Operational Guidelines: Working Family Payment (formerly known as FIS)

BREXIT impacts

Ireland / United Kingdom Social Security arrangements from 1st January 2021

The European Union and the United Kingdom agreed a Trade & Cooperation Agreement which contains a Protocol on Social Security to take effect from 1st January 2021. The Protocol provides for a wide range of social security issues into the future. On the 31st December 2020, the Convention on Social Security agreed between Ireland and the United Kingdom was commenced. Together these Agreements ensure, that all existing social security arrangements for Irish & UK citizens are maintained into the future. Ireland as an EU Member State, will extend on a unilateral basis the advantages of the Convention to Union citizens, as required.

For Brexit-related information see:

• Item was unpublished or removed

For information on social welfare entitlements see:

• Brexit Information
• FAQs on DFA about Brexit

Working Family Payment (WFP) (previously known as Family Income Supplement) was introduced in 1984 and is a social welfare payment which provides an income support for employees on low earnings with families.

The quickest way to apply for Working Family Payment is through MyWelfare.ie. A customer with a basic MyWelfare account can submit an application but will not have the full benefits of a verified MyGovID account. A WFP1 application form for new applicants is also available on gov.ie

The WFP information leaflet is SW22.

The main provisions are contained in the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005, as amended, primarily Part 6, Sections 227 to 233 and in the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control Regulations) 2007 to 2017, as amended, primarily Part 6, Articles 172 to 177.

Working Family Payment applications are administered by: Working Family Payment Section, Department of Social Protection, St Oliver Plunkett Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. F92T449

Qualifying Conditions

• The applicant(s) must be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as employee(s)
• The applicant(s) must have at least 1 qualified child, who normally resides with them or is part of a family wholly or mainly supported by them
• The Weekly Family Income must be less than a set limit for their family size

The applicants must be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as employees

There are 4 parts to this condition:

1.This employment must be ‘full-time’.

This is defined as not less than 38 hours every fortnight. Any combination that reaches 38 hours each fortnight is acceptable. The applicant could work week on/week off, for example, 38 hours one week and none the next. Or they could work 19 hours each week or 10 hours one week and 28 hours the following week; as long as they work 38 hours every fortnight they can satisfy this condition.

In addition, if the applicant has a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, their hours of employment can be combined to satisfy the 38 hours every fortnight as long as their hours also fulfil the 4 parts of the condition that they are engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee.

If the hours of employment work out at less than 38 each fortnight, the application will be refused.

The employment must be expected to last at least 3 months.

2. The employment must be ‘remunerative’. This means that it must be paid employment. Voluntary employment or unpaid work cannot be used to satisfy the condition of being engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee.

For example if an applicant works 15 hours each week in Dunnes’ Stores and works 5 hours a week as a voluntary counsellor, they will not satisfy the conditions to qualify for WFP as they are only engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee for 30 hours each fortnight.

3.The employment must be ‘as an employee’. WFP is a supplement for low paid employees. It is not payable to self-employed people, unless they also have paid employment as employees for at least 38 hours each fortnight, in addition to their self-employment

There are other social welfare payments available to the self-employed such as the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance or Jobseeker’s Allowance for the self-employed.

Employees are employed under a contract of service.

Note:

Applications can succeed from people who are employees of their own limited company.

The matter would normally be referred to a local Social Welfare Inspector for 2 reasons:

• To ensure that they are a genuine employee. This may require a referral to the Department’s Scope Section, if a decision on the insurability of this employment has not already been given.
• To determine what other income(s) the applicant and their spouse/civil partner/cohabitant (where applicable) are taking from the company.

4.Full-time remunerative employment as an employee specifically excludes a number of employment schemes/incentives, such as Community Employment Schemes, Rural Social Economy, Workplace, Tús, JobBridge, Rural Employment Scheme, Gateway and Partial Capacity Benefit.

Note:

Under EU Regulations, the Competent Authority that deals with a Family Benefit is determined by the EU State in which the worker pays their Social Insurance. Accordingly, claims for WFP are only acceptable from workers who are paying their social insurance to the Irish State.

If an employee pays their social insurance to another EU State, it is to that State that they should make a claim for Family Benefits.

