Jobseekers Allowance for Artists

If you are unemployed or experiencing periods of very low income, you may be paid either Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) or Jobseeker’s Benefit (JB). Both payments are paid by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). Jobseekers Benefit offers entitlements to those who have PAYE income and have credits that can be drawn upon. Jobseekers Allowance is based on means testing.

Under this new scheme, the criteria for Jobseekers Allowance remains the same, but professional visual artists who are self-employed will be able to have as their primary profession – Visual Artist. This has not been recognised in the past and has been difficult to access for artists who are registered as self-employed. The new system now makes this easier and artists will no longer have to hide their primary profession so as to access supports.

To access the Department of Social Protection pilot scheme an artist must:

➢ Be registered as self employed

➢ Satisfy a means test with 50% earnings from work as an artist

➢ Be a professional member of VAI

You will need to be able to give evidence that you are a professional visual artist. An up to date VAI Professional Level Membership Card AND a Stamped Certificate of Membership of VAI is the accepted way to prove that a person is a professional visual artist. The reason the VAI Professional Membership Card is accepted is because DSP have recognised that artists must give evidence of meeting professional status criteria when applying to VAI, and will accept membership of the representative body for visual artists in Ireland as proof, rather than the social welfare staff making that assessment. Front line officials for Social Welfare are not in a position to assess if an applicant is a professional artist or not and will err on the side of caution. This is the reason that they have decided to use the VAI card as valid proof. The requirement for the Certificate came into being in September 2019. New professional members and professional members renewing their membership will automatically receive their certificate when they receive their membership card. Existing Professional Members who wish to have a certificate before their renewal is due can contact VAI who will send it out in the post.  Only original certificates with the embossed stamp are accepted by Social Welfare. It is therefore important that members treat and hold this document carefully.

Artists must be registered with Revenue as self-employed to avail of this scheme. If you are registered as self employed you are also eligible for Artist Tax Exemption.

Means Test and Self-Employment

Jobseeker’s Allowance is means tested and your means must be below a certain level to qualify. When being assessed for the pilot scheme for artists you will be means tested as self-employed individuals. To find your total means, your means under the various headings (for example, cash income, employment, capital, benefit and privilege) are added together. Most social welfare payments are not taken into account.

Total earnings are assessed as gross income less work-related expenses over 12 months. There is no exhaustive list of all expenses allowed because expenses vary with the nature and extent of the self-employment.

However the following are the main allowable expenses in most cases:

➢ Materials (supplies costs)

➢ Motor running costs (portion applicable to practice)

➢ Insurance relating to the practice

➢ Telephone (portion applicable to practice)

➢ Bank charges

➢ Any other costs associated practice

Your expected annual earnings from self-employment is divided by 52 to find your weekly means from self-employment. For the pilot scheme, 50% or more of an artists’ earnings must be from their work as a professional visual artist.

Types of Work

Like all Jobseekers, artists must be available for work and actively seeking work. You must also be genuinely seeking work to qualify for Jobseeker’s Allowance – and you must be able to show evidence of this to the Department of Social Protection. This new scheme now allows visual artists to include as evidence the following activities that form the everyday life of a visual artist: applications for exhibitions, funding, curator visits, education and outreach opportunities and any other examples you have of actively pursing opportunities related to your practice that could potentially generate income. This being available for work now takes into allowance the range of work that visual artists undertake.

Arts Council policy states that all of their funded organisations must pay artists, this income qualifies as being paid for work. We have to also understand that some artists volunteer. It is clear that such voluntary work may become difficult if it is placed before Social Welfare as a block to being available for work. There is no easy answer here and it will depend on each individual’s interaction with Social Welfare to understand how and what volunteering can be done.

Examples of work that is counted:

• Sales of Artworks
• Sale of Books
• Royalties
• Bursaries and grant arising from status as an artist
• Book readings
• Appearance fees
• Lecture fees
• Sales of Artistic Editions
• Artist Fee on Commissioned Works
• Artist Fee on Exhibitions
• Artist Fee on Education & Outreach Programme
• Artistic Consultancy
• Artist Fee for Selection Panels
• Artists Fee for Artistic Advisory Panels
• Artistic Technical & Installation Support
• Art Awards & Prizes
• Artistic residencies
• Artist Fee on Design Consultants

Activation (including Job Path)

Activation will not be expected in the first 12 months. This means that visual artists will not be required to attend training courses in other occupations during that period. VAI is continuing our conversations so that we can have them consider changes to the activation period that begins after 12 months so that it is more relevant to visual artists. We would like that visual artists who are actively seeking work and also undertaking professional on-going learning to enhance their income opportunities can be taken into consideration if it comes to the activation process.

Moving onto Pilot Scheme from other Social Welfare Payments

You may get Jobseeker’s Allowance if you don’t qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit or if you have used up your entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit.

Citizens Information have stated that individuals can move from an existing Jobseekers Allowance claim to the Jobseeker’s Allowance for Artists scheme if they meet the eligibility criteria. They will need to be means tested as a self employed individual.