.
Since the start of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in March, no one has been paid any arrears. If a claim was delayed in getting paid – then no backdating was included with the first payment for anyone.
But – it looks like Social Welfare might finally be sorting sort out the payment of the PUP arrears – but not for everyone.
PUP Arrears could be paid to as many as 300,000 people as soon as December 1st.
On November 25th , a Social Welfare official said in a reply to a Dail committee that they ..
“hope next week that the majority of cases will be paid. There will be a small minority which we will have to do manually. These will follow. ”
The official also stated, “I appreciate that Christmas is coming, and our intention is that the vast majority will be paid on Tuesday next.”
We take this to mean Tue Dec 1st. However – a contact in Social Welfare has told us that the arrears payments will be made separately to the normal Tuesday PUP payment.
There will be some people who may not get their arrears his week, especially where there have been gaps in claims. This will be because further checks might need to be made on possible overlaps with the wage subsidy scheme or overlapping wages. They also need to check possible overlapping claims for other schemes, such as jobseekers and illness benefit. You can request a statement of arrears HERE .
The good news for many people is that the payment of PUP arrears will be followed by the PUP Christmas Bonus on Dec 8th – which should be paid to thousands of PUP claimants. (But not all).
An Example of PUP Arrears Calculation
A normal weekly PUP payment is paid on a Tuesday and covers the 7 days from the previous Thursday back to the Friday the week before that.
- If someone’s last day of work was Fri April 3rd but they didn’t get a PUP payment until Tue April 21st.
- That first PUP payment would have been for only one week and would have covered the dates Fri 10th to Thur 16th April.
- They will therefore be owed arrears for the 4th to Wed 9th of April, which will count as one week.
- (Even if you were out of work for at least one day – it means you get a full weeks payment.)
Weekly Rate Used
They should be paying the arrears at the rate of PUP that was valid at the time of the claim , regardlesss of the rate you may be on now.
Remember that at the start of March 2020 the PUP rate was €203. It did not go up to €350 until the 24th March. So – if you are only owed a week or two it may well be €203 or €406.
If you are not currently on the PUP you should still get paid these arrears if you are due any.
Read more about the PUP Christmas Bonus entitlement here.
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I have been on PUP since the week beginning the 16th March. My PUP was reduced without any notification from 350 euros to 203 euros on the 7th of July for 5 weeks. It was then restored to 300 euros per week. I have tried everything to get the arrears of 735 euros for the 5 weeks back including through some politians clinics but unfortunately l cannot get an answer. Will my arrears be paid on the 1st of December.
I am due 5 five weeks arrears, have met the criteria for the higher amount of PUP but am only getting half the amount I should be (have even submitted my returns to revenue reflecting this for 2019 and have paid my PRSI). I have lost count of the amount of emails and attachments with proof I have sent and then to be asked after a month for my PPS no., then nothing… silence… I’m checking my bank account 10 times a day which is very depressing as it’s in the red and getting redder by the day…I got through to a nice lady in income support and she thought my arrears left their account on the 16th November and to check with my bank. I haven’t been able to get hold of her since and no sign of any funds arriving bar the €203 a week. I got another fellow on the phone and he said they were told the arrears would be paid in the new year. It’s really so unfair that the government is giving this speal on the tv that businesses have support and in reality it is just a added tremendous amount of stress to get anything at all. If I don’t get my arrears next week I am going on the Joe Duffy show. There is no reason why I shouldn’t, I am not one of these so called complicated cases mentioned above.
How are you getting 3 weeks from 6th march to 1st April? I didn get anything from 13th March to 14th April and that is 4 weeks I’m due! I’m a but lost how your working it out. Also does anyone know is it paid at higher rate or lower rate?
We have changed the example to hopefully make it clearer.
The rate of the arrears should be paid at the rate that was in force at the time , even if you are currently on a lower rate.