The applicant(s) must have at least 1 qualified child, who normally resides with them or is part of a family wholly or mainly supported by them

A qualified child is one under 18 years of age or a child between the ages of 18 and 22 who is attending full-time day education.

The applicant can claim for a qualified child who normally resides with them. If a child is in college, they are still considered to normally reside with their parent(s).

If an applicant has a child living with a former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, they can claim for WFP in respect of that child provided that the WFP applicant is wholly or mainly maintaining the former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant.

‘Wholly or mainly maintaining’ means that the other adult does not have an income in their own right in excess of €100 per week, is not cohabiting and is not in receipt of a social welfare income support payment in their own right.

The Weekly Family Income must be less than a limit for their family size

There are set income limits for each family size. Family size is determined by the number of qualified children. Weekly Family Income must be below these set income limits in order for an applicant to qualify.

Weekly Family Income is the amount of all income received in a week by a family. Examples of family income are earnings, social welfare payments, maintenance payments (from 6th June 2024, maintenance paid in respect of your child or children is no longer assessed for WFP and does not need to be declared, only maintenance payments for your own benefit (spousal maintenance) should be declared), income from self-employment, rental income, farm income or any contribution to your household from an ex-spouse, ex-civil partner, ex-cohabitant or the parent(s) of any of your children.

When applying for WFP, all income must be disclosed.

The following are deducted from the Weekly Family Income:

• Income Tax
• Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI)
• The Universal Social Charge (USC)
• Superannuation or pension-related deductions from salary
• Income of a child

The following are disregarded when calculating Weekly Family Income:

• Child Benefit
• Death Benefit (Orphan’s) Pension
• Domiciliary Care Allowance
• Guardian’s Payment (Contributory)
• Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory)
• Payments from the HSE in respect of a child who is boarded out.
• Rent Allowance
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance
• Back to Work Family Dividend
• Any income received under Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, in respect of a person who is temporarily resident with the applicant, together with any other income received in respect of such temporary resident
• Any payment or payments made directly or indirectly by or on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and to a person, which has or have been determined in accordance with the Magdalen Commission Report dated May 2013 on the establishment of an ex gratia scheme and related matters for the benefit of those women who were admitted to and worked in the Magdalen Laundries
• Any payments from charitable organisations in the form of assistance to persons in need
• Survivors and former residents of Mother and Baby and County Home Institutions, that come within the scope of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Act 2023 and people who experienced sexual abuse as a pupil in a recognised day school prior to the issuing of the Guidelines for Procedures for Dealing with Allegations or Suspicions of Child Abuse and who had issued legal proceedings against the State in this regard

In order to calculate Weekly Family Income, it is broken down into 3 sources:

• Earnings from employment
• Income from any form of self-employment
• Income from any other source

Earnings from employment

The Deciding Officer usually bases their decision on the average weekly gross earnings up to the date of the application.

However, under Article 173(2) the Deciding Officer may have regard to other periods if they deem it appropriate.

Income from any form of self-employment

Income from self-employment is calculated or estimated by dividing the income in the 12 months preceding the date of claim by 52.

Applicants with self-employment may be asked to submit their latest set of accounts. If an applicant is unable or unwilling to provide the latest set of accounts for their form of self-employment, an investigation by a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) will be required.

Income from any other source

Income from any other source is calculated by the normal weekly amount of such income.

Note: Rental Income is the amount the tenants pay. The only deductions/disregards from Weekly Family Income are those listed above.

Social Welfare legislation does not allow for the disregard from Weekly Family Income of expenditure on capital improvements or paying the mortgage(s) on your primary or secondary residences, management fees or expenditure on weekly groceries.

However, unlike other Social Welfare schemes which are Means-Tested, WFP is an income supplement and is an Income-Tested scheme.

Capital assessments are not carried out.

This means that Savings in the Bank / Post Office / Credit Union and the capital value of property/assets owned are not assessed.

WFP payable at 60% of the difference between the set income limit for a given family size and the Weekly Family Income.

Example (based on income limits effective from 4 January 2024):

Once awarded, WFP is payable for a maximum period of 52 weeks.

