Operational Guidelines: Back to Education Allowance

Purpose

The Back to Education Allowance scheme is a broadly targeted education opportunities scheme. The focus is to assist people improve their qualifications through full-time education courses and as a result improve their access to sustainable employment.

Legislative Basis

BTEA is an administrative scheme approved by the government. Government Decision S.29416 of 8 October 1996 refers.

What does Back to Education Allowance provide?

There are three streams which provide income support to certain Department of Social Protection (DSP) customers to undertake a range of education and training options with the aim of improving labour market opportunities. These are:

Back to Education Allowance (BTEA)

• provides certain categories of DSP customers with income support to complete a full-time course of study
• The subject of these guidelines

Part-Time Education Option (PTEO)

• enables jobseekers to retain their Jobseeker's Allowance/Jobseeker's Benefit/ Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit /Jobseeker’s Benefit (Self-employed) payment while undertaking a part-time course of study
• see separate Guidelines on Part-Time Education Option (PTEO)

Education, Training and Development Option (ET&D)

• enables jobseekers to retain their Jobseeker's Allowance/Jobseeker's Benefit payment while undertaking courses of study of short duration
• must be recommended by a Case Officer/Job Coach
• see separate Guidelines on Education, Training and Development (ET&D)

This Version

This version of the rules and guidelines for the Back to Education Allowance scheme are operational from March 2025 and supersede previous guidelines issued in respect of the scheme.

Administration

Policy in respect of the BTEA scheme is developed by:

The scheme is administered by the Employment Personal Advisers of the Employment Services Operations Division of the Department.

Queries

Queries of an operational nature should be addressed to the local Employment Services Team. If a query cannot be resolved locally, a referral should be made to the relevant Employment Support Manager.

Queries of a policy nature can be emailed to: MBX-BTEA_Enquiries@welfare.ie or BTEA_Enquiries@welfare.ie

Overview

Income support is available under BTEA to enable two study options to be pursued.

The Further Level Education option enables study to be undertaken provided it leads to an award from Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) up to and including level 6 (see note below*)

The Higher Level Education option enables study to be undertaken to an award at QQI up to and including level 8 and in limited circumstances to include postgraduate study (Level 9).

BTEA requires that all modules of a full-time course must be completed within the same academic year.

Note: At level 6 there are two award types:

• the Advanced Certificate (Further Education) is a Level 6 award on the National Framework of Qualifications. Most certificates at this level enable students to develop a wide range of skills relevant to their chosen career path. These skills may be specific to a vocation or could be of a supervisory nature
• Level 6 Higher Certificate (Higher Education) – is normally awarded after completion of a programme of two years full time duration 20 ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer System).

The Higher Certificate (Ardteastas in Irish) is a Higher level education award at level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications in the Republic of Ireland. The Higher Certificate is awarded by various Institutes of Technology/Technological Universities

Green Cert Courses

The 'Green Cert' refers to a list of land based courses which qualifies a person as a 'trained farmer' .These could be in horticulture, agriculture, forestry or equine studies.

Level 6 Green Cert can be either full-time or part-time. The Green Cert is a QQI Level 5 Certificate in Agriculture and Level 6 Specific Purpose Certificate in Farming. For the purposes of BTEA, the Employment Personal Adviser/Job Coach should ensure that it is a full-time course of study.

Further level Education Option

BTEA can be approved for certain DSP customers to attend a full-time further education course of education at any Community, Comprehensive, Secondary, Education Training Board (ETBs), College of Further Education or Institute of Technology/Technological University with which the Department of Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) have a funding relationship.

The course of study being pursued must be a full-time day course and lead to a qualification that is:

• recognised by the Department of Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS)

or

• awarded by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI)

The types of full-time day courses for which BTEA can be approved are:

• Junior Certificate
• Leaving Certificate
• Repeat Leaving Certificate in limited circumstances i.e. on the recommendation of an Employment Personal Adviser/Job Coach (section 4.2 refers)
• Post-leaving Certificate (PLC)
• Those, other than listed above, provided by Educational Training Boards (ETBs)
• Foundation/Access courses provided by Universities and Institutes of Technology

In addition to existing Access/Foundation courses, approval may be given to preparatory Higher Level education courses of at least 18 week’s duration requiring full-time attendance and conferring a Special Purpose Award of a a minimum of 30 ECTS credits that accumulate towards the student’s chosen higher level education qualification.

Further Level Education Courses in Northern Ireland

BTEA can be approved for Further Level Education courses in Northern Ireland provided they lead to a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) equivalent to a QQI level 5 or 6.

Higher Level Education option

BTEA is only permitted for courses commencing in Ireland and Northern Ireland. However, BTEA can be approved to avail of a year abroad if it is deemed to be an integral/mandatory/compulsory part of the course of study (as verified by the Registrars/Admission Office). Where possible this should be discussed with an Employment Personal Adviser/ Job Coach at the time of applying for BTEA. (Refer to Section "BTEA and Erasmus+ 2021-27 (work abroad)")

Postgraduate study option

Only in limited circumstances can BTEA be approved for DSP Customers undertaking postgraduate studies leading to:

• a Higher Diploma (H.Dip) (Level 8) in any discipline

or

• a Professional Masters in Education (PME - Level 9). The PME is a two-year, full-time programme for graduates for the purposes of registration as a post-primary teacher

or

• a Masters degree (Level 9) based solely on life experience where the customer holds no other Higher Education qualification.. The customer must provide documentary evidence from the Higher Education institution confirming that admission is based solely on life experience and that they do no hold any Higher Education qualification

Where the Customer already holds a postgraduate qualification, they are not eligible for BTEA, with the exception of Springboard+/Human Capital Initiative (see section 2.7).

