The Jobseeker’s Allowance Regulations 1996

1. Introductory Text

2. PART I GENERAL

   1. 1. Citation, commencement and interpretation.

   2. 2. Definition of non-dependant.

   3. 3. Meanings of certain expressions used in the Jobseekers Act 1995.

3. PART II JOBSEEKING

   1. Chapter I

      Interpretation

      1. 4. Interpretation of Parts II, IV and V

   2. Chapter II

      Availability for Employment

      1. 5. Exceptions to requirement to be available immediately: carers, voluntary workers and persons providing a service and persons under an obligation to provide notice.

      2. 6. Employment of at least 40 hours per week.

      3. 7. Restriction of hours for which a person is available to 40 hours per week.

      4. 8. Other restrictions on availability.

      5. 9. No restrictions on pay after 6 months.

      6. 10. Reasonable prospects of employment.

      7. 11. Part-time students.

      8. 12. Volunteers.

      9. 13. Additional restrictions on availability for certain groups.

      10. 14. Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as available.

      11. 15. Circumstances in which a person is not to be regarded as available.

      12. 16. Further circumstances in which a person is to be treated as available: permitted period.

      13. 17. Laid off and short-time workers.

   3. Chapter III

      Actively Seeking Employment

      1. 18. Steps to be taken by persons actively seeking employment.

      2. 19. Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as actively seeking employment.

      3. 20. Further circumstances in which a person is to be treated as actively seeking employment: permitted period.

      4. 21. Further circumstances in which a person is to be treated as actively seeking employment: laid off and short-time workers.

      5. 22. Interpretation of certain expressions for the purposes of regulation 18(3)(f)(i) and 19(1)(d).

   4. Chapter IV

      Attendance, Information and Evidence

      1. 23. Attendance.

      2. 24. Provision of information and evidence.

      3. 25. Entitlement ceasing on a failure to comply.

      4. 26. Time at which entitlement is to cease.

      5. 27. Where entitlement is not to cease.

      6. 28. Matters to be taken into account in determining whether a claimant has good cause for failing to comply with a notice under regulation 23.

      7. 29. Matters to be taken into account in determining whether a claimant has good cause for failing to provide a signed declaration.

      8. 30. Circumstances in which a claimant is to be regarded as having good cause for failing to comply with a notice under regulation 23.

   5. Chapter V

      Jobseeker’s Agreement

      1. 31. Contents of Jobseeker’s Agreement.

      2. 32. Back-dating of a Jobseeker’s Agreement by an Adjudication Officer.

      3. 33. Notification of Determinations and Directions under Section 9.

      4. 34. Jobseeker’s Agreement treated as having been made.

      5. 35. Automatic back-dating of Jobseeker’s Agreement.

      6. 36. Jobseeker’s Agreement to remain in effect.

      7. 37. Variation of Jobseeker’s Agreement.

      8. 38. Direction to vary Agreement: time for compliance.

      9. 39. Variation of Agreement: matters to be taken into account.

      10. 40. Notification of Determinations and Directions under Section 10.

      11. 41. Procedure for reviews.

      12. 42. Appeals to Social Security Appeal Tribunal.

      13. 43. Direction of Social Security Appeal Tribunal: time limit for compliance.

      14. 44. Appeals to the Commissioner.

      15. 45. Appropriate person.

4. PART III OTHER CONDITIONS OF ENTITLEMENT

   1. 46. Waiting days.

   2. 47. Jobseeking Period.

   3. 48. Linking Periods.

   4. 49. Persons approaching retirement and the Jobseeking Period.

   5. 50. Persons temporarily absent from Great Britain.

   6. 51. Remunerative work.

   7. 52. Persons treated as engaged in remunerative work.

   8. 53. Persons treated as not engaged in remunerative work.

   9. 54. Relevant education.

   10. 55. Short periods of sickness.

   11. 56. Prescribed amount of earnings.

5. PART IV YOUNG PERSONS

   1. 57. Interpretation of Part IV.

   2. 58. Young persons to whom section 3(1)(f)(iii) applies.

   3. 59. Young persons in the child benefit extension period.

   4. 60. Young persons at the end of the child benefit extension period.

   5. 61. Other young persons in prescribed circumstances.

   6. 62. Registration.

   7. 63. Reduced payments under section 17.

   8. 64. Availability for Employment.

   9. 65. Active Seeking.

   10. 66. The Jobseeker’s Agreement.

   11. 67. Sanctions.

   12. 68. Reduced amount of allowance.

6. PART V SANCTIONS

   1. 69. Prescribed period for purposes of section 19(2).

   2. 70. Sanctions of discretionary length.

   3. 71. Voluntary Redundancy.

   4. 72. Good cause for the purposes of section 19(5)(a) and (6)(c) and (d).

   5. 73. Good cause for the purposes of section 19(5)(b).

   6. 74. Persons of prescribed description for the purposes of section 20(3).

   7. 75. Interpretation.

7. PART VI MEMBERSHIP OF THE FAMILY

   1. 76. Persons of a prescribed description.

   2. 77. Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as responsible or not responsible for another.

   3. 78. Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household.

8. PART VII AMOUNTS

   1. 79. Weekly amounts of contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance.

   2. 80. Deductions in respect of earnings.

   3. 81. Payments by way of Pensions.

   4. 82. Income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

   5. 83. Applicable amounts.

   6. 84. Polygamous Marriages.

   7. 85. Special cases.

   8. 86. Applicable amounts for persons in residential care and nursing homes.

   9. 87. Transitional supplement to income-based jobseeker’s allowance.

9. PART VIII INCOME AND CAPITAL

   1. Chapter I

      General

      1. 88. Calculation of income and capital of members of claimant’s family and of a polygamous marriage.

