Recently the Government announced that it is taking steps to address the anomaly in the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) which disqualifies some new mothers, forcibly making them unemployed.
Women seeking to return to work following statutory maternity leave who had not received a wage top-up on their Maternity Benefit from their employer did not meet a key qualifying condition of the TWSS - that they were on the payroll at 29 February 2020.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary, Patricia King said: 'the news that the Government has listened to the grave concerns raised repeatedly by ICTU and agreed to make changes to the TWSS will end weeks of uncertainty for new mothers.
'these women are bona fide employees often with a long employment history with the employer registered with Revenue for the TWSS. Excluding them from coverage was unacceptable to ICTU and in direct conflict with the spirit of the TWSS and the provisions in employment equality legislation."
