Injury Benefit

Injury Benefit is one of the benefits you can get under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme. It is a weekly payment. You can get it if you are unfit for work due to:

• An accident at work
• An accident while travelling directly to or from work (on an unbroken journey)
• An occupational disease. This is a disease you get from the work that you do. The Department Social Protection (DSP) has a list of Prescribed Occupational Diseases.

To get Injury Benefit, you must be unfit for work for more than 3 days as a result of the accident or disease. The 3 days do not include Sundays and paid holiday leave.

If you are unfit for work for 3 days or less, you can get a declaration that you had an occupational accident. It is important to get this declaration in case your injury or disease causes illness or disability at a later date. It safeguards your future rights to benefits under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme.

Injury Benefit is taxable but you are unlikely to pay tax if it is your only income.

Budget 2024: increase to Injury Benefit

It was announced in Budget 2024 that people on the maximum rate of Injury Benefit will get an increase of €12 per week from January 2024. There will be proportional increases for qualified adults and people on reduced rates of payment.

Social insurance (PRSI) contributions

To get Injury Benefit, you must be in employment insurable at PRSI Class A, D, J or M. At class M, only employees aged under 16 are covered.

You do not need a certain number of PRSI contributions to qualify for Injury Benefit.

You will qualify if you are unfit for work because of an occupational disease or an accident at work or an accident while travelling to or from work.

Your illness or incapacity must last for more than 3 days (not counting Sundays and paid holiday leave).

Civil servants who started work before April 1995 and are insured at Class B do not qualify for Injury Benefit. But you can get a declaration that an occupational accident occurred and you may qualify for other benefits under the Occupational Injuries Benefits Scheme.

Work and training

While you are on Injury Benefit, to help you to rehabilitate or recover you can do:

• Light work that you are not paid for (and that is not normally paid, such as voluntary work)
• Work that is part of your treatment while you are in hospital (or a similar place) where you earn under €50 a week
• Work for a charity where you earn under €50 a week

Partial Capacity Benefit

If you want to go back to work and you have transferred from Injury Benefit to Illness Benefit, you can apply for Partial Capacity Benefit.

Injury Benefit is not paid for the first 3 days of your illness or incapacity (when you are unfit to work).

You can get Injury Benefit for up to 26 weeks (6 months).

If you are still unable to work after 26 weeks, you may get Illness Benefit, Disability Allowance or Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

If you lose physical or mental ability as a result of the accident or disease, you may also get Disablement Benefit. If you are getting Disablement Benefit and do not qualify for Illness Benefit or another social welfare payment, you may be able to get Incapacity Supplement.

If you are getting a Working Family Payment (WFP) and cannot work because of an occupational illness or disease, you can continue to get WFP with your Injury Benefit for up to 36 days (6 weeks).

I you are getting Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD), you can continue to get BTWFD with your Injury Benefit for 36 days (6 weeks).

You may get an increase in your payment for an adult dependant and dependent children.

You should apply for Injury Benefit within 6 weeks of becoming unfit for work. If you apply after 6 weeks, you may not get the payment.

You can get an Injury Benefit claim form and a social welfare medical certificate (MED1), from your GP. You fill in the Injury Benefit claim form (IB1) and your GP fills in the MED1 certificate.

You must send in a MED1 medical certificate every week for as long as you are unfit for work.

Send your completed form and certificates by Freepost to the Injury Benefit Section (see ‘Where to apply’ below).

For more information contact your social welfare local office or the Occupational Injuries Benefit Section: