Humphreys to draft plans for unemployment payment linked to previous salary

'I want to try and bring that particular payment in because I don't want somebody, when they lose their job, to face a sudden cliff-edge drop in their income,' Ms Humphreys said. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys will bring forward plans before Christmas to link jobseekers' payments to previous salaries.

Ms Humphreys has said a scheme to introduce pay-related welfare benefits will be brought forward in the coming weeks, to avoid a "cliff-edge" for people who lose their jobs.

Government sources said the Minister is hoping to have a basic draft before Christmas, to set out what a new pay-related social protection system would look like. 

This proposal would then go for a consultation period with trade unions and employers' groups and would be reviewed late next year. 

It would involve linking social welfare payments to people’s past working history, where a person could sustain, in the early phase of a period of unemployment, an income somewhat close to what their employer paid. Ms Humphreys said:

I want to try and bring that particular payment in because I don't want somebody, when they lose their job, to face a sudden cliff-edge drop in their income.

"I saw that myself when I worked in a credit union where people lost their jobs, and they were they were faced with a large drop. 

"That's something that I'm working on and my officials have brought forward a number of proposals. I plan to bring in a memo to the Government in due course, to bring in pay-related benefits."