Yous think tats bad. It took me 5 weeks to get pup im self employed and make kitchens so most weeks earn approx 400. 200 goes on costs of running workshop heating esb etc.. I still earn 400 and as of June they cut me from 350 to 203 and then to zero five weeks ago.. So I haven’t got 10 weeks shortfall for approx 8. Reason cut me off is cos tax returns due for 2019..in i mo position to pay accountant etc.. Self employed should be same across the board
I got my first payment on 21st April which covered 10th to 16th so should I get –
13th March-19th
20th March-26th
27th March-2nd April and
3rd April-9th April?
Thanks very much
That sounds right. If you were out of work from the 13th March.
Hi ..i applied for pup on the 23rd October but didn’t receive a payment until 3rd November…i am due a weeks arrears payment?
No , because that first payment covered 23rd Oct to Oct 29.
I was not paid for 18 August, and 29 September, I am in a bad way financially as I live on my own, and 65 year’s of age, thank you.
Hi, I did not get any PUP from 16 of March up to 5th of May, so I’m not to sure if they gonna pay back my arrears.
If you lost your job on 16 March you should get the arrears.
Could you help me calculate what I’m owed please ?
In March I finished up work on 15th and didn’t receive PUP until April 7th
And In October I finished up work on 17th and didn’t receive payment until November 10th
Thanks
By my reckoning, you should be due 4 weeks. But your case could be one of the ones that might be delayed because of the breaks in payment. Let us know what you get. Thanks
March 23rd was my last day at work, I think. But I only got my first payment on April 7th. Am I due money back? I only worked a part of that week from the 20th to the 26th March. So do I get a full payment? My workplace finished on staggered days, so people who finished on March 24th and 25th got 350 on the 31st. So I’d assume I’d be due 350 as I finished before them?
You should be due a week of arrears.
I finished work on March 15th and received first payment on the 31st. Would I be due anything from 15th – 20th?
Yes you should be entitled to another week
I was out of work since March 13 but on x and o.only got 350 from mid April. Am I due a return
My last day at work was March 17, however I didn’t apply for the PUP until 2 weeks later (March 31), I was then paid on April 7th. Am I due any arrears from my last day at work or will arrears be paid from the day you submitted the application?
It should be from your first day of being out of work
I have received from the beginning 350 till 30th of June than I’ve got reduced for no reason on 203 on 7th of July and after 4 payments I got stopped in general again for no reason I have called so many times and I have send so many emails that I can’t even remember… Than in mid September I started to receive again but for those 5 6 weeks of no payment I was struggling…. I barely surviving
Self employed! Since phase 3 business has dwindled. The lockdown again. Not 1 single penny have I got from pup countless emails and phone calls with proof of payments 3 children 4 weeks before Xmas. System is a joke
Hi I’m illness benefit since January of this year I didn’t get pup payments till April and it was just €13 extra and got no arrears and then they stopped it in August my question is I also claim for my wife would I be entitled to anything any information would be grateful thank you
Currently reduced from 5 days to 2 days since september have applied for a short time work support as others in my work place have recieved this ,I am still awaiting on a decision, if granted it would only be €40 max €80 per week along with my 2 days work from my job but still no decision, I ring every week and email no decision made yet since september now nearly december, went and waiting in line for a hour and half at local intreo center to be told they cant give any information as its awaiting there decision, its ridiculous and have heard of others in same circumstances whether back logs or new applications, or part time workers.
Hi I’m enquiring if I am due arrears I run a bed and breakfast and have had no income whatsoever this year. I have submitted my tax return for 2019. I registered for the covid payment at the end of March as I availed of payment breaks with regard to my mortgage and a bank loan I had taken out to refurbish guest bedrooms. I did not make an application for the pup payment until mid September I had to apply then as the banks had to be paid again each month and the added on interest during the break
I am currently receiving 203e each which I’ve received since 15th Sept and am very grateful to receive each week. Can you tell me if I’m due arrears from March to mid Sept
Thank you very much
Mary Corcoran
Self-employed claims may be a bit more complicated. You ned to chase this up with Social Wekfare. Sorry