Under the visual display unit (VDU) scheme, all civil servants who use a monitor or screen as part of their work can avail of regular eye tests and claim monetary relief against the cost. This scheme was introduced as part of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Regulations, as laid out in circulars 3/1994 and 16/1999.
Employees are entitled to an eye test every five years, and officers over the age of 40 years are entitled to an eye test every two years. Please note if you have already claimed for your eye test on PRSI, you are not eligible for a VDU refund on the eye test. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) exams are not covered by VDU.
Once NSSO receives your application (see below), it will raise a case for you and an advisor will deal with this.
The NSSO can arrange a refund for the eye test with either the optician or directly to staff up to a maximum of €22.51 under the qualifying guidelines as outlined above.
If your optician certifies that you need corrective lenses when using a VDU, then you may receive a refund of up to €69 towards the cost of those lenses.
If an optometrist prescribes special corrective lenses with bifocals, they carry an extra cost for which you can recoup up to €115.
To submit an application, you can log into HR self-service. To attach supporting documents, to view progress on an existing case, or to submit a manual application form, you can log into the case management system. Please note: only officers without HR self-service access may submit manual forms.
Please download the VDU application form from your personal HR self-service page under Employee Schemes/VDU Eye Exam.
Complete page 1 and take page 2 to your optician for them to complete and sign.
Post your original receipt or invoice alongside both pages of the completed VDU application form to: Increments and Schemes Team | National Shared Services Office | Block 5 | Belfield Office Park | Beech Hill Road | Clonskeagh | Dublin 4 | D04 A9P2
You should only use the relevant form. NSSO will not process incomplete or outdated versions of this form and will return it to you unprocessed.
