A higher rate of illness benefit for people who miss work due to Covid-19 comes to an end today. The Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB), paid at €350 per week, was available to workers who were told to self-isolate or restrict their movements by a doctor.
If someone receives a Covid-19 diagnosis or has been advised to self-isolate, and have medical certification from their GP, they can still apply for illness benefit and, if they qualify, they may be entitled to the standard rate payment of €208 a week.
To get the EIB, employees and self-employed people must have been absent from work due to Covid-19 and had to produce a medical certificate from their GP.
The benefit was paid for a maximum of seven days where a person was self-isolating due to being a probable source of infection, and for a maximum of 10 weeks if a person had been diagnosed with Covid-19.