Postgraduate study option is not available for study in Northern Ireland.

Tertiary Degrees

Tertiary Degrees are co-designed and co-delivered by the Education and Training Boards and Higher Education Institutions to provide seamless pathways from Further Education to Higher Education.

The Tertiary Programme consists of Level 7 and Level 8 degree programmes validated and awarded by various Higher Education Institutions. The difference with the Tertiary Degrees is that the first year and, in some cases, the second year are delivered in the ETBs. Further information is available on National Tertiary Office.

For the purposes of the Back to Education Allowance, these tertiary degrees are being treated in the same way as existing Level 7 and Level 8 degree programmes.

Springboard+ and Human Capital Initiative Courses

Springboard+ and Human Capital Initiative (HCI) Pillar 1 are Government initiatives which offer courses in areas where there are employment opportunities. Further information can be found here.

In these guidelines the term Springboard+ is used to describe both Springboard+ and HCI Pillar 1 courses as they are treated in the same way for DSP income support purposes.

• for full-time courses, the Employment Services Team approve jobseeker’s applicants under bespoke Back to Education Allowance criteria. (See section 3.8)
• for part-time courses, Intreo considers applications from jobseekers to retain their payment while they take 1 year part-time courses through the Part-Time Education Option.

Courses not eligible for support under BTEA

The following are not considered eligible courses of study for BTEA purposes:

• Master’s Degree (Level 9) other than those listed at section 2.5
• part-time or evening courses
• courses leading to minor/special purpose awards for component certificates where less than 30 ECTS credits are awarded and/or are less than 18 weeks duration
• single modules or components of a course of study
• single semesters
• distance learning or on-line courses. BTEA is only applicable to full-time students and removes a Jobseeker's obligation for genuinely seeking work (GSW).
• full-time study outside Ireland and Northern Ireland

Overview

The DSP customer is responsible for securing a place on the approved course.

Criteria

In order to qualify for BTEA the customer must be:

• a specific age
• in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for a specified period of time
• commencing the first year of a course of study (refer to section "Commencement of BTEA after first year of an approved course of study")
• pursuing a course of study which requires full-time college attendance for the complete academic year
• undertaking a course of study that is leading to a recognised qualification in a recognised college (refer to sections "Commencement of BTEA after first year of an approved course of study" and the 2 sections immediately following it)
• progressing in the levels of education held (refer to section "Progression in Education Course")
• jobseekers on ‘credits only’ can qualify for BTEA once they have the qualifying period

Qualifying payments and Study Option eligibility criteria

This section applies to qualifying payments and study option criteria and is set out in 3 tables:

• Jobseeker Payments
• One Parent Family
• Disability and Caring Payments

Refer to the following tables and also see appendix 4 for combined table.

In the case of Jobseeker payments an Employment Personal Advisor / Job Coach must have considered and recommended the application prior to a decision to allow BTEA.

All customers must continue to satisfy the rules, including means test (where applicable) while in receipt of BTEA.

• Note 1: Periods spent on ETB full-time training courses and Youthreach can count towards the relevant qualifying period and may be regarded as periods out of formal education.

Qualified Adults

Both partners can simultaneously qualify for a BTEA payment and can be supported to undertake courses of study.

The Qualified Adult Dependant (QA) of a person in receipt of one of the qualifying payments for BTEA purposes may be approved for BTEA provided they establish an entitlement to a BTEA qualifying payment (see tables above) in their own right and subject to satisfying all other BTEA conditions. This provision does not extend to a QA of a person made statutorily redundant nor does it extend to a QA of customers of work placement schemes (CE, TÚS or RSS).

Periods spent in receipt of a QA allowance on qualifying payments should be counted in addition to any periods in receipt of a qualifying payment in their own right provided the claims are not broken by more than 12 months.

Linking Provisions

Periods spent on any* qualifying payment and periods on other schemes/payment which are not broken by more than 12 months (52 weeks) can be combined in determining if a customer satisfies the qualifying period criteria.

Illness Benefit *

BTEA can be approved for a customer currently in receipt of Illness Benefit (IB) payment or IB credits or the QA of such payments/credits provided they satisfy the age requirements and are in receipt of the IB payment or credits for at least two (2) years.

Where a customer does not have two (2) years on the IB payment or credits, periods spent on other BTEA qualifying payments (refer to tables at 3.3) can be combined with Illness Benefit (IB) to count towards the qualifying period provided that there is 50% of the time accounted for on the current primary payment that qualifies the customer for the scheme.

A customer wishing to revert to Illness Benefit from BTEA should contact the Illness Benefit section to discuss their options.

BTEA will only be awarded where the applicant has an underlying eligibility to IB on the first day of their new course.

Counting periods on other schemes/payments towards the qualifying period

Periods spent on a range of other education, training, work placement and activation support schemes can be taken into account when determining the required number of days in receipt of a qualifying payment.

The provision applies ONLY in cases where the customer has established an entitlement to a qualifying social welfare payment in their own right and subject to satisfying all other conditions immediately prior to commencement of their course.

