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JobsPlus, the Department of Social Protection’s employer incentive scheme, has helped 2,115 long-term unemployed jobseekers return to work since its introduction last July.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton today welcomed the progress made under the scheme and urged other employers to avail of it.

We listened to employers who said previous employer incentive schemes were too fussy and complicated, and replaced them with JobsPlus, a straightforward, simple scheme through which the Department helps employers with their monthly wage costs if they hire someone who has been more than one year on the Live Register.

JobsPlus is a win-win for jobseekers and employers alike.

The JobsPlus incentive is payable on a monthly basis over a two-year period and provides two levels of payment:

• A payment of €7,500 over two years to the employer for each person recruited who has been unemployed for between 12 and 24 months. This equates to approximately €312 a month.
• €10,000 over two years to the employer for each person recruited who has been unemployed for more than 24 months. This equates to approximately €416 a month.

JobsPlus was introduced as part of the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy to tackle long-term unemployment and Action Plan for Jobs to support a job-rich recovery. The scheme will reach ahead of time its target of supporting 2,500 jobseekers into employment within its first year.