Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Social welfare legislation provides that, among other conditions, a person must satisfy the condition of being genuinely seeking work to be entitled to unemployment benefit, UB, or unemployment assistance, UA. A deciding officer will take a number of factors into account in deciding whether a customer is genuinely seeking work. The legislation requires a person to be genuinely seeking employment suitable for him or her, having regard to his or her age, education, physique, location and family circumstances. To satisfy this condition, it is necessary for the person to demonstrate that he or she has taken some positive action and is making genuine efforts to secure employment. The person must show that he or she has taken reasonable steps to secure employment during the relevant period and provide examples of such steps. The steps which a person is required to take should be reasonable in his or her case and offer him or her the best prospects of securing employment.

Steps which would indicate that a person is genuinely seeking work may include making oral or written applications for work to employers or persons who have advertised job offers on behalf of an employer; looking for information on the availability of employment from employers, advertisements, employment agencies and people who have placed advertisements indicating that employment is available; availing of reasonable training opportunities suitable in his or her case; acting on the advice given by a job facilitator, a FÁS adviser or other placement agency such as the local employment service, LES; a deciding officer is advised to question a person not only on whether he or she has approached such agencies or persons seeking advice but also on the nature of the advice received and the action he or she has taken on the basis of that advice; and taking positive, well advised steps towards establishing himself or herself in self-employment which would take the form of researching possible areas of self-employment, preparing business plans for a self-employment project, attending relevant "start your own business" courses, or seeking information, advice or guidance in relation to any of these steps.

Regard may be had to any other steps which a person has taken, provided they offer the best chance of getting employment. The steps which are expected to be taken to seek work will vary from person to person and from one period to the next. In determining what are reasonable steps, the deciding officer is advised to consider the nature and conditions of the employment sought and the individual circumstances of the persons concerned in examining the steps taken to seek employment, inclusive of their level of skills and-or qualifications and having regard to existing labour market opportunities.

Any person who fails to satisfy the deciding officer that he or she is genuinely seeking work is not entitled to an unemployment payment. Where a person is dissatisfied with a decision made by a deciding officer, he or she may appeal this decision to the social welfare appeals office.