The schemes/payments are limited to the following:

• Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
• Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection weekly payment (introduced in March 2024)
• Community Employment
• Covid 19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP)
• Daily Expenses Allowance (formerly Direct Provision Allowance)
• Educational Programmes e.g. ETB’s/NLN
• Ex-offenders (Periods spent in prison in this State)
• Part-time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJI)
• Qualified Adults – both partners can simultaneously qualify for BTEA payment and can be supported to undertake courses of study. Eligibility to BTEA does not extend to Qualified Adults of customers of work placement schemes or to dependants of a person made statutory redundant.
• Rural Social Scheme (RSS)
• Short Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA)
• Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA)
• Tús
• Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) administered by ETBs
• YESS (Youth Employment Support Scheme), closed July 2021)
• Youthreach – administered by ETBs
• Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP)

Only in circumstances where an Employment Personal Adviser/ Job Coach is satisfied that a course of study represents a better activation option, should a customer cease engagement on these activation schemes prior to completion.

Arrangements for persons made redundant

Jobseekers who have been made redundant involuntarily can have access to the BTEA Scheme immediately or within one year of the redundancy. The jobseeker must establish an entitlement to a relevant Social Welfare payment immediately prior to the commencement of an approved course of study.

A Jobseeker who opts for voluntary redundancy cannot be approved for BTEA under this provision. Qualified Adults of jobseekers that receive Redundancy cannot be approved for BTEA

BTEA for Full-Time Springboard + courses

Applications from jobseeker claimants who wish to take full-time Springboard+ courses are assessed under a bespoke version of the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) scheme where normal rules of BTEA apply except for the following conditions:

• qualifying period of 9 months is required for full-time Springboard+ courses
• customers must contact their Employment Personal Adviser to complete an application prior to starting the course
• no age requirement
• all Springboard+ courses may be pursued at a level similar or higher to that already held by the individual. For example, if a participant already holds a level 8 qualification, they may pursue a level 8 Springboard+ course
• individuals in receipt of any BTEA qualifying payment may apply for Springboard+, (with exception of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension as there is a requirement that participants must be unemployed and actively seeking employment)
• customers are not entitled to the Cost of Education allowance

Time restrictions for accessing full time Springboard+ with BTEA support

• Springboard+ courses are designed that a jobseeker will be employment ready on the completion of a course
• BTEA cannot be used as a qualifying payment to participate on a full-time Springboard+ course. On completion of a BTEA supported course, the participant must be job seeking for at least 12 months before commencing a full-time Springboard + course under the BTEA bespoke option
• on completion of a full or part time Springboard+ course, there must be a gap of at least 1 year before commencing a full-time Springboard+ course with income support under BTEA. Where a participant no longer attends or has discontinued their Springboard + course due to mitigating circumstances, consideration can be given to waiving this condition
• these conditions do not prevent any participation (or re-participation) on part-time Springboard+ courses where the participant in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment may apply to retain their payment under the Part-Time Education option

Claimants of primary payments other than Jobseeker’s payments

One-Parent Family Payment customers, wishing to remain on OFP can undertake a full-time Springboard+ course without requiring permission from the Department. Alternatively, they can apply under the bespoke BTEA where this is more beneficial. A person who is in receipt of another welfare payment should contact the appropriate scheme area to confirm that they can retain such payments (i.e., a person on Disability Allowance must contact the Disability Allowance section).

Work Placements

Work placement is a feature of Springboard+ and should be clearly identified when it is an integral/mandatory/compulsory part of the course. Only work placements within Ireland are supported. Income from paid work placement should be means assessed in line with the means test of the underlying qualifying payment.

Specific Conditions to Jobseekers

Jobseeker's Benefit (JB), Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit (JPRB) or Jobseekers Benefit Self-Employed (JBSE)

All BTEA applications received will cease payment when entitlements toJobseeker’s Benefit/ Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit or Jobseeker’s Benefit Self-Employed exhausts. The BTEA customer will be entitled to payment for the duration of their entitlement on the qualifying payment only.

BTEA will only remain in payment if the customer qualifies for another BTEA qualifying payment once their Jobseeker's Benefit /Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit/ Jobseekers Benefit or Self-Employed ceases. In such circumstances, an application must be made and assessed for the appropriate jobseeker or other scheme payment in the normal manner. Where an entitlement to retain the BTEA payment is established, the payment can be approved at the rate appropriate to the new qualifying payment. A customer may have an entitlement to a credits only claim where BTEA can continue, however, no payment will be made by the department. Where no entitlement to another qualifying payment exists, BTEA payment ceases.

The customer is obliged to inform the department of any change in their circumstances which may affect their continued entitlement. This should be noted for when JB / JPRB / JBSE expires and establishing another qualifying payment to retain the BTEA. (RSU circular 37/17 refers)

Jobseeker Benefit/Jobseekers Benefit Self-Employed customers will receive full relevant* personal rate of JB/JBSE, while on BTEA, irrespective of whether they are engaged in part-time work or not. Casual dockets are not required. A QA rate is applied as per the guidelines of JB/JBSE claims.

Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit is paid where a person is fully unemployed, so they are not allowed part-time or casual employment. A Qualified Adult rate is not applicable as per the guidelines of Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit claims. Under JPRB – the person will be paid the underlying rate which can adjust at 3-monthly intervals in line with the underlying payment.

• Where a JB/JBSE recipient is on a reduced rate of payment they are not entitled to be uplifted to the max rate for BTEA purposes. The JB/JBSE rate is standalone and is based solely on the qualifying conditions and rates of that scheme.

