Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 254: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way casual work and short-time work are respectfully defined by her Department; and if she will address the anomalous position that exists at present where two jobseeker's who have lost two days of work can qualify for two different rates of payment as a result of the different ways the number of days in the working week are calculated using the different short-time and casual work definitions. [14144/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The jobseeker's schemes provide income support for people who are seeking their first job or have lost work and are seeking alternative employment. A fundamental qualifying condition for both the Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance is that a person must be available for full-time work.

Where a person is employed for up to three days in a week, they may claim Jobseeker's Benefit or Assistance in respect of the remainder of the week, subject, inter alia, to having sustained a substantial loss of employment, being available for full-time work and, in the case of Jobseeker's Assistance, satisfying a means test. A person is regarded as having sustained a substantial loss of employment if they have lost at least one day of insurable employment in any period of six days, provided their reckonable earnings or reckonable income are reduced as a consequence of the loss of employment. Benefit is not payable where a person is available for part-time work only.

When determining the classification of casual and short time workers, each case is examined on its own merits and, because of the variables necessarily involved in making a determination as to entitlement, payment rates and extent of entitlement are individual-specific Employment on a casual basis implies that the number of days worked will vary each week with the amount of work available. There will be no established pattern of days. This variety will also be reflected in the wages paid. Variations in hours or days worked must be due to the employer's requirements, as opposed to a work pattern chosen by the employee. In addition, there must be no guaranteed minimum hours or wages each week.

Short-time employment means employment in which, for the time being, the number of days systematically worked in a working week is less than the number of days which is normal in a working week in the employment concerned. Short-time work must be systematic, i.e., there must be a clear repetitive pattern of employment each week. The person must also work at least one day in each week that he or she would normally be working. In the context of changing economic circumstances there is an increased number of people claiming Jobseeker's Benefit and Assistance categorised as both systematic short-time and casual. The application of the jobseeker's payment scheme conditions to workers who are not employed on a full-time basis is being kept under review.