social welfare stamps,im so slow...

can anyone help a slow wolly hee, how many hours do you need to work before a stamp is put on for you? if you are claiming off the stamps is it that one stamp equals a week,does that make sense to you guys? if you left work voluntarily would that affect your payments? sorry girls i have so much going on at the minute im all over the place thanks x

AFAIK if you earn more than 38 euro per week, even though you don't pay PRSI yourself, the employer does make a contribution for you. There is a section on the citizens info website that might make it a bit clearer for you as it depends on if you job share, how many days per week you work etc.. It's treated on a weekly basis and the contribution is measured according to your wages, I work full time so I would have A1 but somebody part-time might have AX or whatever. If you are claiming, I think you need a minimum of stamps but if you have years worth paid in, they will still only let you claim for so long. Once that period runs out, it's means tested. If you are already claiming another SW allowance, this could also mean your amount will be reduced. If you left your job of your own accord, it used to mean you went to the back of the queue as such but now that there are so many applications, I am not sure if this is the case any more. Not sure if that answers your questions.