The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

Relaxation of the first contribution condition

8.—(1) A claimant who satisfies any of the conditions in paragraph (2) is to be taken to satisfy the first contribution condition if—

(a) the claimant paid Class 1 or Class 2 contributions before the relevant benefit week in respect of any one tax year; and

(b) the earnings factor is derived—

(i) from earnings, on which primary Class 1 contributions have been paid or treated as paid, which are not less than that year’s lower earnings limit multiplied by 25, or

(ii) from Class 2 contributions multiplied by 25.

(2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1) are that the claimant—

(a) was entitled to a carer’s allowance in the last complete tax year immediately preceding the relevant benefit year;

(b) had been engaged in qualifying remunerative work for a period of more than 2 years immediately before the first day of the period of limited capability for work and who was entitled to working tax credit where the disability element or the severe disability element of working tax credit specified in regulation 20(1)(b) or (f) of the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002(1) was included in the award;

(c) in respect of any week in any tax year preceding the relevant benefit year—

(i) is entitled to be credited with earnings or contributions in accordance with regulation 9D of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975(2) (credits for certain periods of imprisonment or detention in legal custody), or

(ii) would have been so entitled had an application to the Department been made for the purpose of that regulation; or

(d) on the first day of the period of limited capability for work, had received a contributory allowance in the last complete tax year immediately preceding the relevant benefit year in which entitlement to a contributory allowance is now being decided.

(1)

S.I. 2002/2005

(2)

S.R. 1975 No. 113; regulation 9D was inserted by regulation 2 of S.R. 2001 No. 88