Jobseeker's Allowance (JA)

From 2016/17 academic year the CT for JA BTEA should no longer be frozen for new customers.

Signing Arrangements

• Jobseeker recipients who qualify for income support or credits only are not required to sign on the Live Register while attending an approved course of study during the academic year.

Applicants for International Protection entitlements to BTEA

Applicants for International Protection who are studying full-time (including those previously supported through the Sanctuary Programmes) and who go on to receive their Stamp 4 (permission to remain) after the commencement of the academic year are entitled to apply for BTEA. This extends eligibility for BTEA to former Protection Applicants who have commenced studying prior to receiving their permission to remain (Stamp 4), from the date that they have received this permission (or commencement of an academic year).

To be considered for the BTEA a former Protection Applicant learner must

• Be studying a full-time course
• Satisfy the qualification period for their course (9 months for Higher Level education or 3 months for Further Level education)
• Have been in receipt of a Daily Expense Allowance while residing in direct provision and while attending college, prior to receiving their Permission to Remain
• Have an underlying entitlement to a qualifying payment but for the fact that they have commenced their study – e.g. upon receiving their Permission to Remain, other than the fact they are in education - they would have satisfied the conditionality for Jobseekers

The applicant does not have to satisfy the conditions of section "Commencement of BTEA after first year of an approved course of study" relating to the commencement of the first year of a course (i.e. they may be awarded BTEA form the mid-point of a course or at the commencement of a later year of study).

Where the Stamp 4 is granted before or between academic years, the BTEA should be awarded for payment from the date of the commencement of the new academic year. Where a student’s Stamp 4 is granted at the mid-point of an academic year, the BTEA can be awarded from the date they have received this Permission i.e. a weekly BTEA rate of payment equal to the applicable jobseekers rate (i.e. including means) that would have been applied.

Where this provision is applied to a BTEA claim, the student will not be required to re-establish an entitlement to an underlying qualifying scheme at the start of subsequent academic years (in line with section "Commencing or resuming a course of study").

Disqualifications

Entitlement to BTEA will cease and payments must be terminated in situations where:

• the customer completes the course of study
• the customer no longer attends or has discontinued pursuing their course of study. They should not be approved for a BTEA payment to pursue a different course of study and recovery of sums paid as an overpayment should be considered. Evidence of mitigating circumstances may be taken into account (refer to section "Definition of Mitigating Circumstances")
• the course of study ceases or is discontinued by the educational institution
• where entitlement to the qualifying payment is no longer satisfied (such as on the grounds of excessive means)
• the customer fails to provide proof of continued attendance at the course of study on a full time basis
• the customer takes up full-time employment (this excludes periods of work placements considered to be an integral/mandatory or compulsory part of the course of study) (refer to section "assessment of means and work placements")

Exclusions from other schemes

BTEA customers cannot work full-time or engage simultaneously on:

• Community Employment (CE)
• JobsPlus
• Part-time Job Incentive (PTJI)
• Rural Social Scheme (RSS)
• ETB training programmes
• Tús
• Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)
• Wages Subsidy Scheme (WSS)
• Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP)
• Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS)
• Youthreach (administered by ETBs)
• any employment, training scheme or training programme operated by the National Learning Network (NLN)

Working Family Payment recipients are not eligible for the Back to Education Allowance scheme.

Commencing or resuming a course of study

BTEA awarded

All BTEA customers (including customers commencing a new course) with eligibility based on a qualifying payment must re-establish their entitlement to the qualifying payment at the beginning of each academic year. Customers must continue to satisfy the means test (where applicable) during the academic year (refer to section "assessment of means and work placements"). The conditionality attached to the qualifying payment must be examined at the beginning of each academic year in order for BTEA to be approved.

Commencement of BTEA after first year of an approved course of study

In certain circumstances, the provision that a customer must be commencing the first year of a full-time course to be approved for BTEA can be waived, subject to all other scheme conditions being fulfilled.

Deciding Officers and Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coaches may waive the conditions where the BTEA customer:

• has been granted an exemption to part of the course or credits by the educational institution based on a previous qualification(s), other education attainment or life/work experience or
• has completed the earlier year(s) of the course of study on a part-time basis or
• had completed the earlier year(s) on a full-time basis before becoming unemployed, or being made redundant and receiving statutory redundancy from their full-time employment
• is permitted by the educational institution to proceed to the next year of a course after having previously discontinued pursuing their course of study or deferred a year due to mitigating circumstances (refer to section "Definition of Mitigating Circumstances") that would have made it unreasonable to expect a customer to have continued the course

One Parent Family Payment/Jobseeker’s Transition

• from 4 July 2013, former One Parent Family payment customers who did not opt for BTEA at the start of the course may be admitted to BTEA ‘mid-course’ where their OFP is being withdrawn due to the age of the youngest child
• The customer must satisfy all the other eligibility rules with the exception of the late claims provision and not first year of the course. The customer cannot be in receipt of both BTEA and a Student Maintenance grant. RSU/IMS circulars, 47/13, 61/13, 24/14 and 17/15 detail the position
• an OFP customer who is engaged in a course of study and the youngest child has reached 7 years and who is not already in receipt of BTEA has two options:

Remain on their JST and receive SUSI grant. Such customers have 7 years on JST in which to complete their relevant studies. Should their course of study not be completed before their youngest child reaches 14 years they will not be able to complete the course on JA as GSW (genuinely seeking work) is not satisfied.

