Courts / Ireland / Report

Illegal workers can't use tax contributions to get social welfare, Supreme Court rules

Summary

In a 2021 Supreme Court ruling, Ms Sharda Sobhy, a former Mauritius national who worked in Ireland from 2012 to 2019 without a valid work permit or residency permission, was denied maternity benefits. She had paid PAYE tax and her employer made PRSI contributions during that period. After regularising her residency in 2019, she applied for maternity benefit based on those PRSI payments, but the decision was upheld by the Chief Appeals Officer. She appealed to the High Court, where Justice Mark Heslin remitted the case back to the Chief Appeals Officer. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Marie Baker, dismissed her appeal, holding that an employment contract without a work permit is unlawful and therefore cannot be considered a "contract of service" under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Illegal workers can't use tax contributions to get social welfare, Supreme Court rules. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 2008 and 2012 Other
• 2012 and 2019 Other
• 2021-12-16 Publication

Why: The judge determined that the statutory framework operated to render Ms Sobhy's contract illegal because the 2003 Employment Permits Act prohibits a person from working in the State without a work permit, as well as the employment of such person by an employer. CNI source report

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Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report