However, once the 52 week award period has expired, an employee must re-apply if they feel they still have an entitlement. These applications are called Renewal applications.

Approximately 8 weeks before the expiry of a claim, an invite to renew Working Family Payment is issued to the customer.

However, whether a WFP recipient receives an invite to renew or not, the obligation is on them to submit an application within 4 weeks of the expiry of their claim, in order for the next claim to start from the first Thursday following the expiry of the old claim.

If they re-apply within 4 weeks of the expiry of a 52 week award, any new entitlement will be renewed from the day after the expiry.

Applications received more than 4 weeks after the expiry of a claim are registered as new applications and will be awarded from the first Thursday after receipt.

WFP is payable on a Thursday. Each payment is made in advance. So payment one Thursday pays the applicant up to the following Wednesday.

WFP is paid either by:

• Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) into Bank and Building Society accounts as well as some Credit Union accounts or
• Post Offices by Electronic Interface Transfer (EIT).

Multiple payments

The multiple payments provisions in primary legislation preclude payment of WFP at the same time as jobseeker’s benefit, state pension (transition), jobseeker’s allowance, pre-retirement allowance or farm assist (Section 247(6) of the Consolidation Act) and also provide that family income supplement is only payable for six weeks in conjunction with illness benefit or injury benefit (Section 247(7)).

Article 175(2) of SI 142 of 2007 excludes from the definition of remunerative full-time employment, people engaged in a work placement programme, Community Employment, Rural Social Scheme, National Internship Scheme or Tús. This effectively provides that payments under these schemes are not payable at the same time as family income supplement.

When a Deciding Officer examines a WFP application, s/he will check whether all questions have been answered and whether supporting documentation has been supplied.

Where information/documentation is absent, the Deciding Officer will normally write to the applicant seeking this.

The applicant is normally given 21 days to reply. They are informed that failure to reply will result in the closure of the claim.

If there is insufficient information in relation to the employment, the Deciding Officer would normally phone, write or email the Employer for further information.

The claim will not be closed due to delays in replying by an employer.

If after reminders the employer has failed to reply, the case will be referred to a local Social Welfare Inspector for investigation.

If at any time the Deciding Officer feels that a Social Welfare Inspector investigation is required to determine the entitlement, it is open to them send the case out.

Once a Deciding Officer is satisfied that they have sufficient evidence, they will proceed by making a decision on entitlement to WFP. The applicant is notified in writing of the outcome of the decision.

The prescribed time for making an application for Working Family Payment is within 3 months of entitlement first commencing, that is, within 3 months of:

• commencement of employment or
• an increase in hours to 38 per fortnight, or
• a reduction in hours and consequently earnings or
• following the birth of a child or
• Drop in income so that the applicant now considers they may be entitled to WFP.

Where a successful application is received within the prescribed time, payment commences from the first Thursday after the entitlement commenced.

Applications made outside the prescribed time are disqualified from payment in respect of any period before the date on which the application is made.

The Department issues an invite to renew to customers in receipt of WFP at least 8 weeks in advance of the expiry of their 52-week period. In order for a repeat WFP application to be awarded from the renewal date, the renewal application must be received within 4 weeks of the end of the existing claim.

Renewal applications received later than 4 weeks are awarded from the first Thursday after receipt.

When a family comprises of a person and his or her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, both join in any claim for WFP in respect of that family. If the Deciding Officer notes that the applicant or their spouse, civil partner or cohabitant has an outstanding overpayment, Debt Recovery Unit (DRU) may withhold arrears.

The DRU will then write to the customer proposing methods of recovery for the overpayment.

Once WFP is awarded, it is payable for 52 weeks, as long as the recipient continues to be engaged in full-time paid employment as an employee for not less than 38 hours per fortnight.

If the recipient’s hours of employment drop below 38 per fortnight or if they cease employment, their entitlement ends and they must notify WFP Section immediately.

If the recipient claims Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit or Farm Assist their entitlement ends and they must notify WFP Section immediately.

If a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the WFP recipient claims an increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) on their Jobseeker’s Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit or Farm Assist payment in respect of the WFP recipient, their WFP entitlement may change and they should notify WFP Section immediately.

If the WFP recipient claims Illness/Injury Benefit, WFP entitlement will end after the sixth week of the benefit payment.

