The Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Low-level sanction N.I.

22.—(1) The reduction period for a low-level sanction is the total of the number of days referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) The number of days beginning with the date of the sanctionable failure and ending with—

(a) the day before the day on which the claimant meets a compliance condition specified by the Department;

(b) the day before the day on which the claimant is no longer required to take a particular action specified as a work preparation requirement by the Department under Article 8C(1) of the Order; or

(c) the day on which the award of a jobseeker's allowance is terminated,

whichever is soonest.

[F1 (3) In the circumstances described in the first column of the following table, the number of days set out in the second column.

Circumstances applicable to claimant’s case	Number of days
Where there has been no previous relevant failure by the claimant	7 days
Where there have been one or more previous relevant failures by the claimant and the date of the most recent previous relevant failure is not within 365 days beginning with the date of the current sanctionable failure	7 days
Where there have been one or more previous relevant failures by the claimant and the date of the most recent previous relevant failure is within 365 days, but not within 14 days, beginning with the date of the current sanctionable failure and the reduction period applicable to the most recent previous relevant failure is—
(a) 7 days	14 days
(b) 14 days	28 days
(c) 28 days	28 days
Where there have been one or more previous relevant failures by the claimant and the date of the most recent previous relevant failure is within 14 days beginning with the date of the current sanctionable failure and the reduction period applicable to the most recent previous relevant failure is—
(a) 7 days	7 days
(b) 14 days	14 days
(c) 28 days	28 days.

(4) In this regulation “relevant failure” means—

(a) a sanctionable failure giving rise to low-level sanction,

(b) a UC sanctionable failure giving rise to a sanction under Article 32 of the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 to which regulation 102 of the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 applies, or

(c) an ESA sanctionable failure giving rise to a sanction under section 11J of the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 to which regulation 52 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 applies.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 22(3)(4) substituted for reg. 22(3) (coming into operation in accordance with reg. 1(7) of the amending Regulations) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(7), 10(8)