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

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations are made by virtue of the provisions in the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Order”). They revoke the Social Security (Back to Work Bonus) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996, the Social Security (Back to Work Bonus) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and regulation 4 of the Social Security and Child Support (Jobseeker’s Allowance) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and consolidate the provisions of those Regulations. These Regulations accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 9 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8) are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

Article 28 of the Order introduces a back to work bonus for persons who are or have been entitled to income support or a jobseeker’s allowance.

Regulation 1 contains provisions relating to citation, commencement and interpretation.

Regulations 2 and 3 deal with periods of entitlement to a qualifying benefit (income support or a jobseeker’s allowance), which can in some circumstances be joined together to form a single period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit. Regulation 5 sets out the circumstances in which periods of entitlement to a qualifying benefit will not count for the purposes of the period of entitlement to a qualifying benefit.

Regulation 6 provides that the waiting period is the first 91 days of entitlement to a qualifying benefit.

Regulation 7 sets out the requirements for a bonus, one of which is that the claimant or his partner returns to work, or increases his hours of, or earnings from, work, with the result that he is no longer entitled to a qualifying benefit (“the work condition”). Regulation 8 provides the method for calculating the amount of the bonus payable to the applicant and regulation 9 allows the Department to issue estimates to claimants of the amount of bonus that may be payable to them.

Regulations 10 to 16 deal with the entitlement to a bonus of people, who are, or were, or become a couple.

Regulation 21 provides that the bonus is to be treated as capital for the purposes of assessing the means of the claimants to other income-related benefits. Regulations 22 and 23 contain details of claims for the bonus, regulation 24 deals with payments and regulation 25 provides that a bonus may be awarded in advance of an applicant satisfying the requirements for it. Regulation 26 allows a person to apply to be appointed to claim a bonus in place of someone who was entitled to a bonus but died before claiming it. Regulation 27 deals with transitional matters and regulation 28 with revocations.