The Community Employment (CE) programme is designed to help people who are long-term unemployed and other disadvantaged people to get back to work by offering part-time and temporary placements in jobs based within local communities. It is possible for participants to seek other part-time work during their placement. After the placement, participants are encouraged to seek permanent part-time and full-time jobs elsewhere based on the experience and new skills they have gained while in a Community Employment scheme.
The Community Employment programme is administered by FÁS employment services and employment programmes which were transferred to the Department of Social Protection in January 2012.
Entitlement to a Community Employment payment and another Department of Social Protection payment at the same time is being phased out over 3 years. Since 16 January 2012 new participants on Community Employment (CE) schemes will not be able to claim another social welfare payment at the same time. Existing participants will keep their social welfare payment until they are no longer eligible to participate in a CE scheme or they leave the scheme voluntarily. Otherwise they will keep it until December 2014 which is the final cut-off date for getting a concurrent social welfare payment.
If a person is on a Community Employment scheme and One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit or Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension, payment of 2 qualified child increases will cease for both new and existing recipients with effect from 20 February 2012 - see 'Social welfare payments' below.
There are 2 different categories of Community Employment, each with its own set of eligibility requirements. These are the Part-time Integration Option and the Part-time Job Option. You can participate in either of these options but not in both at the same time.The sponsor of the programme - the local organisation or group that manages the scheme - will plan and manage your placement. The sponsor may also offer you training or skills development opportunities that you can take up during your placement.
The average number of working hours for placements is 39 hours per fortnight. Participants are paid weekly by their sponsor. Tax may be deducted from their pay if applicable but their CE pay is exempt from the Universal Social Charge. Participants on Community Employment Schemes pay a special lower PRSI contribution at Class A8/A9 but this counts as a full Class A PRSI contribution.
The Part-time Integration Option allows you to work under the Community Employment scheme for a maximum of 1 year.
It may be possible to have your one-year placement extended by another year depending on your individual needs, to do this the sponsor must apply in writing at least 2 months before the end of your placement. Generally participants complete their one-year placement and then seek a permanent full-time or part-time job elsewhere based on the experience gained in the placement, the good reputation developed with local employers and any new skills learnt over the course of the placement.
You may qualify for participation in the CE Part-time Integration Option if:
You are aged 25 years or older and:
OR
You are aged 18 years and over and:
Where applicable, it is possible for applicants to meet the eligibility requirements by adding time spent on a recognised training or employment programme to the time spent receiving allowances.
This CE Part-Time Job Option provides participants with part-time work placements of up to 6 years for participants over 55 and up to 3 years for participants under 55. This option is designed to give extended access to employment to older people who may have been unable to secure regular employment for some time. The participation limits for people on one of the specified disability payments (see below) are 7 years for those aged 55 to 65 and 4 years for those aged 35 to 54. Time spent on CE before 3 April 2000 is not counted in these participation limits.
You may qualify for participation in the CE Part-Time Job Option if:
You are aged 35 years or older and:
OR
You are 18 years of age or over and:
Where applicable, it is possible for applicants to meet the eligibility requirements by adding time spent on a recognised training or employment programme to the time spent receiving allowances.
If you are getting JB, JA or Farm Assist and qualify for CE, you may transfer your eligibility to your adult dependant. People who avail of this swap will not lose out on any allowances as they will exchange circumstances with each other, meaning that the allowances the Community Employment applicant would have received will be transferred to their adult dependant. It is important for the adult dependant to sign on for credits at the local social welfare office to protect any future pension entitlements.
Since 16 January 2012 new participants on Community Employment (CE) schemes will not be able to claim another social welfare payment at the same time. New participants are defined as those who have not been employed on a CE scheme in the previous 12 months. People who were approved by the Department of Social Protection for a CE scheme before 16 January 2012 but who, for operational reasons, only started working on or after 16 January 2012 will be treated as existing participants for the purpose of retaining their social welfare payments.
Existing participants on One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit, disability payments and widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s pensions will continue to get their social welfare payment until they are no longer eligible to participate in a CE scheme or they leave the scheme voluntarily. Otherwise they will keep it until December 2014 which is the final cut-off date for getting a concurrent social welfare payment.
Qualified child increases: If a person is on a CE scheme and getting One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit or Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension, payment of 2 qualified child increases will cease for both new and existing participants with effect from 20 February 2012. Existing participants will get the qualified child increase on their social welfare payment and will get the personal rate for a CE participant. New CE participants will get the qualified child increase with their CE payment.
Secondary benefits
You will retain your medical card.
You will retain an entitlement to the secondary benefits you were receiving immediately before going onto Community Employment provided you continue to satisfy the conditions for these benefits.
Rent and Mortgage Interest Supplements
The amount of Rent Supplement which you get may be reduced. You may be able to keep part of your Mortgage Interest Supplement.
Participants under both options of Community Employment are paid weekly by their sponsors.
FÁS offers grants to community employers towards the cost of hiring people under the scheme. The level of this grant depends on whether participants have child or adult dependants. Funding for CE workers aged over 65 is not provided.
The weekly rate for a CE worker based on 19.5 hours worked is as follows:
| 2012 | |
| Category of Participant | Rate |
| Participant without dependants | €208 |
| Participant with adult dependant | €332.80* |
| Each child dependant (full rate) | €29.80 |
| Each child dependant (half rate) | €14.90 |
*If the participant's payment from the Department of Social Protection included an increase for a qualified adult, he or she will get the CE weekly rate for a participant with an adult dependant.
There are a limited number of Community Employment places available. If you want to participate in a Community Employment scheme contact your local FÁS office for information about Community Employment job opportunities. FÁS's job listings are also available online.
If your organisation or group is interested in hiring someone under the scheme, you should contact the FÁS head office at the address below for more information.
Contact your local FÁS office.
P.O. Box 456
27-33 Upper Baggot Street
Dublin 4
Ireland
Tel:+353 1 607 0500
Fax:+353 1 607 0600
Homepage: http://www.fas.ie
Email: info@fas.ie
If you have a question relating to this topic you can contact the Citizens Information Phone Service on 0761 07 4000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 9pm) or you can visit your local Citizens Information Centre.