Amendment of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations2
After regulation 45A of the Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19965 (the contribution-based conditions and relevant earnings) insert—
Relaxation of the first set of conditions45B
1
A claimant who also satisfies the condition in paragraph (2) is to be taken to satisfy the first set of conditions6 if the claimant has—
a
paid Class 1 contributions before the relevant benefit week in respect of any one tax year; and
b
earnings at the lower earnings limit in that tax year on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid which in total, and disregarding any earnings which exceed the lower earnings limit for that year, are not less than that limit multiplied by 26.
2
The condition referred to in paragraph (1) is that the claimant, in respect of any week during the last complete tax year preceding the relevant benefit year, is entitled to be credited with earnings in accordance with regulation 9E of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19757 (credits for certain spouses and civil partners of members of Her Majesty’s forces).