The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) Regulations 1996

Earnings of employed earners E+W+S

9.—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), “earnings", in the case of employment as an employed earner, means any remuneration or profit derived from that employment and includes—

(a) any bonus or commission;

(b) any payment in lieu of remuneration except any periodic sum paid to a claimant on account of the termination of his employment by reason of redundancy;

(c) any payment in lieu of notice;

(d) any holiday pay except any payable more than four weeks after the termination or interruption of employment;

(e) any payment by way of a retainer;

(f) any payment made by the claimant’s employer in respect of expenses not wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment, including any payment made by the claimant’s employer in respect of—

(i) travelling expenses incurred by the claimant between his home and place of employment;

(ii) expenses incurred by the claimant under arrangements made for the care of a member of his family owing to the claimant’s absence from home;

(g) any award of compensation made under section 112(4) or 117(3)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 M1 (remedies and compensation);

(h) any such sum as is referred to in section 112(3) of the Contributions and Benefits Act (certain sums to be earnings for social security purposes);

(i) where—

(i) a payment of compensation is made in respect of employment which is not part-time employment and that payment is not less than the maximum weekly amount, the amount of the compensation less the deductible remainder, where that is applicable;

(ii) a payment of compensation is made in respect of employment which is part-time employment, the amount of the compensation;

[F1 (j) any remuneration paid by or on behalf of an employer to the claimant in respect of a period throughout which the claimant is—

(i) on maternity leave;

(ii) on paternity leave;

(iii) on adoption leave; or

(iv) absent from work because he is ill.]

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(i)(i) the “deductible remainder"—

(a) applies in cases where dividing the amount of the compensation by the maximum weekly amount produces a whole number plus a fraction; and

(b) is equal to the difference between—

(i) the amount of the compensation; and

(ii) the product of the maximum weekly amount multiplied by the whole number.

[F2 (3) “Earnings” shall not include any payment in respect of expenses—

(a) wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred in the performance of the duties of the employment; or

(b) arising out of the [F3 claimant participating as a service user].]

[F4 (3A) The reference in paragraph (3)(b) to a claimant participating as a service user is to—

(a) a person who is being consulted by or on behalf of—

(i) a body which has a statutory duty to provide services in the field of health, social care or social housing; or

(ii) a body which conducts research or undertakes monitoring for the purpose of planning or improving such services,

in their capacity as a user, potential user, carer of a user or person otherwise affected by the provision of those services;

(b) a person who is being consulted by or on behalf of—

(i) the Secretary of State in relation to any of his functions in the field of social security or child support or under section 2 of the Employment and Training Act 1973; or

(ii) a body which conducts research or undertakes monitoring for the purpose of planning or improving such functions,

in their capacity as a person affected or potentially affected by the exercise of those functions or the carer of such a person; or

(c) the carer of a person consulted under sub-paragraphs (a) or (b).]

(4) In this regulation—

“compensation" means any payment made in respect of or on the termination of employment in a case where a person has not received or received only part of a payment in lieu of notice due or which would have been due to him had he not waived his right to receive it, other than—

(a) any payment specified in paragraph (1)(a) to (h);

(b) any payment specified in paragraph (3);

(c) any redundancy payment within the meaning of section 135 of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

(d) any refund of contributions to which that person was entitled under an occupational pension scheme;

(e) any compensation payable by virtue of section 173 or section 178(3) or (4) of the Education Reform Act 1988 M2 ;

[F5 “adoption leave” means a period of absence from work on ordinary or additional adoption leave under section 75A or 75B of the Employment Rights Act 1996;]

[F6 “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;]

[F5 “maternity leave” means a period during which a woman is absent from work because she is pregnant or has given birth to a child, and at the end of which she has a right to return to work either under the terms of her contract of employment or under Part 8 of the Employment Rights Act 1996;]

“maximum weekly amount" means the maximum weekly amount which, on the date on which the payment of compensation is made, is specified in section 227(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996;

“part-time employment" has the same meaning as in regulation 6(8) (calculation of earnings of employed earners).

[F5 “paternity leave” means a period of absence from work on leave under section 80A or 80B of the Employment Rights Act 1996.]

[F6 “public authority” includes any person certain of whose functions are functions of a public nature;]

F7 ...

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 9(1)(j) substituted (8.12.2002) by Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2823), regs. 1(a), 2(3)(a)

F2 Reg. 9(3) substituted (26.10.2009 for specified purposes) by Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2678), regs. 1(3), 2(2)(a)

F3 Words in reg. 9(3)(b) substituted (1.7.2015) by The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/784), regs. 1, 2(2)

F4 Reg. 9(3A) inserted (1.7.2015) by The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/784), regs. 1, 2(3)

F5 Words in reg. 9(4) inserted (8.12.2002) by Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (S.I. 2002/2823), regs. 1(a), 2(3)(b)

F6 Words in reg. 9(4) inserted (26.10.2009 for specified purposes) by Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 2009/2678), regs. 1(3), 2(2)(b)

F7 Words in reg. 9(4) omitted (1.7.2015) by virtue of The Social Security Benefit (Computation of Earnings) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/784), regs. 1, 2(4)

Marginal Citations

M1 1996 c.18.

M2 1988 c.40.