There was an increase in the numbers of employers and workers using the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) between November 2020 and January 2021, and its cost by the end of March 2021 will reach €3 billion.

In November last year, 23% of all employers and 12% of all employees were in the EWSS, figures that rose to 28% of employers and 15% of all workers in January.

The details come from a report by the Department of Finance.

In February, 49,000 employers were registered and payments were made to 35,200 in respect of 309,500 employees. The total value involved came to €385m in subsidy payments and credit for employer’s PRSI of €60m.

Almost half of EWSS employers are from three sectors: wholesale & retail, accommodation, and food service. 

In Association with

• Download list of companies claiming EWSS in 2020

On March 4, the total cost of the EWSS to date stood at €2.6 billion — direct subsidy payments of €2.2 billion and PRSI relief worth c.€400m. By the end of March, officials expect the scheme cost will have risen to €3.2 billion.

The data suggest that three out of four income earners benefiting from EWSS earn below-average incomes of €700 per week (€36,400 per annum). About one in three EWSS employees earn between €7,900 and €20,800 per annum.

Revenue has a real-time system to review submissions, has been engaging with employers to correct genuine errors, and has a range of punitive measures — including total exclusion from the scheme, repayment of all subsidies paid and PRSI credit issued, plus interest and penalties, and possible criminal prosecution.

The full report is available here.