Wage Subsidy Scheme for people with disabilities

The Wage Subsidy Scheme gives financial support to employers who employ people with disabilities. The scheme is a workplace support for employers from the Department of Social Protection (DSP).

How the WSS works

Sometimes, a disability can restrict an employee's ability to do all the tasks needed in a job. In this case, the Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) is paid to cover the cost to the employer of changing the job requirements. The WSS is paid directly to the employer (who pays the employee as usual).

Example: A job in a factory expects workers to package 100 units a day. However, a new employee who has a disability or health condition can only package 60 units a day. The WWS is paid to the employer to cancel out the cost (40 units a day) of changing the expected output of the role for that employee.

Under the scheme:

• The DSP completes an annual review based on the performance of the employee in the previous 12 months
• The DSP can conduct additional monitoring visits, without notice, to the place of work

The Scheme is available to non-public sector employers (such as the private sector, community and voluntary sector, and not-for-profit sector), who can employ workers with a disability for between 15 and 39 hours per week.

The minimum weekly hours threshold for eligibility is 15 hours.

An employer can offer more than 39 hours each week, but can only claim a subsidy for up to 39 hours.

The contract of employment offered must be for a minimum of 6 months.

WSS may be available for existing employees if:

• They have been employed for less than 12 months and their limited ability to do the expected tasks of the job is putting their employment at risk.
• They acquired the disability or health condition in the last 12 months and returned to work on Partial Capacity Benefit.

You can get more information in the Operational Guidelines for the Wage Subsidy Scheme.

WSS and third parties

WSS is only available to the company or organisation that directly employs the person to do a job. It cannot be used by any other third parties, such as recruitment agencies or other agents that help the company find and manage employees (for example, payroll services).

If your business gets other financial support from the State

If your business is already getting payment under the Wage Subsidy Scheme, you cannot get additional financial help from the government for the same employee's employment costs. Also, if your business is already getting other financial help from the government for an employee, you cannot get the WSS for the same employee.

You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in the WSS.

The scheme is not available to:

• Self-employed people
• People on the Community Employment scheme, Tús, the Rural Social Scheme
• People on the Work Placement Experience Programme

An employer cannot get both JobsPlus and the Wage Subsidy Scheme for the same job. They should apply for the most suitable scheme.

If you get a disability payment

You can qualify for the WSS without a medical assessment if you are getting one of the following disability payments:

• Disability Allowance
• Blind Pension
• Disablement Pension awarded at 20% or more for life
• Illness Benefit
• Invalidity Pension

If you are getting Disability Allowance or Blind Pension, you can stay on your payment alongside the WSS, but it may be means tested. You must contact the Disability Allowance or Blind Pension section in DSP to tell them you are starting work. Read more about how your payment will be reduced.

If you are getting Illness Benefit or the Invalidity Pension, you must come off these payments to start work. However, you may be able to transfer to Partial Capacity Benefit. This will require a medical assessment, but once you are approved, you will not need another medical assessment for WSS.

If you get the Disablement Pension at less than 20% for life

If you get a Disablement Pension or Gratuity assessed at less than 20% for life, or if you have been awarded a Disablement Benefit based on a provisional assessment, you need:

• A recent specialist’s report or doctor’s letter confirming your disability.
• A confidential medical report form, filled out by your doctor, confirming that you have a disability which will reduce your ability to work.

If you are not getting a disability payment

If you are not getting a disability payment, you can still apply for the WSS.

To apply, you need a recent specialist’s report or doctor’s letter confirming your disability.

Your doctor must also fill out a confidential medical report form confirming that you have a disability which will reduce your ability to work.

People on the Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS) may also qualify for other work-related income supports, including:

• Back to Work Family Dividend
• Working Family Payment (WFP)
• Part-Time Job Incentive

You should contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office for more information. Or, for information on the Working Family Payment (WFP), contact the Department’s WFP section directly.

Keeping your medical card and other benefits

You may be able to keep your medical card and certain extra benefits for a number of years after you start work on the WSS scheme.

If you were unemployed for 12 months or more before starting work on the WSS, you can keep your medical card for 3 years from the date you started work.

You may also be able to keep any extra benefits you were getting before you started the WSS employment scheme, such as:

• Free Travel
• Household Benefits package
• Living Alone Increase
• Fuel Allowance

You should tell the DSP that you have started work on the WSS scheme and ask how your individual payments will be affected.

You can continue to get the WSS until you become eligible to apply for a State Pension.

The WSS is divided into 3 strands.

Strand 1

Strand 1 is a wage subsidy payment paid to the employer.

The employer pays the employee the going rate for the job. The employer is then paid a subsidy of €6.30 an hour for the hours worked. The maximum annual subsidy to the employer is €12,776, based on a 39-hour week. The employee must work at least 15 hours a week.

Employers are paid the grant by electronic fund transfer.

Strand 2

Strand 2 is a ‘top-up’ payment to companies that employ more than 2 workers with disabilities.

Depending on the number of employees with disabilities, the employer can get between 10%-50% extra WSS for supervisory, management and other work-based costs.

Strand 3

Strand 3 is a grant to companies employing 25 or more people with disabilities. The grant is €30,000 per year.

The grant is used to employ an ‘Employment Assistance Officer’ (EAO) at the company. The EAO supports and assists employees with their employment needs. A company can only have up to 5 EAO positions subsidised under the WSS.

Frequency of payments to the employer

The Department of Social Protection (DSP) will generate a ‘wage subsidy request’ on Welfare Partners for the workplace every 4 weeks. This will:

• List all WSS participants who are employed at the workplace
• Specify the calendar dates for which the WSS payment is due for the employee(s)

The employer should fill in the hours worked by each employee each week and the total gross wage paid to them for the 4-weeks.

You should complete this online ‘wage subsidy request’ within 12 weeks of the date of issue, or the wage subsidy may not be paid to you.

You can include periods of paid leave as hours worked, but the WSS payment may be affected if the employee was getting a social welfare payment. Periods of unpaid leave are not counted towards the WSS.

When no salary at all is being paid by the employer, no wage subsidy payment will be made to the employer.

What the employee needs to do

The worker who wants to be employed under the WSS must complete the employee application form (pdf) and meet the DSP Employment Services Officer to register on the DSP system as someone with a disability.

If you are not getting a qualifying disability payment, you should give the Employment Services Officer a confidential Wage Subsidy Scheme Medical and Functional Capacity Report form (pdf) completed by your doctor. This should be supported by a recent specialist’s report or doctor’s letter.

What the employer needs to do

The employer must complete the employer application form (pdf) and Work Adaptation report form (pdf), as agreed with the employee.

The employer should send completed forms to their local DSP Intreo Office, or to the DSP Employment Services Officer dealing with the case if they know who this is. Forms can be sent by email to the relevant Employment Services Officer, if known.

Employers must also provide a current tax clearance certificate and a signed contract of employment detailing the terms and conditions of employment.

If you are an employer applying for Strand 3 WSS funding, you should complete the application for Strand 3 Grant form (pdf). You must also provide supporting documentation – read the Operational Guidelines for the Wage Subsidy Scheme for more information.

Read more about working with a disability.

You can also get more information on the Wage Subsidy Scheme from the Department of Social Protection.

You may want to contact your local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office for information on the Wage Subsidy Scheme and the impact it might have on your other payments.

If you are applying for the Wage Subsidy Scheme, you can download the relevant WSS application forms from gov.ie.