The Social Security (Back to Work Bonus) Regulations 1996

Couples who separate

10.—(1) In the case of a couple who separate and at the date of separation one member of the couple has days of entitlement to a qualifying benefit which count towards the waiting period, those days of entitlement which count, up to a maximum of 91 days, shall count towards a waiting period for the other member of the couple, and shall be treated as days on which the other member of the couple was entitled to a qualifying benefit.

(2) Where—

(a) a person is treated in accordance with paragraph (1) as having days on which he was entitled to a qualifying benefit;

(b) within 12 weeks of the date of separation the person becomes a partner of another person (the “new partner”); and

(c) those days of entitlement are greater in number than the days of entitlement to a qualifying benefit (if any) which otherwise accrued to the new partner on the date the person becomes his partner,

then the number of waiting days the new partner is required to serve in accordance with regulation 6(2) shall be reduced by a number equal to the number by which the days which count under paragraph (1) exceed the days of entitlement to a qualifying benefit which had otherwise accrued to the new partner on the date the partner referred to in paragraph (1) becomes his partner.