If the WFP recipient fails to turn up for repeated appointments at a Social Welfare Local Office / Intreo Office for the purposes of providing them with a Public Services Card, payment may be suspended.

If a Social Welfare Inspector reports that a WFP recipient has failed to co-operate with their investigation, payment may be suspended/disallowed on account of this.

If they are imprisoned, WFP will be suspended.

Once WFP is granted, the rate of payment remains the same for the 52 week period regardless of changes in circumstances.

It is not affected by increases or decreases in Family Income.

There are 2 exceptions to this provided for in legislation:

• A WFP recipient can apply for an increase in respect of an additional qualified child
• If One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) was assessed in the latest WFP income test, and OFP is terminated during the WFP 52 week award period for the sole reason that the youngest child has reached the OFP Age Threshold, WFP may be increased by reducing the OFP amount assessed in the most recent WFP Income Test to Nil.

Where family income supplement is payable in respect of a particular family for any period, no person who was included in that family at the beginning of that period shall be regarded as a member of any other family during that period.

Where a relationship breaks down as long as the original qualification criteria continue to be met and the recipient continues to wholly maintain his or her ex-spouse, ex-civil partner or ex-cohabitant with whom the children are living, one of the couple cannot succeed in a new application for WFP until the existing WFP claim has expired. If these conditions are not met then the entitlement to the WFP payment will end and a new WFP claim can be made by the ex-spouse, ex-civil partner, ex-cohabitant with whom the children normally reside.

Examples

Where a couple separates and only one member of that couple is engaged in full-time remunerative employment the WFP payment can continue as long as the recipient continues to wholly maintain her/his ex-spouse, ex-civil partner or ex-cohabitant with whom the children are living.

In the circumstances described above but where the partner with whom the children normally reside takes up full-time remunerative employment the existing WFP claim can be closed and that person can make a new WFP claim in their own right.

Where a couple separates and both are engaged in full-time remunerative employment, the ex-spouse ex-civil partner or ex-cohabitant with whom the children are living can make a new WFP claim in his/her own right.

A claim to WFP should be made within three months of the date of entitlement, that is, date of commencement of employment. Where a person fails to make a claim within the prescribed time, s/he will be disqualified from receiving payment in respect of any period prior to the date of claim.

If you apply for WFP late, you may lose out on part of your entitlement. There is provision to backdate the award of WFP for up to 6 months before the date on which the claim was made. However, you will have to have a valid reason for claiming late before any decision to back date the claim is considered.

In all cases where a backdated payment is being considered, entitlement to WFP throughout that period must have been satisfactorily established.

If you feel that you may be entitled to a back dated payment under any of the provisions outlined above, please set out your case in writing to us and supply any supporting documentation.

Deciding Officers are responsible for deciding on entitlement to social welfare payments. They are appointed by the Minister for Social Protection and are independent in the exercise of their role. In arriving at their decision, Deciding Officers are bound by the legal provisions in the Social Welfare Acts and Regulations, and are expected to be familiar with the relevant operational guidelines, for example, “Decision Making and Natural Justice”.

When a Deciding Officer has made a decision on entitlement to WFP, they send a letter to the person, notifying them of the outcome of their claim.

If WFP has been awarded, the letter lists the range of circumstances which could affect the person’s continuing entitlement to this payment and asks them to advise the Department of any changes in these circumstances.

If the claim has been disallowed, the letter explains the basis for the decision and also advises the person of their right to a review and appeal against the Deciding Officer’s decision. The appeal must be lodged within 21 days of the date of the notification letter. See ‘Appeals’ below.

Any decision of a Deciding Officer may be revised by a Deciding Officer if new information or evidence comes to light or if the original Deciding Officer made a mistake in relation to the law or facts of the case. A person has the right of appeal against a revised decision.

See "Decision Making and Natural Justice" and "Revised Decisions and their Date of Effect" for more information.

If a person is not satisfied with the decision of a Deciding Officer they can appeal directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, by writing to that Office within 21 days, outlining the grounds of their appeal.

www.socialwelfareappeals.ie

Note: The rates charged for using 0818 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers.

• Return to main scheme page.