The Jobseeker’s Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”). They implement the powers in Article 21, 21A and 21B of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”) as inserted by the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (“the 2015 Order”) in relation to sanctions for failures to comply with requirements under the Order and the 1996 Regulations.They also make consequential changes to various other sets of regulations.

Regulation 2 inserts a revised sanctions regime into Part V of the 1996 Regulations to provide three different levels of sanctions for different types of failures.

Regulation 2(2) substitutes regulation 69 and inserts new regulations 69A and 69B. New regulation 69 sets out the sanctions periods for the higher level sanctions which apply to failures specified in Article 21(2) of the Order. These are failures to comply with requirements in relation to employment or under prescribed Article 19A employment schemes (Article 19A of the Order relates to “work for your benefit” schemes for assisting a person to obtain employment etc.).

The periods are 13 weeks for a first failure, 26 weeks for a second failure within 52 weeks of the first failure and 78 weeks for any subsequent failure within 52 weeks of a previous failure that resulted in a 26 or 78 weeks week sanction, or would have done but for regulation 69(4). The sanction period does not increase where the second or subsequent failure occurs within 2 weeks of the previous failure or, in the case of joint claimants, if the failure was not by the same claimant. The sanctions run concurrently.

Paragraph (3) of regulation 69 provides that a sanction in relation to a failure listed in Article 21(2)(a) (lost employment through misconduct), 21(2)(b) (left employment voluntarily) or 21(2)(d) (neglected to avail self of an opportunity of employment) which occurs before the claim is made, does not count for the purposes of determining the sanction period of a subsequent failure and paragraph (4) provides for reduced sanction periods for these “pre-claim” failures.

Paragraph (6) of regulation 69 applies the sanction from the first day of the benefit week in which the failure occurred unless payment has already been made by the date of determination to reduce the award, in which case the sanction applies from the first day of the benefit week after the one for which the claimant was last paid jobseeker’s allowance.

New regulation 69A sets out the sanction which applies to failures specified in Article 21A(2) of the Order. These are failures to comply with requirements relating to employment programmes or training schemes, jobseeker’s directions, the jobseeker’s conditions or Article 19A employment schemes not prescribed under Article 21. Under regulation 69A, the sanction for such failures will be applied for 4 weeks for a first failure and 13 weeks for any second or subsequent failure within 52 weeks of the most recent failure. The sanction period does not increase where the second or subsequent failure occurs within 2 weeks of the previous failure or, in the case of joint claimants, if the failure was not by the same claimant. The sanctions run concurrently. Paragraph (3) of regulation 69A deals with the start of the sanction period and is substantially the same as regulation 69(6).

New regulation 69B specifies the sanction period for the purpose of Article 21B of the Order. Article 21B addresses the situation where the claimant was disentitled for failing to meet the jobseeking conditions of actively seeking or being available for work. In such cases the sanction will usually be applied to a subsequent award of jobseeker’s allowance. Regulation 69B specifies how the sanction period is to be calculated and makes special provision where, in relation to the previous award, the claimant would have been treated as entitled to jobseeker’s allowance without meeting the jobseeking conditions but for their “treated as” status coming to an end.

Regulation 2(3) substitutes a new regulation 70 which specifies the amount of a reduction under Article 21, 21A or 21B. New regulation 70(2) provides for the reduction not to be applied for any period during which a reduction under those Articles already applies. Specific provision is made for joint-claim couples where the amount of the reduction differs depending on whether both or only one member of the joint-claim couple was responsible for the failure in question.

Regulation 2(4) inserts a new regulation 70A dealing with cases where no reduction is to be made. Regulation 70A(1) applies to pre-claim failures under Article 21(2)(a), (b) or (d) where the period of the reduction under regulation 69 is the same as, or shorter than, the period between the failure and the date of claim. Regulation 70A(2) preserves the current position whereby failures to provide information or evidence are not sanctioned but may lead to disentitlement where they relate to failure to provide a declaration required under regulation 24; and failures to attend are only sanctioned where the provisions in new regulation 70A(3) or (4) apply whilst in other cases they continue to lead to disentitlement under regulation 25.

Regulation 2(4) also inserts a new regulation 70B which deals with the application of a sanction to a new award where a previous award was terminated before a sanction period applicable to that award had ended. This does not apply where the claimant has been in employment for 6 months since the failure.

Regulation 2(5) to (9) makes consequential amendments, in particular to ensure that other regulations that refer to the current sanctions provisions correctly cross-refer to the new provisions. They also omit the detailed regulations dealing with matters to be taken into account in determining whether the claimant had good cause for an act or omission (in accordance with paragraph 14AA of Schedule 1 to the Order (as inserted by Article 52(2) of the 2015 Order) and amend references to refer to good reason rather than good cause. Article 52(2) also changed good or just cause to “a good reason”.

Regulation 3 makes amendments to Part IX of the 1996 Regulations (hardship) as a consequence of the new sanctions regulations described above. The changes are to ensure that the relevant cross-references are included. Regulation 4 makes similar amendments to Part IXA of the 1996 Regulations (hardship for joint-claim couples).

Regulation 5 makes further consequential amendments to the 1996 Regulations, in particular so as to insert the correct cross-references to the new sanctions provisions and to amend references to good cause so as to refer to good reason. Regulation 5 also amends regulations 23 and 23A (attendance at specified place) to bring those regulations into line with the amended Article 10 of the Order. Article 10 was amended by Article 51 of the 2015 Order to enable claimants to be interviewed without having to attend in person at the Social Security/Jobs and Benefits Office.

Regulation 6 makes consequential amendments to the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975 so that a credit for unemployment will not be available where a jobseeker’s allowance is reduced in accordance with the new jobseeker’s allowance sanctions regulations. It makes consequential amendments to the Social Security and Child Support (Decisions and Appeals) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999: it amends regulation 3 of those Regulations, which specifies when a decision may be revised, regulation 6 which specifies when a decision may be superseded and regulation 7 which specifies the time when a supersession takes effect. It also makes consequential amendments to the Jobseeker’s Allowance (Schemes for Assisting Persons to Obtain Employment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 so as to remove the sanctions provisions in those Regulations, which are no longer needed because of the new jobseeker’s allowance sanctions provisions described above.

An assessment of the impact of this instrument has been carried out. Copies of the impact assessment may be obtained from the Better Regulation Unit of the Department for Work and Pensions, 2D Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1 9NA. It is also available alongside this instrument and the Explanatory Memorandum on www.legislation.gov.uk.