Why have we paired Employment Expenses and Trade Unions together in the first Wednesday Club?  Well Jobs that get employment expenses tend to be Unionised.  Jobs that get great employment expenses tend to be highly, highly Unionised.

So you get occupations like retail/shop employees and the bar trade will get fairly moderate employment expenses, while teachers for example get great employment expenses that can make over a €1,000 difference in take home pay over 4 years.

Working in the Tax Refunds business it becomes quickly clear that Trade Unions have been very effective in representing their members over the years and have not ignored the tax equation.  Not only are Employment Expenses available to members, but you also get tax relief for Union Membership of up to €70 a year.  And it’s certainly true that the more highly Unionised the Industry/Profession, the more effective they have been – to my mind that’s a strong argument to PAYE workers to join their Trade Union.

Ambulance Workers

One employment which caused some confusion on the Wednesday Club is Ambulance Staff – Almost every other worker in the country who wears a uniform in included for employment expenses, but not EMT’s.  Especially strange, as we were thinking they probably have a hefty Uniform requirement.  We’re going to follow up and find out if it is possible to claim for Ambulance staff under other HSE grades or elsewhere.  We’ve asked the question before, but worth asking again…

How about your Employment?

Does your employment receive Employment expenses as a tax relief?  If you have any questions on employment expenses or can provide information that can help people in your industry/profession claim refunds, send us a comment below