The schemes described in this article (premium discounts) will be replaced by labour cost benefits from 1 January 2018. See fact sheet Labour cost benefits.
Too many young people are still sitting at home without jobs. The government is not putting up with this. To get more young people into work, the premium discount for employing a benefit-eligible young person will be widened from 1 July 2015. So if you help a young person get a job, you will be rewarded extra for it.
Scheme in a nutshell
If you hire a benefit-eligible young person aged between 18 and 27, you are eligible for the premium discount for young workers under certain conditions. The discount applies temporarily until 1 January 2018 and amounts to €3,500 per hired young employee per year for the duration of the employment and for a maximum of two years. For now, you can only apply the premium discount for benefit-eligible young people you hire before 1 January 2016.
One of the conditions for applying the premium discount for younger workers is that the employment must be for at least 32 hours a week on at least a six-month contract.
Widening on the way
That condition will be relaxed. From 1 July 2015, the requirement of at least 32 hours per week will go down to at least 24 hours per week. So if you take on a benefit-eligible young person on or after 1 July 2015, you will qualify for the premium discount sooner. The requirement of at least a six-month contract remains unchanged.