51.—(1) For the purposes of the Act “remunerative work” means–
(a)in the case of the claimant, work in which he is engaged or, where his hours of work fluctuate, is engaged on average, for not less than 16 hours per week; and
(b)in the case of any partner of the claimant, work in which he is engaged or, where his hours of work fluctuate, is engaged on average, for not less than 24 hours per week;
and for those purposes, work is work for which payment is made or which is done in expectation of payment.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the number of hours in which the claimant or his partner is engaged in work shall be determined—
(a)where no recognisable cycle has been established in respect of a person’s work, by reference to the number of hours or, where those hours are likely to fluctuate, the average of the hours, which he is expected to work in a week;
(b)where the number of hours for which he is engaged fluctuate, by reference to the average of hours worked over—
(i)if there is a recognisable cycle of work, and sub-paragraph (c) does not apply, the period of one complete cycle (including, where the cycle involves periods in which the person does not work, those periods but disregarding any other absences);
(ii)in any other case, the period of five weeks immediately before the date of claim or the date of review, or such other length of time as may, in the particular case, enable the person’s average hours of work to be determined more accurately;
(c)where the person works at a school or other educational establishment or at some other place of employment and the cycle of work consists of one year but with school holidays or similar vacations during which he does no work, by disregarding those periods and any other periods in which he is not required to work.
(3) In determining in accordance with this regulation the number of hours for which a person is engaged in remunerative work—
(a)that number shall include any time allowed to that person by his employer for a meal or for refreshments, but only where the person is, or expects to be, paid earnings in respect of that time;
(b)no account shall be taken of any hours in which the person is engaged in an employment or scheme to which any one of paragraphs (a) to (h) of regulation 53 (person treated as not engaged in remunerative work) applies;
(c)no account shall be taken of any hours in which the person is engaged otherwise than in an employment as an earner in caring for—
(i)a person who is in receipt of attendance allowance under section 64 of the Benefits Act or the care component of disability living allowance at the highest or middle rate; or
(ii)a person who has claimed an attendance allowance to which section 64 of the Benefits Act applies or a disability living allowance, but only for the period beginning with the date of claim and ending on the date the claim is determined or, if earlier, on the expiration of the period of 26 weeks from the date of claim; or (iii) another person is in receipt of an invalid care allowance under Section 70 of the Benefits Act.
(4) In the case of a person to whom regulation 22 of the Income Support (General) Amendment No.4 Regulations 1991(1) would have applied had he been entitled to income support and not a jobseeker’s allowance, paragraph (1)(a) shall have effect as if for the reference to 16 hours there was substituted a reference to 24 hours.
(5) In determining for the purposes of paragraph (4) whether regulation 22 of the 1991 Regulations applies, regulations 23 and 24 of those Regulations shall have effect as if the references to income support included also a reference to income-based jobseeker’s allowance.