Self-employed workers who are getting the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) and who are trying to restart their businesses can now earn up to €960 in an 8 week period while still keeping their full PUP payment. Previously, they could earn €480 in a 4 week period. While the amount has not increased overall, this gives extra flexibility in the way self-employed workers on PUP can earn. The press release is here.
This change allows a self-employed person to take on a one-off job without losing their PUP payment and ensures self-employed individuals won’t have to turn down a gig or an art commission for fear of impacting their PUP. This should be of particular interest to those in the arts and entertainment sector who might have a gig or commission one week and nothing for the following month.
There is no formal process in place to avail of this measure. Anyone who is on PUP and earns more than €960 in an 8 week period needs to inform the Department of Social Protection.
When the limit of €960 has been reached and the self-employed individual has to close their PUP, there is another scheme that may be of interest. It is called the Part-time Job Incentive for the Self Employed and I have a blog post on that here. Also, the Enterprise Support Grant can be claimed when a PUP claim is closed. A video that I did with details on the ESG for PUP recipients is here.
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