Alternatively the Customer could opt for BTEA from their OFP claim in which case they will not be able to avail of the SUSI grant. The cost of education allowance payment may be payable. (Refer to section "Back to Education Allowance and Student Grant Scheme (SUSI)" and "Cost of Education Allowance")

In these cases an appointment should be made with an Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach who will advise an option.

• The Back to Education Allowance (BTE1) application form should be completed as soon as a place has been secured on an approved Further Level or Higher level Education course.
• The rate payable on the BTEA is the same as is payable on the OFP (means apply).
• Where an applicant enters a relationship or gets married this will not affect the rate of their claim until the beginning of the new academic year and they should retain their payment over the summer period.

Definition of Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances can include but are not limited to a long-term illness or injury requiring prolonged absence from attendance at lectures, the serious illness of an immediate family member requiring the customer undertaking a caring responsibility, force majeure, discontinuance of the course by the educational institution. Documentary evidence from the college must be provided and in the event that a medical condition existed supporting documentation from the doctor/specialist etc. may be required.

Other mitigating circumstances that may arise can be considered by the officer having regards to all the relevant circumstances of the case.

Progression in Education Course

Further Education Level

In certain limited circumstances BTEA can be approved where the customer proposes to undertake a course of study leading to a qualification at either QQI Levels 5 or 6 where the customer already holds qualification at the same level or lesser level.

In order for such an application to be recommended and subsequently approved, an Employment Personal Advisor / Job Coach will consider their recommendation in terms of further professional/career development and the customer’s overall job prospects having regard to:

• course of study at Level 5 or 6 is at Further Education Level only
• previous educational award is deemed to be no longer relevant to current labour market opportunities
• proposed course of study is career orientated and consistent with future skills needs and/or local demand
• maximum course duration of the course of study is 24 months
• customer worked for a period of at least three years and has paid PRSI contributions, including S contributions, (156 S cons over the course of a person's whole career). This may include contributions from the UK and other EU countries. Evidence of paid UK and EU contributions must be submitted
• previous educational award was made 3 or more years prior to the commencement date of the new proposed course

Higher Education Level

In general, BTEA should only be approved where the course of study leads to a higher qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications than that already held by the customer (refer to Appendix 3)

Customers holding a Higher Education qualification should not be approved for BTEA to pursue a course at a similar or lower qualification level. Separate rules apply for Springboard+/HCI. see section 3.8).

If a QQI Level 8 degree is held, application to study for QQI Level 8 Higher Diploma can be approved.

A customer who already holds a Level 7 ordinary degree can only apply for the one year add on Honours degree course which may be in a different discipline. They are not eligible to receive BTEA for a new Level 8 degree course.

It should also be noted that if the customer already has a Post Graduate qualification, they cannot be approved for another (with exception of Springboard+ courses, see section 3.8).

Repeat years

BTEA repeat customers must:

• be a full-time student i.e. cannot repeat on a part-time basis taking a smaller number of modules
• only receive approval on BTEA to repeat one academic year as a full-time student and only in limited circumstances. (Refer to section "Commencement of BTEA after first year of an approved course of study")
• not be approved BTEA for repeat students registered as external students and/or examination only students

A BTEA customer who fails and repeats an exam, which results in a break of their previously awarded BTEA payment and who satisfies all other eligible criteria for BTEA may be approved for BTEA in order to progress to the next year of their course of study.

If the break in payment is for a period longer than the academic year, they should be treated as new entrants to the scheme for payment purposes.

Failure to complete or deferral of a course

A BTEA participant who fails to complete, or drops out of a course of study should not be approved for a BTEA payment to pursue a different course of study. A BTEA customer who defers a year of their course of study should not be reapproved for BTEA unless there are mitigating circumstances. (Refer to section "Definition of Mitigating Circumstances")

However, if an Employment Personal Adviser/ Job Coach is satisfied that due to mitigating circumstances that it would be unreasonable to expect the customer to have continued the course of study they may be eligible to continue their course of study.

Customers who defer a year of a course of study are deemed to be new customers and are subject to the conditions on the date of reapplication.

Back to Education Allowance and Student Grant Scheme (SUSI)

BTEA customers (including those in receipt of Jobseeker's Credits only) may be eligible for support to offset the cost of the student registration fee, including other fees payable to access courses, if the BTEA customer satisfies the eligibility criteria for both.

However, customers approved for BTEA are not eligible for the student support grants operated by SUSI on behalf of the Department of Further Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS).

Further information on the Student Grant Scheme can be obtained from www.susi.ie.

BTEA age related payments from 2017/18 Jobseeker Customers

Age related payment rates were abolished with effect from 1st September 2017. As a result all BTEA customers will receive a weekly payment equivalent to the maximum standard personal rate of the qualifying payment (less any applicable means). Refer to RSU/IMS circular 63/18 and also note Appendix 1 of same circular on how to apply rates.

Increase payment in respect of qualified adult/child dependent

Increases for QA and Child dependents should be awarded in line with the primary payment.

If there is a change in circumstances which effect increases for Qualified Adult/child entitlements, a review of these allowances should be completed and the rate payable for these allowances adjusted accordingly.

Method of Payment

BTEA is paid on a weekly basis by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) or by post draft (PDT). Customers are required to supply details of their bank account/post office at time of application.

