Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I have also received correspondence from those involved and I acknowledge the huge stress many of the affected workers are under at this time. I have received their emails and read their stories, and I accept that some of them are in an awful situation.

We have committed billions of euro in funding to support people's income since the onset of the pandemic through the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP; the TWSS, and the EWSS, which is new and which took effect from the 1 September. These supports have helped over 1 million people to date. In the context of the issue at Aer Lingus, it is important to outline the position with regard to short-time work. If a person is placed on a shorter working week - for example, if he or she is place on a two-day week as opposed to a five-day week - he or she can claim the short-time work support payment in respect of the days he or she is unemployed, even where the employer is claiming the newly introduced EWSS for days of employment. This means that if a person works two days, the employer pays him or her for two days. For the three days he or she is unemployed, he or she can claim jobseeker's support or the short-time working payment. The normal scheme rules and application processes continue to apply, including completion of the relevant forms by the employer to certify the position. The employer signs a form to certify the number of days the person has worked.

Since the EWSS took effect on 1 September, many thousands of companies have transitioned onto it without any impact on their workers. It is difficult to understand how an organisation the size of Aer Lingus, with a dedicated HR department, could have had problems in interpreting the criteria relating to the EWSS and short-term work, particularly when many small businesses throughout the country have had no such issue. Notwithstanding that fact, my primary concern is for the impacted workers and ensuring that they can access their entitlements. I spoke to my officials about this matter last week and the relevant officials from my Department have engaged directly with Aer Lingus on it since then. Management of the company has today advised that any outstanding documentation required to finalise applications for jobseeker's support will be provided by Aer Lingus to their employees as a matter of urgency. I have asked my officials to prioritise decisions on these applications on receipt of this information and to ensure that claims are put into payment as quickly as possible once it is received. I hope this will happen swiftly in order that this matter will resolved and the workers will be able to access their entitlements.

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