Is your contract coming to an end around Christmas and are you starting a new job in January?

If your full-time employment contract is coming to an end around Christmas and you are starting a new job in January, you can start claiming an earnings-related allowance once you have been unemployed for at least two full calendar weeks (for example, if you become unemployed on 12 December 2022, you can submit your application on 25 December 2022 at the earliest). If you are due to be unemployed for less than two weeks, you can claim an earnings-related allowance for the entire period of unemployment with a single application.

If you have been employed on a part-time basis and claiming an earnings-related allowance while working, you can submit your application at the normal time. If you are starting a new job in January, remember to also enclose your new employment contract.

Will your wage payments stop over Christmas?

If your employment contract stipulates that you will not be paid for the holidays (i.e. a period comparable to a temporary layoff), you may be entitled to an earnings-related allowance for this period.

If you are employed on a part-time basis and you have been claiming an adjusted earnings-related allowance while working, you can submit your application at the normal time, even if the period covered by the application includes unpaid leave. If you fulfil the eligibility criteria, you will be paid an adjusted earnings-related allowance for the entire application period. Your allowance will be adjusted based on your earnings in the whole period as normal.

If you work full-time, you can submit your earnings-related allowance application once you have been on a unpaid period for at least two full calendar weeks.

You cannot claim an earnings-related allowance if you are not registered as an unemployed jobseeker with the TE Office. It is therefore important that you register with the TE Office no later than on the first day of your unemployment / unpaid period.

What supporting documents are needed?

We often do not know beforehand which supporting attachment is needed until we start to process an application, and it is therefore impossible to say in advance what documents you will need to supply.

Always include a copy of your employment contract if you have not yet submitted it to us. If you are starting a new job in January, also include a copy of your new employment contract.

If you have not been claiming an earnings-related allowance while employed and if you have been paid for your work on an hourly basis, include a document of your weekly working hours during the 26 weeks immediately preceding your unemployment to prove that you fulfil the employment condition. You can find a template for reporting your weekly working hours on our website under Help and support -> Forms(opens in new window, you move to another service).

More information about the most commonly required supporting documents can be found under Applying for earnings-related allowance.

Are you unsure as to whether or not you are eligible for benefits?

If you are not sure whether or not you are eligible for an earnings-related allowance during your unpaid leave or unemployment, we recommend that you submit an application anyway, and we can then check your eligibility. We also recommend that you register as an unemployed jobseeker with the TE Office, as you cannot claim an earnings-related allowance if you are not registered with the TE Office. You can read more about the general eligibility criteria for an earnings-related allowance on our website under Right to earnings-related daily allowance.