Duration of BTEA payment

Jobseekers payments only

BTEA approved in respect of Jobseeker's recipients is payable for the duration of the academic year only (or in the case of JB/JPRB/JBSE when the claim exhausts), providing entitlement continues to exist. BTEA is not payable for the summer between academic years. Where BTEA customers are unable to find employment during the summer period, they may be entitled to claim a jobseeker's payment subject to satisfying the usual qualifying conditions for those payments.

All other qualifying payments

BTEA customers other than jobseekers (JA/JB/JPRB/JBSE only) will retain their BTEA payment during the summer period provided they are progressing to the following academic year of their course of study or to another approved course of study under the BTEA scheme.

Cost of Education Allowance

From 1st September 2017 the Cost of Education allowance of €500 per academic year is payable to all BTEA customers with a qualified child payment on their claim subject to fulfilling all conditions on the primary scheme.

Where both the primary customer and the qualified adult are engaged with BTEA the maximum rate of payment of the Cost of Education Allowance in respect of their combined claims should be €500 per academic year, i.e. a maximum of €500 per household.

• there is no requirement to record an overpayment when a customer does not complete the academic year, providing the customer satisfied the qualifying criteria for the Cost of Education Allowance on the day the payment was awarded
• on receipt of a BTEA application from a person with a child dependent the Deciding Officer should ensure that the Cost of Education allowance is paid to the customer by arrears
• customers in receipt of Jobseeker's Credits only are also entitled to this payment subject to fulfilling all conditions on the primary scheme
• customers on Part time Education option (PTEO) are not entitled to the allowance (including Springboard courses and ICT Skills under PTEO)
• customers studying full-time Springboard+ / HCI Pillar 1 Courses under the bespoke BTEA option are not entitled to the allowance
• customers on Skillnet Ireland courses are not entitled to the Cost of Education Allowance

BTEA tax exemption

The tax status and legislative changes of Social Welfare payments have been updated and are included in the 2018 Finance Act. BTEA is categorised as a tax exempt payment, therefore, payment including increases for qualified adults or children and other allowances paid with the BTEA payment is fully exempt from income tax, PRSI and USC.

The rate of payment of BTEA is based on the applicable rate of the underlying payment. The payment rates under JPRB are structured based on a person’s previous earnings and their contribution history. Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit has rates that taper after every 3 months, e.g. at maximum rate JPRB (260+ contributions)– the rate is €450 for the first 3 months, €375 for the next 3 and reduces to €300 for the final 3 months. Depending at what point in the eligible period for Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit a person swaps to BTEA, the BTEA rate will match the rate applicable at that stage of the JPRB claim.

Assessment of means and working during the academic year

All BTEA claimants remain subject to the means test of the qualifying payment. This is used to determine the rate of BTEA payment and in any subsequent review.

BTEA claimants who engage in part-time work while in receipt of BTEA should be means assessed in accordance with the primary payment.

The customer is required to inform the Department of any change in circumstances that occurs.

With respect to Jobseeker's (JA/JB/JBSE), the condition of entitlement that a person must be unemployed for 4 days in any consecutive 7 days does not apply for the period of BTEA entitlement.

JPRB customers must remain fully unemployed to continue qualifying for their payment. If JPRB customers wish to undertake casual/part-time work, they will have to transfer the underlying payment to standard JB (with the commensurate reduction in payment rate).

Secondary benefits

Customers may continue to receive any secondary benefits to which they would otherwise have an entitlement under the provisions of their qualifying payment and subject to meeting the conditions of the specific benefits.

In relation to Fuel allowance, entitlement to Fuel cannot be established by participating on a BTEA scheme. Please refer to section 9 of the National Fuel Scheme guidelines.

BTEA while undertaking unpaid work placement/thesis

In circumstances where BTEA customers have to, as an integral, compulsory, mandatory part of their course of study, undertake a period of work placement/experience or prepare a thesis/dissertation, BTEA can continue in payment for this period subject to the rules of the primary payment.

This may also include a work placement abroad (refer to section "BTEA and Erasmus+ 2021-27 (work abroad)"). The customer must give written notification in advance and indicate this course content in the application. Deciding Officer’s must require written evidence from the Registrars’ Office/Admissions Office or Student Records Office of the educational institution before confirming payment to cover these periods. Confirmation should indicate clearly the start and completion date as this may affect the resumption of the BTEA claim.

Paid Work Placement

Where a BTEA customer receives payment for an integral/mandatory/compulsory work placement this should be assessed in accordance with rules of the primary payment. This also includes any paid work placement abroad.

On completion of the work placement, the customer should contact their local Intreo Centre to resume their BTEA claim (subject to normal BTEA rules).

Travel and Subsistence

Travel and Subsistence allowances should not be means assessed as they are genuine expenses incurred due to the nature of the work.

However, the Deciding Officer should ensure that the allowances received are actual travel and subsistence expenses and not a substitution for a customer’s salary while on work placement. Supporting documentation should be provided for clarification.

BTEA and Erasmus

The Erasmus Programme is an EU exchange student programme that aims to provide foreign exchange options for students from within the European Union.

