Social Security Act 1973

13 Exhaustion of, and requalification for, unemployment benefit.

(1) A person who, in respect of any period of interruption of employment, has been entitled to unemployment benefit for 312 days shall not thereafter be entitled to that benefit for any day of unemployment (whether in the same or a subsequent period of interruption of employment) unless before that day he has requalified for benefit.

(2) Where a person has exhausted his right to unemployment benefit, he shall requalify for it when—

(a) he has again been in employment as an employed earner and has been so employed in 13 weeks since the last day for which he was entitled to that benefit; and

(b) in each of those weeks he has worked in such employment for 21 hours or more.

(3) Where a person requalifies for unemployment benefit, subsection (1) above shall again apply to him but, in a case where the period of interruption of employment in which he exhausted his right to that benefit continues after his requalification, as if the part before and the part after his requalification were distinct periods of interruption of employment.