Start a business and keep the payment: the STEA

Losing a job and having an idea often arrive together, and the usual assumption is that starting something means giving up the payment. This scheme exists precisely so that it does not.

One condition decides everything, and it is a matter of sequence rather than merit: get the adviser's written recommendation before you start.

What it is

"The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) supports you if you have lost your job and want to start your own business."

"The Short-Term Enterprise Allowance is paid instead of your Jobseeker’s Benefit/Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit / Jobseekers Benefit Self-Employed for a maximum of 9 months. It ends when your entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit/Jobseekers Benefit Self-Employed ends (that is, at either 9 or 6 months)."

So it does not extend your entitlement — it lets you spend the remainder of it building something instead of signing on.

Who qualifies, and the sequence that matters

"To qualify for the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance you must be getting, or have an entitlement to, Jobseeker's Benefit / Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit / Jobseeker's Benefit Self-Employed"

And then the rule that costs people the scheme: "The client must obtain written recommendation from the department's Employment Personal Adviser in advance of commencing self- employment."

In advance. Start trading first and the door is closed behind you, however good the business is.

One exclusion: "Seasonal, temporary or part time self-employment does not qualify for the STEA."

The Enterprise Support Grant — money for the setup itself

The weekly payment keeps you alive; this pays for the business. "You can only get the ESG if you have been approved for either the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance or the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) ."

"The ESG is paid to people getting the STEA on a pro-rata basis - a maximum of €1000 can be paid to people on a 9-month STEA and a maximum of €625 to people on a 6-month STEA." On the longer Back to Work Enterprise Allowance the figure is larger: "The maximum amount payable is €2,500 for the 24 month period of the BTWEA claim."

Two conditions. "You must be able to make a matching contribution of at least 20% to access grant support." And "You need to provide documentary evidence of the costs (quotations from at least 2 suppliers or, if a single supplier, the reasons for choosing a single supplier)."

The costs should be in the business plan you submit, so think about equipment, accountancy and marketing before you write it rather than after.

What happens when it ends

Be clear-eyed about this before you start. "If you are unemployed when your entitlement to STEA ends you will not immediately re-qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit/Jobseeker’s Pay-Related Benefit/Jobseekers Benefit-Self Employed. However, you can apply for Jobseeker's Allowance which is a means-tested payment."

So the safety net at the end is the means-tested one, not the contributory one.

One piece of good news for stacking supports: "Employment grants from a Local Enterprise Office (LEO) or a local development company do not affect your entitlement to the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance."

Common questions

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