The Social Security (Back to Work Bonus) (No.2)Regulations 1996

[F1 Requirements for a bonus E+W+S

7.— (1) An applicant who has served, or is treated as having served, a waiting period shall be entitled to a bonus where he satisfies any one of the conditions set out in paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) The first condition is that—

(a) he or his partner has or had earnings of which a part only has been disregarded in determining the amount of those earnings for the purposes of a qualifying benefit;

(b) he or his partner takes up or returns to or increases the number of hours in which in any week he or his partner is engaged in employment or the earnings from an employment in which he or his partner is engaged are increased (“the work condition"), and—

(i) that employment results; or

(ii) those earnings result; or

(iii) the increase in the number of hours and an increase in earnings together result, in entitlement to a qualifying benefit (other than a partner’s entitlement to a contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance) in respect of himself, and where he has a partner, his family, ceasing;

(c) he claims the bonus before the end of a period of 12 weeks immediately following the day in respect of which entitlement to the qualifying benefit ceased as mentioned in sub-paragraph (b); and

(d) in a case where the qualifying benefit to which the applicant was entitled—

(i) was income support, he has not attained the day before the age of 60; or

(ii) was a jobseeker’s allowance, he has not attained the day before pensionable age,

at the time the work condition was satisfied.

(3) The second condition is that—

(a) within 14 days of his ceasing to be entitled to a qualifying benefit he or his partner satisfy the work condition;

(b) had the work condition been satisfied on the day he was last entitled to a qualifying benefit, that entitlement would as a consequence have ceased;

(c) he satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2)(a) and (d); and

(d) he claims the bonus within 12 weeks of his ceasing to be entitled to a qualifying benefit.

(4) The third condition is that—

(a) within 12 weeks of ceasing to be entitled to a qualifying benefit or within 12 weeks of a connecting period ceasing, the applicant commences training;

(b) within 14 days of the day he last attended training—

(i) he takes up or returns to or increases the number of hours in which he is engaged in employment, or where his hours of work fluctuate, is engaged on average, for not less than 16 hours per week; or

(ii) he takes up employment, or increases his earnings from his existing employment, as a result of which weekly earnings equal or exceed the amount of the training allowance payable to him in the last week of training;

(c) he claims the bonus before the end of the period of 12 weeks immediately following the day on which the training ceased;

(d) he satisfies the requirements specified in paragraph (2)(a); and

(e) in a case where the qualifying benefit to which a person was entitled—

(i) was income support, he satisfied the requirements specified in paragraph (4)(b) before he attained the age of 60;

(ii) was a jobseeker’s allowance, he satisfied the requirements specified in paragraph (4)(b) before he attained pensionable age.

(5) The fourth condition is that—

(a) the applicant is formerly one of a couple, or of a polygamous marriage, who have separated and the separation took place before the person attained the age of 60;

(b) at the date of separation, either the applicant or his partner was entitled to a qualifying benefit;

(c) within 14 days of the separation—

(i) he takes up or returns to or increases the number of hours in which he is engaged in employment, or where his hours of work fluctuate, is engaged on average, for not less than 16 hours per week; or

(ii) he takes up employment or increases his earnings from his existing employment, as a result of which his weekly earnings, had he been entitled to a qualifying benefit on the day of separation, equalled or exceeded the amount that would have been the applicable amount or the age-related amount in his case;

(d) he satisfies the requirements specified in paragraph (2)(a); and

(e) he claims the bonus within 12 weeks of the day on which the separation occurred.

(6) For the purpose of determining whether any of the above conditions are satisfied, any change of circumstance other than those specified in the preceding provisions of this regulation which occurred at the same time as a change specified in those provisions and which would of itself have resulted in a loss of entitlement to a qualifying benefit shall be disregarded.

(7) Subject to paragraph (8) a person—

(a) who—

(i) becomes entitled to, or whose partner becomes entitled to, a qualifying benefit within 12 weeks of the day in respect of which his last previous entitlement to a qualifying benefit ceased; and

(ii) has not made, and whose partner has not made, a claim for a bonus before the day in respect of which the most recent entitlement to a qualifying benefit first arose,

shall be treated as not satisfying the requirements of paragraph (2)(c) or (3)(d) for the period of 12 weeks following the day in respect of which the last previous entitlement to a qualifying benefit ceased;

(b) who—

(i) becomes entitled to, or whose partner becomes entitled to, a qualifying benefit before the end of the period of 12 weeks immediately following the day on which training ceased; and

(ii) has not made, and whose partner has not made, a claim for a bonus before the day in respect of which the most recent entitlement to a qualifying benefit arose,

shall be treated as not satisfying the requirements of paragraph (4)(c) for the period of 12 weeks following the day on which training ceased;

(c) who—

(i) becomes entitled to, or whose partner becomes entitled to, a qualifying benefit before the end of the period of 12 weeks following the day on which the separation occurred; and

(ii) has not made, and whose partner has not made, a claim for a bonus before the day in respect of which the most recent entitlement to a qualifying benefit arose,

shall be treated as not satisfying the requirements of paragraph (5)(e) for the period of 12 weeks following the day on which the separation occurred.

(8) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (7) a person shall be able to claim a bonus where he satisfies the work condition or either of the requirements specified in paragraph (4)(b) or the requirements specified in paragraph (5)(c) following the day in respect of which the most recent period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit arose.

[F2 (9) For the purposes of this regulation, references to a qualifying benefit do not include any income support paid under regulation 6(6) (persons not treated as engaged in remunerative work) of the Income Support Regulations.]]

Textual Amendments

F1 Instrument revoked (25.10.2004) by The Social Security (Back to Work Bonus and Lone Parent Run-on) (Amendment and Revocation) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/1589), reg. 8 (with reg. 10)

F2 Reg. 7(9) added (9.4.2001) by The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2001 (S.I. 2001/488), regs. 1(1), 13(a)