      2. 89. Liable relative payments.

      3. 90. Child Support.

      4. 91. Calculation of income and capital of full-time students.

      5. 92. Rounding of fractions.

   2. Chapter II

      Income

      1. 93. Calculation of income.

      2. 94. Calculation of earnings derived from employed earner’s employment and income other than earnings.

      3. 95. Calculation of earnings of self-employed earners.

      4. 96. Date on which income is treated as paid.

      5. 97. Calculation of weekly amount of income.

   3. Chapter III

      Employed Earners

      1. 98. Earnings of employed earners.

      2. 99. Calculation of net earnings of employed earners.

   4. Chapter IV

      Self-Employed Earners

      1. 100. Earnings of self-employed earners.

      2. 101. Calculation of net profit of self-employed earners.

      3. 102. Deduction of tax and contributions for self-employed earners.

   5. Chapter V

      Other Income

      1. 103. Calculation of income other than earnings.

      2. 104. Capital treated as income.

      3. 105. Notional income.

      4. 106. Modifications in respect of children and young persons.

   6. Chapter VI

      Capital

      1. 107. Capital limit.

      2. 108. Calculation of capital.

      3. 109. Disregard of capital of child or young person.

      4. 110. Income treated as capital.

      5. 111. Calculation of capital in the United Kingdom.

      6. 112. Calculation of capital outside the United Kingdom.

      7. 113. Notional capital.

      8. 114. Diminishing notional capital rule.

      9. 115. Capital jointly held.

      10. 116. Calculation of tariff income from capital.

   7. Chapter VII

      Liable Relatives

      1. 117. Interpretation.

      2. 118. Treatment of liable relative payments.

      3. 119. Disregard of payments treated as not relevant income.

      4. 120. Period over which periodical payments are to be taken into account.

      5. 121. Period over which payments other than periodical payments are to be taken into account.

      6. 122. Calculation of the weekly amount of a liable relative payment.

      7. 123. Date on which a liable relative payment is to be treated as paid.

      8. 124. Liable relative payments to be treated as capital.

   8. Chapter VIII

      Child Support

      1. 125. Interpretation.

      2. 126. Treatment of child support maintenance.

      3. 127. Disregard of payments treated as not relevant income.

      4. 128. Calculation of the weekly amount of child support maintenance.

      5. 129. Date on which child support maintenance is to be treated as paid.

   9. Chapter IX

      Full-Time Students

      1. 130. Interpretation.

      2. 131. Calculation of grant income.

      3. 132. Calculation of covenant income where a contribution is assessed.

      4. 133. Covenant income where no grant income or no contribution is assessed.

      5. 134. Relationship with amounts to be disregarded under Schedule 7.

      6. 135. Other amounts to be disregarded.

      7. 136. Treatment of student loans.

      8. 137. Disregard of contribution.

      9. 138. Income treated as capital.

      10. 139. Disregard of changes occurring during summer vacation.

10. PART IX HARDSHIP

    1. 140. Meaning of “person in hardship”.

    2. 141. Circumstances in which an income-based jobseeker’s allowance is payable to a person in hardship.

    3. 142. Further circumstances in which an income-based jobseeker’s allowance is payable to a person in hardship.

    4. 143. Conditions for hardship payments.

    5. 144. Provision of information.

    6. 145. Applicable amount in hardship cases.

    7. 146. Payments made on account of suspended benefit.

11. PART X URGENT CASES

    1. 147. Urgent cases.

    2. 148. Applicable amount in urgent cases.

    3. 149. Assessment of income and capital in urgent cases.

12. PART XI PART-WEEKS

    1. 150. Amount of a jobseeker’s allowance payable.

    2. 151. Amount of a jobseeker’s allowance payable where person is in residential care or nursing home.

    3. 152. Relevant week.

    4. 153. Modification in the calculation of income.

    5. 154. Reduction in certain cases.

    6. 155. Modification of section 15(2) of the Act.

13. PART XII SPECIAL CATEGORIES

    1. Chapter I

       Share Fishermen, Persons Outside Great Britain and Members of the Forces

       1. 156. Interpretation.

       2. 157. Special provisions in respect of share fishermen.

       3. 158. Modifications of section 2 of the Act.

       4. 159. Modifications of sections 19 and 20 of the Act.

       5. 160. Modification of section 35 of the Act.

       6. 161. Additional conditions for payment of a jobseeker’s allowance.

       7. 162. Remunerative work.

       8. 163. Calculation of earnings.

       9. 164. Amount payable.

    2. Chapter II

       Persons Outside Great Britain

       1. 165. Amendment of the Social Security Benefit (Persons Abroad) Regulations.

       2. 166. Amendment of the Social Security (Mariners' Benefits) Regulations.

       3. 167. Modification of contribution conditions for volunteer development workers.

    3. Chapter III

       Members of the Forces

       1. 168. Amendment of the Social Security (Members of the Forces) Regulations.

14. PART XIII MISCELLANEOUS

    1. recovery of maintenance

       1. 169. Recovery orders.

    2. training allowance

       1. 170. Persons in receipt of a training allowance.

    3. trade disputes

       1. 171. Trade Disputes: exemptions from section 15 of the Act.

       2. 172. Trade Disputes: prescribed sum.

15. Signature

16. SCHEDULES

    1. 1

       Applicable amounts.

    2. 2

       Housing costs.

    3. 3

       The Greater London Area.

    4. 4

       Applicable amounts of persons in residential care and nursing homes.

    5. 5

       Applicable amounts in special cases.

    6. 6

       Sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings.

    7. 7

       Sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings.

    8. 8

       Capital to be disregarded.

17. Explanatory Note