The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

1. Introductory Text

2. PART 1 GENERAL

   1. 1. Citation, commencement and application

   2. 2. Interpretation

   3. 3. Further interpretation

   4. 4. Rounding of fractions

3. PART 2 THE ASSESSMENT PHASE

   1. 5. The end of the assessment phase

   2. 6. The assessment phase – previous claimants

   3. 7. Circumstances where the condition that the assessment phase has ended before entitlement to the support component or the work-related activity component arises does not apply

4. PART 3 CONDITIONS OF ENTITLEMENT

   1. 8. Conditions relating to national insurance and relevant earnings

   2. 9. Relaxation of the first contribution condition

   3. 10. Condition relating to youth – claimants aged 20 or over but under 25

   4. 11. Condition relating to youth – previous claimants

   5. 12. Condition relating to youth – residence or presence

   6. 13. Condition relating to youth – full-time education

   7. 14. Modification of the relevant benefit year

5. PART 4 LIMITED CAPABILITY FOR WORK

   1. 15. Determination of limited capability for work

   2. 16. Certain claimants to be treated as having limited capability for work

   3. 17. Information required for determining capability for work

   4. 18. Failure to provide information in relation to limited capability for work

   5. 19. Claimant may be called for a medical examination to determine whether the claimant has limited capability for work

   6. 20. Matters to be taken into account in determining good cause in relation to regulation 18 or 19

   7. 21. Hospital patients

   8. 22. Claimants receiving certain treatment

   9. 23. Claimant to be treated as having limited capability for work throughout a day

   10. 24. Night workers

   11. 25. Exceptional circumstances

   12. 26. Conditions for treating a claimant as having limited capability for work until a determination about limited capability for work has been made

   13. 27. Certain claimants to be treated as not having limited capability for work

   14. 28. Claimants to be treated as not having limited capability for work at the end of the period covered by medical evidence

   15. 29. Additional circumstances where claimants are to be treated as having limited capability for work

6. PART 5 LIMITED CAPABILITY FOR WORK-RELATED ACTIVITY

   1. 30. Determination of limited capability for work-related activity

   2. 31. Certain claimants to be treated as having, or not having, limited capability for work-related activity

   3. 32. Relevant linked cases – limited capability for work-related activity

   4. 33. Information required for determining capability for work-related activity

   5. 34. Failure to provide information in relation to work-related activity

   6. 35. Claimant may be called for a medical examination to determine whether the claimant has limited capability for work-related activity

   7. 36. Matters to be taken into account in determining good cause in relation to regulation 34 or 35

7. PART 6 EFFECT OF WORK ON ENTITLEMENT TO AN EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT ALLOWANCE

   1. 37. A claimant who works to be treated as not entitled to an employment and support allowance

   2. 38. Claimants who are treated as not entitled to any allowance at all by reason of regulation 37(1) are to be treated as not having limited capability for work

   3. 39. Exempt work

   4. 40. Effect of work on entitlement to an employment and support allowance where claimant is receiving certain treatment

8. PART 7 CLAIMANT RESPONSIBILITIES

   1. 41. Interpretation

   2. 42. Application of regulations where there is dual entitlement

   3. 43. Sanction ceases to apply to employment and support allowance

   4. 44. Claimant commitment – date and method of acceptance

   5. 45. Claimant commitment – exceptions

   6. 46. Purposes of a work-focused interview

   7. 47. Claimants subject to no work-related requirements

   8. 48. Claimants subject to work-focused interview requirement only

   9. 49. Victims of domestic violence

9. PART 8 SANCTIONS

   1. 50. Interpretation

   2. 51. General principles for calculating reduction periods

   3. 52. Low-level sanction

   4. 53. Lowest-level sanction

   5. 54. Start of the reduction

   6. 55. Reduction period to continue where an award of an employment and support allowance terminates

   7. 56. Suspension of a reduction where a fraud sanction applies

   8. 57. Termination of a reduction

   9. 58. Amount of reduction for each benefit week

   10. 59. Daily reduction rate

   11. 60. Lower daily reduction rate

   12. 61. Sanctions where universal credit ends and the person is entitled to an employment and support allowance

10. PART 9 AMOUNTS OF ALLOWANCE

    1. 62. Prescribed amounts

    2. 63. Special cases

    3. 64. Permanent health insurance

    4. 65. Financial Assistance Scheme

    5. 66. Councillor’s allowance

    6. 67. Deductions for pension payment and PPF payment

    7. 68. Payments treated as not being payments to which section 3 applies

    8. 69. Deductions for councillor’s allowance

    9. 70. Date from which payments are to be taken into account

    10. 71. Date from which a change in the rate of the payment takes effect

    11. 72. Calculation of payment made other than weekly

    12. 73. Effect of statutory maternity pay on an employment and support allowance

    13. 74. Effect of statutory adoption pay on an employment and support allowance

    14. 75. Effect of statutory shared parental pay on an employment and support allowance

11. PART 10 INCOME AND EARNINGS

    1. 76. Calculation of earnings derived from employed earner’s employment and income other than earnings

    2. 77. Calculation of earnings of self-employed earners

    3. 78. Date on which income is treated as paid

    4. 79. Calculation of weekly amount of income

    5. 80. Earnings of employed earners

    6. 81. Calculation of net earnings of employed earners

    7. 82. Earnings of self-employed earners

    8. 83. Calculation of net profit of self-employed earners

    9. 84. Deduction of tax and contributions for self-employed earners

12. PART 11 SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

    1. 85. Waiting days

    2. 86. Linking period

    3. 87. Claimants appealing a decision

    4. 88. Absence from Northern Ireland

    5. 89. Short absence

    6. 90. Absence to receive medical treatment

    7. 91. Absence in order to receive health service treatment

    8. 92. Absence of member of family of member of Her Majesty’s forces

13. PART 12 DISQUALIFICATION

    1. 93. Disqualification for misconduct etc.

    2. 94. Meaning of “person in hardship”

    3. 95. Treating a claimant as not having limited capability for work

    4. 96. Exceptions from disqualification for imprisonment

    5. 97. Suspension of payment of an employment and support allowance during imprisonment

14. PART 13 PERIODS OF LESS THAN A WEEK

    1. 98. Entitlement for less than a week – amount of an employment and support allowance payable

    2. 99. Relevant week

    3. 100. Modification in the calculation of income

    4. 101. Reduction in certain cases

    5. 102. Payment of an employment and support allowance for days of certain treatment

15. Signature

16. 1. SCHEDULE 1

       Her Majesty’s forces

       1. PART 1 PRESCRIBED ESTABLISHMENTS AND ORGANISATIONS

          1. 1. Any of the regular naval, military or air forces of...

          2. 2. Royal Fleet Reserve.

          3. 3. Royal Navy Reserve.

          4. 4. Royal Marines Reserve.

          5. 5. Army Reserve.

          6. 6. Territorial Army.

          7. 7. Royal Air Force Reserve.

          8. 8. Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

          9. 9. The Royal Irish Regiment, to the extent that its members...

       2. PART 2 ESTABLISHMENTS AND ORGANISATIONS OF WHICH HER MAJESTY’S FORCES DO NOT CONSIST

          1. 10. Her Majesty’s forces are not to be taken to consist...

    2. SCHEDULE 2

       Assessment of Whether a Claimant has Limited Capability for Work

       1. PART 1 PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

       2. PART 2 MENTAL, COGNITIVE AND INTELLECTUAL FUNCTION ASSESSMENT

    3. SCHEDULE 3

       Assessment of whether a claimant has limited capability for work-related activity

17. Explanatory Note