BTEA customers may be approved for payment if pursuing a year of their course of study under the EU Erasmus Programme. Deciding Officers must require written evidence from the Registrar’s Office/Admissions Office or Student Records Office of the educational institution before confirming payment to cover this period. Confirmation should be received in advance of travel abroad and to include a statement that the year abroad is an integral/mandatory/compulsory part of the course, the start and end date of the course and the details of the college abroad, where the study will be conducted and contact details of the customer while studying abroad. Where a monthly grant is received while participating in a year abroad through the Erasmus+ programme, this is not assessable as means for the BTEA.

Erasmus and Disability Allowance customers

Customers who were in receipt of a Disability Allowance (DA) payment within 30 days prior to the commencement of their Erasmus participation, may access BTEA to participate in the one year EU Erasmus programme as part of their studies.

Disability Allowance customers who lost their entitlement to DA because of participation in an Erasmus year of study, may access the BTEA scheme from the date of commencement of their Erasmus participation, where SUSI is not in payment. A customer may avail of the Cost of Education allowance where relevant. (Refer to section "Cost of Education Allowance" above).

Assessment of Bursaries and Scholarships

Bursaries and scholarships awarded to students who are claiming Back to Education Allowance are assessed under the means test of the qualifying payment.

Proof of registration and applications

Proof of registration

The following are applicable for all BTEA customers:

• Written confirmation from the relevant institute of education that the customer has registered as a full-time day student must be provided.
• This registration letter must contain details of the course of study as outlined in the BTEA application (BTE1), start date and finish date of the course for the current academic year.
• This letter may also be emailed directly from the Registrar’s office to the Intreo centre.
• This document/email is only acceptable from the Registrars, Admissions office or Student Records Office.
• Payment will not issue until the customer provides this written confirmation either for new claims or resumptions
• Failure to supply relevant documentation within 30 days will result in the application being deemed withdrawn.

Applications

BTEA customers have until 30th November to supply the required documentation to the Intreo Centre. If evidence of registration is not supplied by this date, payment of BTEA should be suspended immediately.

All applications must be submitted on an official BTEA application form Back to Education Allowance (BTE1), or in paper version at Intreo Centres. An application for BTEA may also be made via the MyWelfare.ie website. Officers should assist customers to make applications at the earliest opportunity with final decisions on eligibility and payment rates reserved until immediately prior to commencement of the course of study when confirmation is available.

The BTEA application process:

• Completion in full and submission of the BTEA application form (BTE1) or resumption of study form plus supporting documentation (confirmation of application to educational institution/CAO/ETB-FTE containing a statement of course choices or equivalent); a CAO application receipt or equivalent from an educational institution detailing the proposed course of study and name of educational institution
• If available, confirmation of commencement and finishing date of the course in the current academic year
• Where required, an assessment by the Employment Personal Adviser/Job Coach of application and suitability of proposed course of study to jobseeker’s career development i.e. the course of study is consistent with the requirements set out in these rules and guidelines
• Where required, recommendation by the Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach based on final course offer from educational institution (admissions office/registrars confirmation)
• Completion of eligibility assessment by Deciding Officer and issue of provisional award letter pending receipt of registration letter from educational institution;
• On receipt of registration letter containing all relevant information, issue of full award letter and commencement of BTEA payment
• ISTS and TLA (Office) systems should be updated in addition to any file notes

Timing of Applications

All BTEA customers should be encouraged to submit the BTE1 application form once they have applied for a course of study and have received notification from the educational institution/CAO that an application has been received (generally available from March each year). Employment Personal Advisers / Job Coaches and Deciding Officers may make preliminary determination of suitability and eligibility pending final offer of a course of study by an educational institution (generally made from mid-August to mid-September each year).

All applications must be made in advance to enable scheduling of assessment processes and interviews with customers, if deemed necessary and the establishment of eligibility and provisional award of payment by the Deciding Officer.

To facilitate late placement offers, applications may be received up to but no later than 30 calendar days of the commencement of the course of study.

Late Applications

Applications received more than 30 calendar days after commencement of a course of study are deemed to be late applications. A late application can be considered having regard to any mitigating circumstances that may arise (see section 4.3).

Decisions

Role of the DSP Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach and Deciding Officer

As part of their functions to support customers, Employment Personal Advisers /Job Coaches will primarily be involved in determining suitability of the course of study being proposed for the Jobseeker to ensure it is in line with the activation needs of the customer, including alignment with the jobseeker’s Personal Progression Plan (PPP). The Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach should provide direction insofar as this relates to ensuring that the course of study is in an area/sector of the economy where there are identified skill needs and job opportunities.

BTEA eligibility should be assessed primarily by the Deciding Officer (DO) and in all cases, only the DO can approve the customer for a BTEA payment, following receipt of a positive recommendation from the Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach that they meet the eligibility criteria. The DO should issue a provisional award letter and final award letter. Eligibility for the scheme can only be determined immediately prior to the commencement of the course. Final approval letters should only issue when all conditionality of the BTEA scheme are met in full and following verification of payment requirements. A template letter is available on the Working Age Schemes Policy site on Stór. A copy of this letter should be scanned to the customer’s claim on BOMi4 and/or kept on the customer’s file.

Refusals

In the event that an Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach is unable to make a positive recommendation or the DO establishes that the conditions of entitlement are not satisfied, notification must issue to the customer clearly stating the specific grounds for refusal of BTEA. The customer must be advised of their right to request to have the decision re-examined and reviewed within 21 days of the issue of the letter of refusal and the manner in which a request for a reexamination or review can be made.

