The Welfare Supplementary Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016

Entitlement to a welfare supplementary payment under this Part N.I.

7.—(1) If—

(a) a person is either—

(i) in receipt of a contributory employment and support allowance on the date of commencement of section 1A of the WRA 2007; or

(ii) in receipt of a contributory employment and support allowance after that date but, by virtue of regulation 145(1) of the ESA Regulations, the period of limited capability for work to which the award of that allowance relates is treated as a continuation of a period of limited capability for work which occurred before that date;

(b) the person's entitlement to a contributory employment and support allowance ceases as a consequence of that section before the relevant date; and

(c) the person suffers a financial disadvantage,

the person is entitled to a welfare supplementary payment under this Part for any period in respect of which the person has limited capability for work.

(2) A person suffers a financial disadvantage for the purposes of paragraph (1) if—

(a) the person's previous award of employment and support allowance was treated as mentioned in section 6(4) of the WRA 2007 and the amount of their new award of income-related employment and support allowance is less than the amount of their previous award of contributory employment and support allowance;

(b) the person did not, at any time during the period of 56 days ending on the date of cessation of the person's contributory employment and support allowance as a consequence of section 1A of the WRA 2007, make a claim for an income-related employment and support allowance under Part II of the Claims and Payments Regulations;

(c) the person made such a claim and the amount of their new award of income-related employment and support allowance is less than the amount of their previous award of contributory employment and support allowance; or

(d) the person made such a claim and the decision under Article 9 of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 M1 was a decision not to award income-related employment and support allowance.

(3) A person has limited capability for work for the purposes of this regulation if the person—

(a) is entitled to a limited capability for work credit; or

(b) is entitled to an employment and support allowance [F1 ; or

(c) is assessed as having limited capability for work for the purposes of the Universal Credit Regulations].

[F2 (3A) Where—

(a) person becomes entitled to universal credit at a time when welfare supplementary payments are payable in respect of a person under paragraph (1); and

(b) the person has limited capability for work,

the person continues to be entitled to welfare supplementary payment under this Part.

(3B) This paragraph applies to a person-

(a) whose entitlement to welfare supplementary payments under paragraph (1) ceased before the expiration of one year from the date entitlement commenced;

(b) who is entitled to universal credit; and

(c) who has limited capability for work.

(3C) A person to whom paragraph (3B) applies resumes entitlement to welfare supplementary payment under this Part on the day on which the 2025 Regulations come into operation.]

[F3 (4) In paragraph (3) “limited capability for work credit” refers to a credit under regulation 8B(1) of the Social Security (Credits) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1975 where paragraph (2)(a)(iva) of that regulation applies and which follows the cessation of the entitlement to contributory employment and support allowance as a consequence of section 1A of the WRA 2007.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Reg. 7(3)(c) and word inserted (temp until 31.3.2028) (20.3.2025) by The Welfare Supplementary Payment (Universal Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 (S.R. 2025/60), regs. 1(2), 5(2)

F2 Reg. 7(3A)-(3C) inserted (temp until 31.3.2028) (20.3.2025) by The Welfare Supplementary Payment (Universal Credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025 (S.R. 2025/60), regs. 1(2), 5(3)

F3 Reg. 7(4) substituted (6.2.2017) by The Welfare Supplementary Payment (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/28), regs. 1(2), 25

Marginal Citations

M1 S.I. 1998/1506 (N.I. 10); relevant amending provisions are paragraph 16(2) and (3) of Schedule 6 to, and Schedule 9 to, the Social Security (Transfer of Functions, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671), Part VII of Schedule 13 to Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (c. 30), paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 to the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002 (c.14 (N.I.)), Schedule 6 to the Tax Credits Act 2002 (c. 21), paragraph 10(3) of Schedule 3 to the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2007 (c. 2 (N.I.)), Part 1 of Schedule 4 to the Welfare Reform Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (c. 13 (N.I.)) and paragraph 29 of Schedule 12 to, and paragraph 37 of Schedule 16 to the Pensions Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 5 (N.I.))