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Shaws workers fear missing out on the Christmas welfare bonus because they volunteered to return to work last week.
The Mandate official said he was contacted by staff at a Castlebar store that has been on Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP) for four months, which is necessary to qualify for the bonus.
But Ciaran Campbell said they won’t get it because of a separate rule that excludes those who returned to work last Friday.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys has said she wanted to ensure that people who returned to work this week after the restrictions were eased did not lose the bonus.
However, they must have been eligible for pandemic payment on specific dates just before returning.
According to the rules, they must have received the PUP on any day from Friday, November 27 to Thursday, December 3.
Campbell said those who volunteered to return to work last Friday would therefore not be eligible.
The bonus is worth the same amount as a claimant’s normal weekly payment and expires on December 8.
“It could be more widespread than a specific job, but I had a query from about 11 Shaws workers in Castlebar about this,” he said.
“They were invited to voluntarily return to work to prepare the store for customers. The rest of the staff who did not do so will be entitled to the bonus even though they returned to work a few days later.
“Fair play for the department for implementing the bonus. I’m not saying the department intended it, but these people are falling behind. “
The mandate’s national official, Brian Forbes, said that in the spirit of Christmas goodwill, the union was asking the minister to address this “anomaly.”
“We need the minister to close this harmful loophole and publicly acknowledge those who continue to serve us on the front lines of this pandemic with a small display of Christmas spirit in the form of a Christmas bonus,” he said.
A department spokesperson confirmed that those who qualify for the bond would have to be eligible for the pandemic payment on any day from Friday, November 27 to Thursday, December 3.
The bonus will be paid to 1.6 million people this year, including retirees, at a record cost of 390 million euros.
Typically, people who receive unemployment benefits would have to receive their payment for 15 months before qualifying.
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