As every
case is different, we often do not know which supporting documents we need
until we start to process an application.
Unemployment
funds have had access to the Incomes Register since 1 January 2020. The
Incomes Register gives us information about wages paid on or after
1 January 2019. Information about benefits that can affect applicants’
eligibility for an earnings-related allowance has also been shared with
unemployment funds since 1 January 2021. We cannot retrieve information
about an applicant’s wages and benefits from the Incomes Register until after
we have received their application. Wages are usually entered into the Incomes
Register no later than on the fifth calendar day after the date on which the
payment was made.
Having
access to the Incomes Register makes processing applications easier for us in
many ways, but there are circumstances in which the information held there is
not enough. If we cannot find all the information that we need in the Incomes
Register, we will contact either the payroll administrator of the company that
employs the applicant or the applicant themselves. We may need payslips to be
able to process an application if the applicant’s pay includes unusual
components such as one of the following:
- a
holiday bonus or holiday allowance the amount of which has not been entered
into the Incomes Register - deductions
due to unpaid leave - reduced
pay during periods of sickness - corrections
to previous wage payments - irregular
extras (such as lump-sum payments or bonuses) - payments
received via an invoicing service (payslips are always required in these
cases).
We
recommend that you always include a copy of your employment contract with your
first application when you become unemployed, in case we cannot find all the
information that we need about your employment history in the Incomes Register.
We need to know, for example, the length of your employment relationship, the
reason for the termination of your contract, your weekly working hours, your
job title and how your pay was calculated. If you work part-time, always
include your employment contract with your application. Not having an
employment contract for relief positions of less than two weeks is usually not
an issue. In such circumstances, just enter the dates on which you worked in
the notes section of the application form. Please also remember to enter the
hours that you worked in your application. For instructions and illustrations
of how to fill in the application form and report working hours, see our
website at Apply for benefit