Re-examination/review of decision to refuse

A customer who is not satisfied with a recommendation of an Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach and/or a decision of a Deciding Officer may request in writing to have their application and assessment reexamined and reviewed. The request must clearly state the basis of the review being requested and enclose any new evidence or any other information to address the reasons for refusal communicated by the department.

As BTEA is an administrative scheme, a re-examination and review must be conducted by an officer of the department with relevant knowledge of the operation of BTEA and not involved in the previous recommendation/decision or by a higher officer of the relevant Intreo Centre. Employment Services Operations, Divisions/Intreo Centres should put in place standard arrangements for dealing with re examination and reviews of BTEA recommendations and award decisions. As this is an administrative scheme decisions cannot be appealed to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

The reviewing Officer should ensure the original decision and any new evidence supplied is examined taking these rules and guidelines into consideration in their entirety. The outcome of this re-examination and review should be clearly documented and communicated to the customer outlining in detail why the application has been awarded or refused and noting that all new evidence has been taken into consideration in coming to a final decision.

(If BTEA is refused based on the recommendation of the Employment Personal Adviser/ Job Coach , the review should be taken by another Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach or the Employment Services Manager.)

ISTS/TLA systems

Staff should ensure that all SLO/TLO/OSLO/OTLO/ISLO/ITLO applications received and processed are recorded/input on the TLA system (available on OFFICE system).

Data on the operation of BTEA is essential to the management of the scheme and therefore all applications should be recorded as:

• Received
• Pending
• Awarded
• Refused

A training manual for this system and relevant refusal and analysis codes are available to department staff.

Control requirements

Officers should refer to the department’s anti-fraud strategy which requires that effective divisional and local controls are implemented to protect the expenditure of public funds, prevent fraudulent activity/claims and minimise errors in the processing and approval of applications for BTEA. Actions relating to control of BTEA must be aligned with the aims to reduce fraud and abuse, minimise risks to public funds and eliminate incorrect payments.

Employment Services Operations Divisions must ensure that systematic verification processes, including reviews, are implemented during the payment cycle and where relevant, termination of BTEA payment at academic year end. Additionally, operational management should provide for targeted inspections of BTEA customers to ensure ongoing compliance.

Responsibilities of the Employment Service Operations Divisions/Intreo Centres

In general, at least 5% of BTEA payments should be examined annually. Measures undertaken at operational management level will be supported by control actions undertaken by BTEA central policy unit. Failure by customers to comply with the rules and conditions of the scheme should result in termination of the BTEA payment and, where identified, the raising of an overpayment or consideration of a prosecution where fraudulent conduct is suspected. The actions of divisional staff is essential in ensuring that such situations do not arise, particularly in respect of providing information and guidance to customers on the ongoing need to advise the department of any changes that might impact on eligibility to the BTEA scheme.

Primary responsibility for control and monitoring rests with the Deciding Officer and the Employment Personal Adviser / Job Coach managing the application.

In January each year, a BTEA circular issues outlining control requirements including a procedure for confirming that customers are still in attendance at their approved course. Participation in the Back to Education Allowance may also be periodically reviewed to confirm that the conditions of entitlement continue to be satisfied.

Finish dates and end of academic year processes

Forms SLO8/TLO8/SLO8a/TLO8a/UP6 (BTEA) will issue to BTEA customers in April annually to request the supply of the course finish dates for the current academic year (normally date of last exam) and to determine a customer’s intentions for the future academic year. On return of these forms, Intreo Centres should ensure that actions set out in the circular are implemented.

Reviews and Recovery of overpayments

Where BTEA customers are paid amounts to which they are not entitled, arrangements for debt recovery must be pursued. A review may also be initiated on receipt of notification of any change in circumstances which may affect entitlement or the appropriate rate of payment. Where a customer has received BTEA payments from the Department of Social Protection, which they were not entitled to receive, the customer shall be liable to repay on demand a sum not exceeding the amount of the money received.

GDPR/Freedom of Information

Staff are required to ensure that all information and personal data received in respect of BTEA, (to include application, monitoring and control processes) are treated in a confidential and secure manner in line with Departmental data protection requirements.

Completed application form (BTE1) should be returned to:

• Persons in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance, Jobseeker's Benefit, Jobseeker's Pay‐Related Benefit,
• , Jobseeker's Credits Only, Farm/Fish Assist, One Parent Family Payment or Jobseeker's transitional Payment (paid by your local Social Welfare Intreo Office) must return the completed application form (BTE1) to the relevant Social Welfare Intreo Office.
• Persons in receipt of Deserted Wife's Allowance, Deserted Wife's Benefit, Widow's/Widower's Non-Contributory Pension, Widow's/Widower's Contributory Pension, Prisoners Wife's Allowance or Blind Pension must return the completed application form (BTE1) to the Social Welfare Services Office, College Road, Sligo.
• Persons in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Incapacity Supplement or Carer's Allowance must return the completed application form (BTE1) to Social Welfare Services Office, Government Buildings, Ballinalee Road, Longford.
• Persons in receipt of Illness Benefit must return the completed application form (BTE1) to Illness Benefit Section, Arás Mhic Dhiarmada, Store St., Dublin 1.

Details of Relevant changes to Third Level Allowance/Second Level Allowance and Back to Education Allowance since 1990:

Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

Qualifying payments and study option eligibility criteria combined for quick reference/print out.

Note: Periods spent on ETB full-time training courses and Youthreach can count towards the relevant qualifying period and may be regarded as periods out of formal education.

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