The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Reduction of employment and support allowance N.I.

63.— [F1 (1) Where the Department has determined—

(a) that a claimant who was required to take part in a work-focused interview has failed to do so and has failed to show good cause for that failure in accordance with regulation 61; or

(b) that a claimant who was required to undertake work-related activity has failed to do so and has failed to show good cause for that failure in accordance with regulation 8 of the Employment and Support Allowance (Work-related Activity) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011,

(“a failure determination”), the amount of the employment and support allowance payable to the claimant is to be reduced in accordance with this regulation.]

[F2 (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the amount of the reduction in relation to each failure determination is 100 per cent. of the prescribed amount for a single claimant as set out in paragraph (1)(a) of Part 1 of Schedule 4.]

(3) In any benefit week, the amount of an employment and support allowance payable to a claimant is not, by virtue of this regulation, to be reduced—

(a) below 10 pence;

(b) in relation to more than—

(i) one failure determination relating to [F3 work-related activity] , and

(ii) one failure determination relating to a work-focused interview; and

(c) by more than 100 per cent. of the [F4 prescribed amount for a single claimant as set out in paragraph 1(a) of Part 1] of Schedule 4 in any circumstances.

(4) Where a claimant is entitled to both a contributory allowance and an income-related allowance, any reduction in the claimant’s allowance must first be applied to the part of that allowance treated as attributable to the claimant’s contributory allowance and only if there is any amount outstanding is it to be applied to the part of that allowance treated as attributable to the claimant’s income-related allowance.

(5) For the purposes of determining the amount of any income-related allowance payable, a claimant is to be treated as receiving the amount of any contributory allowance [F5 including new style ESA] which would have been payable but for any reduction made in accordance with this regulation [F6 or section 11J of the Act respectively] .

[F7 (6) Subject to paragraph (10), the reduction is to have effect for—

(a) one week for each 7 day period during which the claimant fails to meet a compliance condition; and

(b) a further fixed period determined in accordance with paragraph (7).

[F8 (7) The fixed period that applies in the circumstances described in the first column of the following table is set out in the second column.

Circumstances applicable to claimant’s case	Fixed period
Where there has been no previous failure by the claimant that falls within paragraph (8).	1 week
Where there have been one or more previous failures by the claimant that fall within paragraph (8) and the date of the most recent previous failure is not within 52 weeks beginning with and including the date of the current failure.	1 week
Where there have been one or more previous failures by the claimant that fall within paragraph (8) and the date of the most recent previous failure is within 52 weeks, but not within 2 weeks, beginning with and including the date of the current failure and the period of reduction applicable to the most recent previous failure is or, but for paragraph (3), would have been—
(a) 1 week	2 weeks
(b) 2 weeks	4 weeks
(c) 4 weeks.	4 weeks
Where there have been one or more previous failures by the claimant that fall within paragraph (8) and the date of the most recent previous failure is within 2 weeks beginning with and including the date of the current failure and the period of reduction applicable to the most recent previous failure is or, but for paragraph (3), would have been—
(a) 1 week	1 week
(b) 2 weeks	2 weeks
(c) 4 weeks.	4 weeks.]

(8) A previous failure falls within this paragraph if—

(a) it relates to a failure for which a reduction was imposed under this regulation, or would have been but for paragraph (3) [F9 and] ;

(b) that failure occurred on or after [F10 the date on which the Employment and Support Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 come into operation] ; F11 ...

F11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(9) This paragraph applies where the claimant meets a compliance condition before the end of the period of one week after the date of the failure to which the failure determination relates.

(10) Where paragraph (9) applies, the claimant’s employment and support allowance is reduced only for the fixed period set out in paragraph (7) applicable to the claimant.

(11) In this regulation—

“compliance condition” means—

(a)

where the failure by the claimant relates to a requirement to take part in a work-focused interview, either—

(i)

taking part in a work-focused interview, or

(ii)

making an agreement with the Department to take part in a work-focused interview at an agreed date;

(b)

where the failure by the claimant relates to a requirement to undertake work-related activity, either—

(i)

undertaking the activity specified in the action plan, or

(ii)

where so notified by the Department, undertaking an alternative activity, or

(iii)

making an agreement with the Department to undertake the activity referred to in paragraph (i) or (ii) at an agreed date;

“current failure” means a failure which may lead to a reduction under this regulation in relation to which the Department has not yet determined whether the amount of the employment and support allowance payable to the claimant is to be reduced in accordance with this regulation.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 63(1) substituted (12.7.2011) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Work-related Activity) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/265), regs. 1, 10(8)(a)

F2 Reg. 63(2) substituted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(1) of the amending Rule) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/240), regs. 1(1), 4(2) (with reg. 1(2))

F3 Words in reg. 63(3)(b)(i) substituted (12.7.2011) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Work-related Activity) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/265), regs. 1, 10(8)(b)

F4 Words in reg. 63(3)(c) substituted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(1) of the amending Rule) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/240), regs. 1(1), 4(3) (with reg. 1(2))

F5 Words in reg. 63(5) inserted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(1) of the amending Rule) by The Universal Credit (Consequential, Supplementary, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/236), regs. 1(1), 36(4)(a)

F6 Words in reg. 63(5) inserted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(1) of the amending Rule) by The Universal Credit (Consequential, Supplementary, Incidental and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/236), regs. 1(1), 36(4)(b)

F7 Reg. 63(6)-(11) inserted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(1) of the amending Rule) by The Employment and Support Allowance (Sanctions) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/240), regs. 1(1), 4(4) (with reg. 1(2))

F8 Reg. 63(7) substituted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(6) of the amending Rule) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(6), 8(a)

F9 Word in reg. 63(8)(a) inserted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(6) of the amending Rule) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(6), 8(b)(i)

F10 Words in reg. 63(8)(b) substituted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(6) of the amending Rule) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(6), 8(b)(ii)

F11 Reg. 63(8)(c) and word omitted (coming into force in accordance with reg. 1(6) of the amending Rule) by virtue of The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/116), regs. 1(6), 8(b)(iii)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 63 in operation at 27.10.2008, see reg. 1(1)